sbhikes’s five hundred and forty-six comments

In the American old-time world, and not being a backer myself, I will tell backers the tune is in D major and if you hear anything that sounds weird, it's probably a C chord so try that first. But I think I get what you are asking. Sometimes there are tun... more…

If you can learn by ear on the fly but you forget it instantly, maybe what you should do is make recordings and then just remind yourself how it goes with a short listen before you play. You can probably practice at home the process of reminding yourself ... more…

Bring a recording device when you go. If you have an iphone the voice memo app works great for catching the tunes for learning at home. Ask first before you start recording. more…

Ha ha my mandolin is almost never in tune. And my fiddle is almost always in tune. And my ukulele is truly never not in tune. I almost never need to tune it. more…

I'm not sure what a flutophone is, but if it's got a hole for your right pinky, it's kind of almost a D instrument. Because a whistle or Irish flute would be a C instrument if it had a hole for your right pinky. I know the fingering is not going to be the... more…

I think I was the person who made the inquiry about your old mandolin recordings that inspired this whole thing. I totally butchered your name, and I'm sorry. I had to go from memory only. Anyway, thank you for putting up a new site with more tunes for in... more…

Hey Gobby, you might enjoy the song It's Christmas Once Again in Santa Barbara. You could probably change some words to make it work for Australia. It's an annoying tune, too, just like a lot of Christmas songs. more…

Just get the low D if that's your goal. There's no need for baby-steps toward it. more…

The tune you linked to, Maid Behind the Bar, tends to have a stronger accent on the first note of each measure of 8 and a weaker accent or none at all on the 5th note. At least that is how I have heard it. Not all tunes that look the same written out are ... more…

Somewhere I have a Bb fife. You're supposed to play the fife in the top two octaves. The bottom two octaves have the same fingering as a whistle or Irish flute. The third octave has different fingerings. I have only ever played the lower two octaves. I al... more…