White Ripple Community Band August 29th, 2016

This week we addressed an issue that has plagued us at open mics all over the county; namely, no one knows how to play Happy Birthday. Which is kind of a problem, since any time there's a birthday at Paul Henry's (which happens at least every week), Dave has to hunt Rich down from whatever hidey-hole he's crept off to and has him bang out the chords. Basically, knowing how to play Happy Birthday will enable Rich to hide out more successfully.


Here's Happy Birthday in a nutshell. In class we did it in F, but on the video I do it in G.

If F is your I chord, then the V chord is C and the IV chord is Bb.
If G is your I chord, then the V chord is D and the IV chord is C. It all depends on where you want to put home base.


            I                  V
Happy Birthday to You
            V                I
Happy Birthday to You
            I                               IV
Happy Birthday dear ______________,
            I             V  I
Happy Birthday to You!




Next we did another one that comes up fairly often, especially in July and around the Summer Olympics: The Star-Spangled Banner. This is Rich's favorite rendition in the whole world.

Song 3 was Across the Universe by The Beatles, which we're going to play this Saturday at Tinker's Attic. I hope you can join us!

We've going to take this Monday off for the Labor Day holiday but will be playing Second Saturday's event on the 10th and will be back to class on September 12th for a brand spanking new session, which will also mark our 1-year anniversary. Sue Ross from the Post-Tribune will be there to talk to band members about your experiences this past year as a musician and as a performer in a community band.

I'm so happy to get to the chance to teach this class every week. Teaching and music are my passions, and I hope I get to combine my two favorite things for a long time to come.

White Ripple Community Band May 16th, 2016

A big thanks to WRCB for coming out and playing for the opening of Rick Therrio and Brabant Lenting's new exhibit, "Subconscious Symmetry." Check out the exhibit at the White Ripple Gallery when you get a chance-- it'll be up for another few weeks.


We were small but mighty last night, cranking through a whole bunch of good stuff. Linda, Sherry, Tom and I warmed up with The Plain White T's before settling in to our songs of the evening:


Song 1: Summertime Blues by Eddie Cochran. We played with sliding from A-flat to A, then that classic riff: A, A, A, D...E, E, E, A... A, A, A, D... E, E, E, A. You can find those notes anywhere on your instrument, but I find I like them on the higher strings because the higher pitch carries better.

Song 2: Starfish and Coffee by Prince. Something cool happened on this song. I didn't have a B-flat chart for Linda, so I was just going to introduce it to the guitar players and pick it up more fully next week when Rich got back, but she got right on with it while Sherry and Tom kept up an effortless syncopated beat, and that left me no choice but to start singing. It's like we're an actual band or something!

This is the Old Town School of Folk Music's 'Song of the Session' for the next couple of months, so be sure to download a free chart while it's available.

White Ripple Community Band May 9th, 2016

White Ripple Community Band will be playing this Saturday as part of the gallery's Second Saturday event on the 14th. Rick Therrio and Brabant Lenting have a new show, the artists will have their studios open to all comers, we'll be making a nice noise, and did I mention that Kathy Los Rathburn will have snacks? Good times. It's from 7-10 p.m. this Saturday.



Now, on to last Monday: We've been Plain White T's crazy! This week we went over Hey There Delilah for our warm-up, then on to our two songs for the evening:


Song 1: I'm On Fire by Bruce Springsteen. Not to be confused with Fire, the other Springsteen song we did a couple of weeks ago. I chose to go with a mashup of Bruce plus Johnny Cash's cover of the song because it has a punchier ending-- it's hard for a live band to fade out, after all...

Song 2: Margaritaville. ("Salt! Salt! Salt!") Do I even need to include a YouTube clip? I will anyway. It's my own damn fault.



White Ripple Community Band March 21st, 2016

Last week we covered What I Say by Ray Charles, a great example of blues in the key of A:

 

 

 

We talked a bit about chord progressions in the last blog entry so you can visit that if you're curious. In the key of A, A is the I chord, or our home base. D is the IV chord, or 4 steps up from A. E is the V chord, or five steps above A, our home base I chord.

Basic blues chord progression
I     I      I     I
IV  IV   I     I
V   IV    I    I

Once you know the progression and you know the I chord-- Viola! -- you just unlocked the secret to about eight gazillion blues songs. It's not the only blues chord progression-- there are fancier ones with more bells and whistles-- but this is the blues at its heart and it sounds great. We're going to talk about adding a few more frills to the blues in tonight's class.

And then after class, Angela Leimer stopped by the gallery to take our picture. We're going to do a free concert at the Hammond Public Library as part of National Library Week (that's why the books). The concert will in the library's Community Room on Monday, April 11th. The show starts at 7 p.m. Bring your friends! 

        

Angela is available for hire for all your photography needs-- message her on Facebook if you wish to hire her, and please do. We are posing in front of Dawn Diamantopoulos's paintings. She is the featured artist through April at the White Ripple Gallery. I hope you get a chance to see her work, either during the gallery's open hours or at their monthly Second Saturday event.



White Ripple Community Band, February 15th (aka The World's Longest Blog Post)

First off, I want to thank all WRC band members, current and former, for playing and singing and raising a sweet ruckus at last week's Second Saturday event, where there was wine tasting, Valentine photos and surrealism. What more could a community band ask for?

Monday's class was on President's Day, but we had nothing presidential on tap as it was also the day after Valentine's Day. We decided to do one sweet, one conflicted, and one just downright sad love song. Here goes...

Song #1: Your Love, written by Dixie Jones and performed by Common Thread. Just a wonderful, straight-up, no-holds-barred, you-are-the-bee's-knees-on-sliced-bread kind of love song. It's on the CD A Bushel and Peck, and it's got a sweet mix of traditional and original tunes, performed by people who really care about music. It's ten bucks well spent, and the song deserves to be heard more.

Guitar folks had an option for their Your Love solo break. Take the D shape, shown here...

...and move it up two frets.

(Up meaning towards body of the guitar.)

Doing that, and only striking the top three strings of the guitar, gives you an E chord. Move that shape up five more frets, strike only the top three strings, and you have an A chord.

In conclusion:

D shape, second fret = D

D shape, fourth fret = E

D shape, ninth fret = A

And... viola! A,D, and E are the three chords you need to play Your Love. That A is a wee bit high, but it's nice to be able to play all the chords in the song without changing the shape of your fingers.

Song #2: If I'm Still in Love With You by Hank Williams. Linda Ronstadt's version is just beautiful.

This time the challenge was thrown down to the banjo players.

Strike the third string with your thumb:  3

Strike the second string with your index finger:  2

Strike the first string with your middle finger:  1

Strike the second string with your index finger:  2

3, 2, 1, 2. Do that over and over again until it's nice and smooth like banjo butter. (Ew.) Keep the same roll pattern and hold down C and D chords. You're picking while the rest of the band is strumming. It sounded really nice Monday night!

And finally...

Song #3: You Are My Sunshine by Jimmie Davis and Charles Mitchell. I copied the lyrics and chords from Rise Up Singing, which was in D, a key that managed to be exquisitely uncomfortable for all involved. Here is the song redone in G.

That's all for the world's longest blog post! Hopefully I'll see some of you fine folks at Hammond's 219 Day tomorrow, should be a good time. If not, Monday it is!







White Ripple Community Band February 8th, 2016

Songs we covered in tonight's class--

Puff the Magic Dragon, written by Peter Yarrow and Leonard Lipton. I know I'm supposed to think of Puff's abandonment as no more than Jackie Paper growing up, but all I hear is a poor animal discarded once the kid has lost interest. Give Puff a friend at the end of the song for Pete's sake!

 

 

 

Next we did Love Train by The O'Jays so I didn't remain in despair for the rest of the night. Video of the Soul Train line always cheer me up, especially Damita Jo and Scooby-Doo around the 4:09 mark.

 

 

 

 

We'll be playing those two songs and many more at Saturday's Second Saturday event at White Ripple Gallery. There will be a wine tasting, surrealist art show, and you can have your Valentine's Day photos taken by Martin Navejas. If you've never been before, you're in for a treat! February 13th from 7-10 p.m., 6725 Kennedy Avenue, Hammond. 

 

 



It was a soulful night in early January...

White Ripple Community Band started its first class of 2016 by working on three songs. Here they are for folks to work the tunes into their heads...

Hey, Soul Sister by Train
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVpv8-5XWOI


Some Kind of Wonderful, written by John Ellison and first recorded by his band, Soul Brothers Six. It was also a hit for Grand Funk Railroad and Huey Lewis & The News in the decades to come.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51LHNriPZf4


Free to Be... You and Me by Marlo Thomas (and Friends. Lots and lots of friends.) I get sniffly when the carousel horses turn into real horses and ride off into the sunset. You can't take me anywhere.
https://youtu.be/_26FOHoaC78


White Ripple Community Band (and Friends) will be playing tomorrow's Second Saturday event at the gallery. We'll start at 7 p.m. and go until they kick us out! Feel free to bring an instrument to play and bring a song to share if you like, but most importantly bring yourself. All the artist's studios will be open that evening and there is still a chance to buy an inexpensive present or two from December's Small Works exhibit.

White Ripple Gallery & Co. is at 6725 Kennedy Avenue in Hammond, on the same block as the Kennedy Theater.