Q: What is Folkslingers?
A: Folkslingers is an open-to-the-public group music class presented by folksinger and guitar instructorSusie Coleman. Its mission is to promote the live performance of Traditional and Contemporary Folk and Gospel Music. Susie has been playing guitar since she was ten and knows hundreds of old folk and gospel tunes worth remembering. By teaching in this manner, she hopes to help other ladies who love to sing and play rhythm guitar find meaningful and powerful songs to perform.
Q: When and where do you meet?
A: We currently meet from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. the second and fourth Tuesday evening (see our calendar in the sidebar for exact dates) at the Musical Heritage Center of Middle Tennessee, an acoustic music school and performance hall in Pegram, Tennessee. We are open to forming groups in other areas; please contact Susie Coleman if you’re interested in holding a bi-weekly or monthly Folkslingers session at your local church, school or home in an area near you.
Q: How does Folkslingers work?
A: A session begins with a fundamental introduction to the chords and strumming patterns we’ll run into in the songs the group will cover that night. Soon we’re into lyrics and spend an hour or so going over three tunes we selected the prior session — one Traditional Folk Song, one Gospel Song, and one Contemporary Folk Song. We establish keys, intros, exits, walk-ups and harmonies. Once these three songs have been digested and everyone feels they have good hold on them, we hold a sing-along until 9 or 9:30. No one ever really wants to quit, but there are babies to be tucked in.
Q: Do you have to become a member or take lessons?
A: No membership is required to attend Folkslingers. If you live in the Nashville area, come when you can.
No lessons are required either. If you would like to learn the basics of playing rhythm guitar by ear, Susie has a 12-lesson course that will get you up and running. But if you can play a few chords and want to learn more, then come to the first hour of Folkslingers when we walk through new chords and strumming patterns.
For ladies who are not in this region, we are planning to offer an inexpensive online membership that gives you full access to our printable lyric sheets with chord charts, playing tips and audio files to help you learn how to play and sing the same songs we’re covering in Folkslingers. The online membership fee is a one-time fee of $15. Use the RSS feed to get all new song sheets as they are published.
Q. Do you have audio files with your lyrics?
A. Susie will be recording most of the Traditional Folk and Gospel tunes that she’s played for years. They will be in mp3 format and available for download. We’re also including direct iTunes links to multiple artists’ versions you might find inspiring.
A great song is recorded by many artists and by listening to multiple versions, we pick up ideas on how to perform the tune. Try the iTunes Music Store for the broad range of music available there. Sound snippets are available for all songs; often just hearing a short snippet on iTunes can be enough to pick up that little part you can’t quite get right. If you need to hear more, iTunes is a bargain at 99¢ a download and is usually a worthwhile investment if you want to focus on how a particular song is pulled off either vocally or rhythmically. iTunes is free and is available for both PC and Mac. iTunes plays and organizes your music library, burns CDs, feeds your iPod, and countless other cool things. CD Baby is another excellent resource to research how other singers — particularly independent artists — have expressed a particular tune; they also provide audio snippets of all recordings.
Q: I’m not a very good guitar player yet. How good do you have to be to participate?
A: Folkslingers teaches music that a woman can play on her guitar all by herself and sound great. Anyone who’s tried this knows how hard it can be. The music we all listen to on our iPods is full and vibrant, but when we attempt to mimic these songs on the guitar, it’s a train wreck. Somehow all the work we put in playing along with the record just falls flat when we try it on our own. Many girls quit, thinking they just can’t do it. Nobody told them that not all music translates well to a solo guitar.
Folkslingers attempts to provide a library of songs meant for solo rhythm guitar and the female voice.
While Folkslingers does not take the place of beginner guitar classes, if you know a few guitar chords and can make your way through a song or three, you’re probably a good candidate. Arrive at 6:30 and we’ll walk you through the chords changes you’ll be using that evening; we’ll also show you a pick-strum method that will help you keep strong, even time and is easy to master. During the jamming hour, put your guitar down and just sing along and learn the words. You’ll learn more than you realize just by being there and getting the feel of being a Folkslinger.
Q: I write folk-style songs. Can I share one at Folkslingers during the jam?
A: Songwriters are certainly heros of folksingers, including those from today’s creative climate. A great number of Contemporary Folk and Americana musicians have high potential for representing this generation and this era. However, the primary focus of Folkslingers is to learn old favorites that can be played on rhythm guitar. Our goal is connect you with the songs of our foremothers and foresisters and ask to you to carry a little of their wonderful music into the future. There are many performance outlets for songwriters in the Nashville area, but only Folkslingers concentrates on the older goodies. Everyone in the room is gathered to learn old songs; please respect their time.
Q: Are folk songs copyright-free?
A: No. While there are many, many useful folk and gospel songs from the Public Domain (songs that have no copyrights), a host of great music was written in the 50’s and 60’s that fall under copyright protection. Additional worthy tunes are composed by modern artists who write in the Folkslingers spirit — Gillian Welch, Dolly Parton, Nancy Griffith, Patty Griffin come to mind — and we will be learning some of these songs in Folkslingers. But remember if you ever record one of these contemporary tunes, you will be obligated to purchase a mechanical license from the copyright holder (FYI, performing is a different story: the owner of the performance hall is on the hook for the royalities, not you). At Folkslingers, we make a clear distinction: songs we label as Contemporary Folk Songs are copyrighted. Traditional Folk Songs are those from the Public Domain. Our collection of Gospel tunes will probably contain both copyrighted and traditional music, but weighs heavier on traditional material.
Q: Is Folkslingers free?
A: Folkslingers is led by Susie Coleman, a singer/guitarist who has been playing and singing folk music for over 45 years. A professional club and session singer from 1969 through 1984, Susie is currently a guitar and vocal instructor at the Musical Heritage Center of Middle Tennessee. These days, she’s well-known at the Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree where she’s won the folksinging contest seven times in the last 12 years, her most recent award in 2007. She’s also placed first at Uncle Dave Macon Days and has twice won the Indiana State old time singing competition. Susie brings hundreds of traditional and modern day folk songs to Folkslingers; she provides useful playing tips, lyrics, chord charts and a little history on each song if it’s available. Plus she’s our webmaster ;-).
Susie gets $20 a person for her work organizing Folkslingers; a share of those proceeds will go to support the Musical Heritage Center. She takes cash and checks; credit card payment may be made online through PayPal.
Q: Do I need to sign up each week?
A: No, you can drop in any time. It’s nice to become acquainted ahead of time, though, so if you have any questions on your mind, feel free to email Susie at susieco@comcast.net.