Mr. Bojangles

[Michelle-PSL]

Sounds like you did great with that 3/4 time, @Alfred ! Your playing is really good. Nice job on those barre chords! And I like your ease with strumming. Well done!!! 👏👏👏

[Alfred]

Shoot, I wish it was easy, it took all my concentration, hence the mumble singing.
But thank you, I do think this was breakthrough song for me for a couple of skills that are just starting to gel a little.

[Chris_H]

Nicely played Alfred. 3/4 time has always been tough for me too, I thought you played it admirably.

[Alfred]

Thanks, when I first started to learn this song I would slip into and out of 4/4. That is something I wish I could do on purpose… maybe some day

[Philb]

That’s a great classic song. You did a great job on it!

[Alfred]

Thanks!

[ted_h]

Nice job! Your rhythm playing was great! I’m impressed that you were able to manage such solid strumming while singing!

[Alfred]

Thank you. It wasn’t easy for me mostly because of the timing and picking the baseline while strumming. It is something I would usually do with my thumb while scratching the rythm with my fingers. This time I decided to go the full monty and use the pick only.

[Fly]

That’s strange I was just googling who did this song and the history and who mr Bojangles was as I heard a Nina Simone version On the radio, and then you popped up on here doing a version. Nice job 👍

[Alfred]

I looked up the history of the song too. I thought it was about Bill Robinson, but it turns out that Jerry Jeff Walker met the man the song is about in a jail long after Bill Robinson had passed. It was a white man (I guess even jail was segregated then too) who was a drunk that would only give his name as Bo Jangles. the author would only have been 7 when the real Bojangles died of heart disease.

That being said Bill Robinson’s life is a good subject for study. Seems to have been a solid Dude and an early civil rights protagonist when it was dangerous to be so. He was the highest paid black man in the U.S. making about $3500/week at his best.

[Fly]

I got to bill Robinson didn’t delve as deep as that. I’d not actually heard the song before then it cam on the radio and then you played it.

I was Googling because I had in my head the mouse in shawshank redemption was called bo jangles and wanted to know what came first Nina Simone or shawshank. Turns out there wasn’t a mouse in shawshank and I was thinking of green Mile and the mouse wasn’t even called bojangles 😂 just a little insight into my scatter brain for you

Back on topic I also struggle keeping time in 3/4 time I’m dabbling a bit with a song that jumps from 4/4 to 3/4 time and I cant work it out yet.

[KevinZ]

Can relate @Alfred the 3/4 time songs have always been hard for me also and I learned a picking pattern that helped me but like you have to work hard not to slip into 4/4 time but I keep pickin someday hope to do it without a thought so I can put more feeling into the vocals and not mess up the words. Nice job I have no doubt it will get easier for you also the more you try 3/4 time. If you are like me I wish I could snap my fingers and play any song the way my head says I want to but things don’t work that way only in the movies or on tv Ha Ha so keep at it and best of luck on your music journey.

[Alfred]

Thanks Kevin!

I had a finger picking pattern or two figured out for this song, but decided to try to strum it because in this case it was the hard way for me. It’s nice to know you have faced this struggle too! It’s encouraging to hear from someone who has tackled the same thing successfully. One day we will both be able to just play whatever we want with enough practice!

[Jill_M]

Wow that was great! @Alfred ! 👏👏

[Alfred]

Thank You @Jill_M

[NorCal_Nolan]

Looks to me like all that effort and energy has paid off. Great job @Alfred !

[Alfred]

Thanks