How to Play Orange Blossom Special - Free Fiddle Lesson
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- More lessons by Vi Wickam and other teachers at www.myTalentFor...
Sheet Music to Orange Blossom Special, and hundreds of other fiddle lessons are available at my Talent Forge!
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Here's a video of Vi playing Orange Blossom Special:
• Orange Blossom Special...
Orange Blossom Special According to Wikipedia
The fiddle tune "Orange Blossom Special," about the passenger train of the same name, was written by Ervin T. Rouse (1917-1981) in 1938. The original recording was created by Ervin and Gordon Rouse in 1939. It is often called simply The Special. It has been referred to as the fiddle player's national anthem.[citation needed]\
Importance
By the 1950s, it had become a perennial favorite at bluegrass festivals, popular for its rousing energy. For a long time no fiddle player would be hired for a bluegrass band unless he could play it.
For many years, Orange Blossom Special has been not only a train imitation piece, but also a vehicle to exhibit the fiddler's pyrotechnic virtuosity. Performed at breakneck tempos and with imitative embellishments that evoke train wheels and whistles, OBS is guaranteed to bring the blood of all but the most jaded listeners to a quick, rolling boil.
-Norm Cohen, author, Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong
Authorship
Rouse copyrighted the song before the Orange Blossom Special ever came to Jacksonville. Wise did not write it although he claimed for years that he did. Rouse, a mild mannered man who lived deep in the Everglades never contested it as it was not in his character. Years later, Johny Cash learned of Rouse and brought him to Miami to play the song at one of his concerts. Check out the RUclips video of Gene Christian, a fiddler for Bill Monroe who knew both men and soundly confirms that Rouse wrote and copyrighted the song, not Wise.
Other musicians, including Robert Russell "Chubby" Wise, have claimed authorship of the song. As Chubby tells the story, he and fellow musician Ervin decided to visit the Jacksonville Terminal in Florida to tour the Orange Blossom Special train.
. . even though it was about three in the morning we went right into the Terminal and got on board and toured that train, and it was just about the most luxurious thing I had ever seen. Ervin was impressed, too. And when we got done lookin' er over he said, 'Let's write a song about it.' So we went over to my place . . and that night she was born. Sitting on the side of my bed. We wrote the melody in less than an hour, and called it Orange Blossom Special. Later Ervin and his brother put some words to it.
Rouse copyrighted the song in 1938 and recorded it in 1939. Bill Monroe, regarded by many as "the father of bluegrass music," recorded the song (with Art Wooten on fiddle) and made it a hit. Since then countless versions have been recorded, among them Chubby's own, as an instrumental in a 1969 album, Chubby Wise and His Fiddle. And that version, said Chubby, "is the way it was written and the way it's supposed to be played."[1]
Notable versions
Johnny Cash named his 1965 album after the song. While bluegrass performers tend to play it as strictly an instrumental, Cash sang the lyrics, and replaced the fiddle parts with two harmonicas and a saxophone.
The Moody Brothers' Grammy nominated country instrumental "The Great Train Song Medley" featured their father Dwight Moody playing fiddle on "Orange Blossom Special".[2]
A version by Doug Kershaw peaked at #9 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada in 1970.
Charlie McCoy recorded a harmonica-led cover of the song that peaked at #26 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 1973.
Noted session artist Tim Watson is famous for performing the song with his band, Black Creek, in imitation of a semi-trailer truck rather than a locomotive.
The song was covered by Swedish instrumental rock band The Spotnicks in 1961 and released on their first album, The Spotnicks in London - Out-a-Space!. In 1962 the Spotnicks recording entered the British Top 30.
Charlie Daniels' 1974 Platinum album Fire On The Mountain. contains a live performance recorded at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee on October 4, 1974.
E.L.O. also covered the song in their early shows.
I want to learn this for my grandpa so this is so helpful
I'm glad you are getting to learn it! :D
Awesome 👍.. I assumed into your fingers at the beginning of for the lick
EXCELLENT THANKS A MILLION FOR ALL THE GREAT TIPS, GREAT TEACHING GUY!!
You're welcome, Clyde!
I just discovered your channel as well as this style of fiddle playing. I've mostly been playing Irish music but I wanted to branch out. Keep up the great work!
Thanks +quitefranklybb ! If you are interested in full lessons with sheet music and play along tracks, you might want to check out our website.
Thanks so much! You saved my life with this lesson. I need to play this in two days!!
You're welcome, Fiona. How did your performance go?
[my] Talent Forge well I did it well enough to get through it but there’s still room for improvement! The band is doing the Johnny Cash version instead of the pure Fiddle version so it’s a lot slower and less improvisation needed. That helped a lot! But I didn’t find that out till I got to the rehearsal. Really appreciate your help though. Thanks again!
You're welcome. I'm happy to help!
My pleasure. Best of luck going forward!
I don’t even own a fiddle but this was a great lesson!
That's high praise, D-Ro. Thanks!
Gotta get my fiddle out and learn this song. It is complex in it's simplicity and he breaks it down so well.
The best damn OBS lesson I've seen. I've struggling with this song (especially the Hockum bowing) for 3 years now. Finally got it and you are right; can't take my fiddle out of the case before someone yells "Orange Blossom Special" Thanks man! Love ya!
Thanks, Jimmy. I'm glad that I could help you! :)
Awesome variations. Thank you
You're welcome, Victor!
Awesome...…. Guess I have to play it now....
great instrumental.
I guess so. ;) Good luck with it, Susan! You can do it.
My Dad is 94 now and I want to play this for his 95th birthday. I think with your help I will accomplish it... Thanks You SJ
Thank you Vi for putting some much work into this lesson. You've explained several options for each part and that's very helpful. Was on a train recently and you know how when they approach an intersection they signal : One long blow on the whistle , two short , one long ? I'm going try to put that into the E7 section :-)
You're welcome. I hope you enjoy working this tune up and playing with the different options that are available! :)
Hello. This is excellent material. My fiddle daughter is busy now wood shedding. I wish you could do more on backup. I am trying to transcribe a Berline shuffle backup in the Rollin My Sweet Baby's Arms by Earl and Tom T. It occurs at about 1:12. Where can I find a breakdown of this style?
I managed to figure it out by ear, ty for the help though!
Excellent! You're welcome!
Excellent lesson .... thanks!
You're welcome!
You're welcome!
Excellent lesson
Thanks, Jerry!
Can you show your fingerings on the fiddle more? They were cut off on the bottom of the screen.
I love his intro
Thank you, Robert!
fuck yeah boy
After the transition when u start going into the shuffle part, what are u playing exactly as in like what frets on what strings exactly
Hi Yonder. Thanks for your question. It is a walkdown from an e chord alternating between G#BE and EBE (d string, a string, e string), walking down EB DA C#E BE AE. If this isn't clear, we do have sheet music to this lesson posted on our site for subscribers as part of the full lesson: www.mytalentforge.com/lessons/orange-blossom-special-2/
these types of lessons are hilarious. "sooo..... (plays double stops at light speed)"
You teach? Email please?
Hi Sean, please go to MyTalentForge.com or ViTheFiddler.com and you can use the contact form. I don't post my email address publicly.
13:40 "so"
Fuckin Chad
Vamp?
Vamp refers to a repeated pattern, usually in the accompaniment. In this case, the rhythm section plays an E chord through the entire first section. That is the vamp. The fiddler then improvises over the vamping rhythm section. Thanks for asking. :)
Charlie Daniels plays it best
No Michael Cleveland is best!
he talks too much .... bla bla bla. 35 min video for 5 minutes real playing WTF
It's called teaching