Chinese Breakdown

Bobby playing a great old fiddle tune called Chinese Breakdown. Alex is playing guitar and I'm playing the fiddle off camera to the right. After listening back to the video, I regret ATTEMPTING to find a harmony note while Bobby was playing. If I had planned on posting, I'd have kept quiet.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• fiddle
• tunes
• tune
• old
• time
• bluegrass
• chinese
• breakdown
• bobby
• kerns

[MMISSOURICLEM]

I love that sound! Authentic old-time fiddlin'. Just what I wanted to learn this song. Thanks for posting it.

MMISSOURICLEM

[mandlnpickr]

Thanks for the kind words. I think Bobby is as authentic as it gets. He'll tell you he plays just the way his father and grandfather played. I'm trying to learn as much as I can from him. Have a great day.

[TheEarthQueen]

is this bobby kerns of piedmont alabama?

[mandlnpickr]

The one and only.  Do you know him?

[Wolfieloveslink]

Yo, I can play that! :P

[sundowner19]

The only similarity to Ragtime Annie is the key it's played in. The melodies are totally different as well as the tempo.Try playing Chinese Breakdown while listening to Ragtime Annie and you'll soon see there's no comparison.

[guzza72]

great job you guys, that was really enjoyable. :))

[splashbackstringband]

great fiddle playing - i love old time music....

[BorsvicDrozdal]

exactly. thats the way music, even modern, has always worked, people repeat and enjoy harmonies they've heard before, what they're used to and have grown up with. When something sounds a little more exciting, its because theyre tweaking those harmonies.

We play a chinese breakdown and ragtime annie in Britain as well that both have similar frames but slightly different tunes, if that makes sense. which is what makes playing music with other people a laugh and a challenge.

[frankwilliams987]

ok in the "turnaround" part (0:33, 1:06, 1:39 etc) instead of going 4 and then 5, you should try 4 and then root for a bar. just to see what it sounds like...

[TheEarthQueen]

yeah we live on the farm as the caretakers i guess that's what u could call us.

[gpbutera]

how insightful..