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columnHeader The caller on the other end asks if I would be available to play banjo along with a youth choir. They are going to do a song called Cripple Creek and she wondered if I knew it. I explained that the tune was one of the first songs most banjo players learn, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

Then the nineteen-page score came in the mail. I’m out for 17 measures, in for 8, out for 24, in for 48. Plus, it’s in the key of D. So, you’re thinking “just put the capo on the 7th fret.” OK, then how am I going to play the parts that switch to the keys of G, C and C#? Add to this that they sometimes sang four A parts in a row, a couple of measures only have two beats while the rest have four, and what once was a routine, simple piece became very challenging.

photoEddieTo her credit, the director was very well organized, had the kids up on their parts and was able to clue me enough as to what she was looking for, that it became my job to just add some “authenticity” to an Appalachian tune performed in a very formal setting. The end result was great with the kids displaying a lot of enthusiasm while managing their various parts nicely.

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