Hello all you fiddlers and pickers!
 
Your new lesson for the week is New Camptown Races. New Camptown Races is a mandolin hoedown in the key of Bb written by mandolinist Frank Wakefield. It’s a good intermediate to advanced level tune, and has a cool 2nd part that goes to the G minor. As usual I included standard notation and TAB sheet music, as well as an audio file to download. Remember that mandolin TABS use fret numbers instead of finger numbers! Gold Members can stream this lesson in the Gold Members area, and Silver Members can download it for $5 in the STORE. Enjoy!
 
I PLAY NEW CAMPTOWN RACES AS A TUNE OF CHOICE AT THE NATIONAL FIDDLE CONTEST
 

 
I've also added two new tunes to the Sheet Music Area of the STORE -- "Big Ball's in Cowtown" and "El Charro Waltz". Both sheet music transcriptions can be purchased by Gold Members for $3, Silver Members for $5.
 
Big Ball's in Cowtown -- A great Gold Member request! Big Ball's in Cowtown is a classic Bob Wills tune which was eventually recorded and made doubly famous by the great country singer, George Strait. Bob Wills loved to make fiddling the center of attention in his tunes and this one is no exception, featuring a fiddle break to open it, close it, and several times in between. I dug up my old Bob Wills records and actually found two nice versions of the fiddle break from two different albums, so I've included both of them for you. Both have standard notation, TAB, and an audio file. Two for the price of one!
 
El Charro Waltz -- I’m soooo excited that someone requested this waltz. El Charro Waltz is a waltz in D that my brother wrote, and it has a wonderful Mexican flavor to it. I’ve actually included 2 transcriptions — one is the basic melody and the other is a more advanced version with some double stops and frills suitable for contests. Both have standard notation, TAB, and an audio file. Two for the price of one!
 
MY FINAL ROUND AT WEISER -- I PLAY EL CHARRO WALTZ AS MY WALTZ