Andrew Lardner
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"Skinflint" by Leo Kottke
🕑 Added 2023-11-01 13:00:17 +0000 UTCFriends:
I'm pleased to present my first ever attempt at recording a piece using the bottleneck. We've got a way to go but I look forward to doing more in the future. This is also an exciting post because it is a more contemporary Kottke piece and gives me the opportunity to touch on his thumb damping technique in the lesson video.
"Skinflint" was first included on the 1988 release Regards from Chuck Pink. Luckily, there was plenty of video footage to draw upon to create a very accurate transcription of the studio recording. I mostly referenced the VH1 footage, as this seemed to be closest in proximity to when the studio recording occurred. You can view the footage here, he plays the piece at about the 14:30 mark. The other video versions are great, and I suspect recorded later since he is playing the piece slightly different, incorporating a looser right hand with more strumming.
The lesson video is longer than normal, I added back in a full slow play through at the suggestion of one of our members and I always seem to have a little more to say about Leo's work. I think Leo fans will appreciate a little bit of the discussion regarding thumb damping and Leo's use of slide, but the video is packed with comments regarding the nuance of the piece.
The score is fully edited and attached below. I discuss my notation for slide in the opening comments of the lesson video. Basically, the thick vertical black line represents the slide and how many strings it is covering, the bracket duration above shows how long the slide is in contact with the strings. I originally created this method of notation for Kottke's "Part Two" which was published several years back by Stropes Editions. I think it is currently the best method of slide notation.
I suppose my comments here are brief, but everything I wanted to cover is mentioned in the lesson video. Access it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJK4pwRpC7A
I hope everyone has a fantastic month of November and we'll see you again on December 1.
Comments
Jack Cayzer
z .\
Doug Yelken
Thanks Andy! Excellent job on the performance. I have begun to work on the piece. I have 2 slides, one glass and the other copper. I like the copper one the best. I have never spent much time with the slide, but I plan to work on it. The biggest challenge is from 7 to 8th fret while barring the 5th, I can’t quite play it clean. I might have to come up with a alternate way. I will see how far I can get. I also noticed it is almost the same tuning as “”Red meat on the road” which makes it easy to practice both pieces.
