Make plans to join in for the last youth jam before PineCone’s Bluegrass Camps for Youth begin in June! This month, Jef Walter will be joined by guitar and mandolin player and PineCone Bluegrass Camp instructor Charles Pettee; this month’s featured song is “Mama Don’t Allow” in the key of G. In “Mama Don’t Allow” (AKA “Mama Don’t ‘Low), each player takes a solo after the verse in which his or her instrument is sung about. This song is never done quite the same way twice—in addition to “fiddle playing,” “guitar picking,” etc., you can add “clog dancing,” “yodel singing,” or just about anything you can think of!
This jam session favorite uses the I (one), IV (four) and V (five) chords; in the key of G, those chords are G, C, and D. If you’re not sure what these “chord numbers” mean exactly, no problem–that’s one thing the facilitators will review at the jam.
Please note: This month’s jam will be in the Think Tank, NOT the Zanzibar Room!
There will still be plenty of time for jamming together on a variety of other songs, too (sample song list below). Facilitator Jef Walter typically leads a few songs to get the jam started, then goes around the circle to give particpants a chance to choose a song they’d like to play. Participants are also encouraged to bring a prepared song to sing and/or play with the group, but this is not required for participation.
For those who don’t play an instrument yet, Marbles will have a build your own instrument station set up in Curiosity Square.
Sign up for e-mail updates about programs and opportunities for youth musicians; or call 919-664-8333 x4.
Directions and parking information for Marbles Kids Museum
Downtown Raleigh parking information
About the youth jam facilitators:
Jef Walter performs regularly on bass and guitar with a “who’s who” of North Carolina acoustic musicians, including Charles Pettee and the Iron Mountain Messengers. He is also the band mentor for The Carolina PineCones, a youth bluegrass band based in Raleigh. Walter will facilitate this year’s youth jams with a rotating group of special guest co-facilitators.
Special guest Charles Pettee started playing guitar and mandolin at an early age. His approach to the traditional arts of flatpicking and folk singing began during his childhood in Asheville. His distinctive mandolin style, voice, and original compositions are an essential part of the Shady Grove Band, which he co-founded 30 years ago. Pettee has hosted workshops on both guitar and mandolin technique at some of the most prestigious music festivals in the US and Europe (including MerleFest in Wilkesboro, NC and the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, KS). He also performs with Iron Mountain Messengers, and Charles Pettee & Folkpsalm, who released their fourth album, Dove on Distant Oaks, featuring all original songs by the group, in 2014; it’s also Pettee’s 13th full-length recording project. Pettee also presents school programs called “Hear the Sound,” which share the history of southern string music with audiences of all ages and cultural backgrounds. Either solo or in other musical incarnations with The Shady Grove Band or Iron Mountain Messenger, Pettee has performed more 5,000 shows in his many years as a professional musician. Mr. Pettee lives in Chapel Hill with his wife and two sons. Pettee will be the instructor for both the guitar and mandolin camps in June, as well as one of the 2017 PineCone Bluegrass Jam Camp instructors.
Songs played at past youth jams have included:
Instrumentals:
- Angeline the Baker (D)
- Arkansas Traveler (D)
- Soldiers Joy (D)
- Whiskey Before Breakfast (D)
- Liberty (D)
- Old Joe Clark (A)
- Cripple Creek (A)
- Salt Creek (A)
- Cherokee Shuffle (A)
- Blackberry Blossom (G)
- Billy in the Lowground (C)
Songs with Lyrics:
- Bury Me Beneath the Willow
- Nine Pound Hammer
- Long Journey Home
- I’ll Fly Away
- My Home’s Across the Blue Ridge Mountains
- In the Pines
Newer songs the group has worked:
- St. Anne’s Reel (featured song in April 2017) – Key of D
- In the Pines (featured song in March 2017) – Key of G
- Clinch Mountain Backstep (featured song in Feburary 2017) – Key of A
- Nine Pound Hammer (featured song in January 2017) – Key of A, Key of C
- Hot Corn, Cold Corn (featured song in December 2016) – Key of G
- Down the Road (featured song in November 2016) – Key of A
- Meet Me By the Moonlight (featured song in March 2016) – Key of G, Key of E
- (A) Worried Man Blues (featured song in February 2016)
- (D) Swallowtail Jig
- (G) June Apple
- (G) Long Journey Home ($2 Bill)
- (G) Red Clay Halo