Charlotte Folk Society Slow Jam - June 15th - Key of A

Each month during the warmer seasons, the Charlotte Folk Society offers an instrumental Slow Jam at the Carl J. McEwen Historic Village located in downtown Mint Hill, North Carolina. This jam is a one hour precursor to the regular Mint Hill Old Time Jam that has been meeting at the historic village for years! May through September, we'll start at 10:00 in the morning out in front of the Ira V Ferguson Country Store building. Following the Slow Jam, the regular Mint Hill Old Time Jam cranks up offering a couple more hours of round robin style playing of songs and tunes.

While we're out ”under the trees,” it may be a good idea to bring along your favorite jamming chair! Also, in keeping with the historical and compact nature of the gorgeous outdoor facility, this setting is not ideal for pets, amplified instruments, or unattended children.

The goal of the Slow Jam is to have a nurturing environment where those new to jamming can get their feet wet. We've selected a "core" group of common Old Time tunes that you can count on being played. Listed below, if you become familiar with these you'll be in good shape to join us for an hour of casual slow playing just prior to the regular monthly Mint Hill Jam!

There are a lot of tunes here, that's so we can have some variety. Each month we begin with a different key; playing the tunes in one key always seems to fill the time and let's those that play in specific tunings the freedom to set up in advance and stay there all evening. We'll go through these in the order listed below. For beginners who might think this is too many to learn completely, the tunes at the top of each list are the easiest. The mp3 and midi samples, and the music/chords, are offered only as examples for those who need them. If you know a different version, as long as we're in the same key that should be fine.

Some general resources to learn new tunes:

• Hetzler's Fakebook
• Pegram Jam site (Here's their "Recipe for a Happy Jam")
• The All-In-One Old Time Jam Book from Celestial Music
• Wayne Erbsen's Instructional Books
• Chords to folk songs
• Traditional Music Library
• Jay Buckey's free tab for many instruments
• List of tunes from New Mexico Folk Music and Dance Society
• Great website from Seattle area to learn fiddle music. Lots of slow mp3s!

  In addition to these resources, it is also recommended to acquire "The Amazing Slow Downer" from http://www.ronimusic.com/ as a practicing aid as you learn to play. (note-CFS has no business or organizational relationship with Roni Music) This easy to use tool has helped millions learn to play their instruments, and is fun to work with!

Click here for our observations on Old Time Music Slow Jams!