Andrew Lardner
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Moanin' arr. Davy Graham (Folk, Blues, and Beyond version)
🕑 Added 2025-05-01 17:05:01 +0000 UTCFriends:
Here's part 2 of this month's lesson. As you will notice, Graham's arrangement of "Moanin'" underwent significant development over the course of the next year. This version is more closely linked with the original composition as performed by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.
There is more going on in this version and it will feel like a complete performance piece with an A section, a B section, and a guitar break.
I did a bit of modification to the original audio to try to remove the surrounding instruments and it helped guide some decision making in this transcription. Trying to separate the guitar and only transcribe the notes Davy was playing was ultimately the greatest challenge in this version. I first was able to modify the audio in a way that made the double bass much easier to hear. This helped inform places in the recording where I couldn't tell if I was hearing lower notes from Davy's guitar or the double bass. Admittedly, I could be hearing both, but the absence of bass was a characteristic in many places in the Hullabaloo! version and I didn't want to add anything that didn't belong. Many decisions in this transcription were ultimately guided by the decisions he made in the Hullabaloo! performance. I'll upload the audio I modified as it may interest some of you.
I can't say with absolute certainty that all of the editing in this transcription is exactly as Graham played it, but I feel like it is quite close. All fingerings were chosen because they authentically reflected the way Graham played similar passages in the other recording or in other pieces.
The tuning will remain a mystery for the time being, I have yet to analyze all of the tracks on the Folk, Blues, and Beyond record to see if one can determine how low the guitar may have been tuned and where the capo was placed. For now, I went with the same full step lower as we see on the Hullabaloo! performance, this will necessitate placing the capo on the 4th fret to match the pitch on the record. It is possible he could be tuned higher or lower which would put the capo in a different place. For my performance, I tuned down a full step and placed the capo on the third fret for no other reason than I liked the way the guitar sounded there.
My lesson video can be accessed here:
https://youtu.be/-aIqmsb9yys
The score is attached below. This month was a ton of work, so I hope these posts are appreciated. I'll try to get some polls going soon regarding what pieces you want to see in the future and some other fun things. The day job has been incredibly stressful and overwhelming over the past couple months, I'm hoping to recharge over the upcoming summer break and I'll try to think of ways to keep things exciting here and would appreciate everyone's feedback.
Comments
James Steinley
These songs are sick, but they seem daunting to learn simply because how abrasive I foresee it to be playing it piece by piece, imperfectly, over and over again
Andrew Lardner
Thank you Mark!
mark blomquist
I'll tell you Andy, I watched this lesson again while learning the song and got more out of it than the first time. Love that little trick stopping the "bend" at the apex for effect. Once again, great lesson!
