Mandolin Song Breakdown: East Tennessee Blues

Time for another “song I should know but never learned”. Today’s mandolin song breakdown focuses on East Tennessee Blues (sometimes called East Tennessee Rag).

I first heard this tune done by Adam Steffey a while back. It’s a great tune that I liked, but just wasn’t called a lot in jams so I never really learned it. I decided to change that this week and dive into this tune.

If you like this breakdown or have any questions, please leave a comment below.

Sheet music for East Tennessee Blues

• Melody Only
• Harmony Only
• Melody and Harmony (available for purchase at Matt C Bruno Store)

Listen to East Tennessee Blues

You know the drill – the first step of learning is listening, so here’s some suggestions.

• Adam Steffey
• Doc Watson & Grisman
• Doc Watson & Bill Monroe
• Herschel Sizemore
• David Grisman

There’s a ton of records on this tune, so really dive into them when you can. I love playing this tune in a straight ahead bluegrass fashion, but I also really like how Grisman’s version adds some jazzy chord changes (like the 6 2 5 1 at the end of the form).

Form

Technically this is an AABB tune but the A and B parts are identical from a chord stand point. The melodies for the A and B are slightly different to start, but end almost identical as well. For the most part, you can treat this tune as just a single part for the rhythm side.

Scales

Generally this song is played in C though I’ve heard it played in D as well. Personally I like this song in C better! I would suggest starting with the standard key (C) and then as an exercise, trying it in D.

C major and C major pentatonic scales work really well over the progression. Also, since the main melody includes chromatic runs, adding in the chromatic notes to connect some of the scale tones can be a great idea for soloing.

Melody and Chords

The melody of this tune is really fun and bouncy. I love how the melody just moves through the progression on this tune so much! I suggest starting on the basic melody and chords. Once you have that down, check out the alternate voicing options on the chart available at Matt C Bruno Store which has 2 voicing options for both melody and harmony lines. Eventually the main goal is to be able to blend the different voicings together.

With this tune, while the open and first closed positions are easier to play, I found that learning the main melody higher on the neck (the “high position” melody in my chart) made a bit more sense to me. What I mean is it was easier to see how the notes connected in part because the main riffs for the C and F are on one string. If you are struggling with this tune, that might be a good way to break through.

Harmony

While not a super common tune, having a harmony line ready is always a good idea. Here’s a basic idea.

Notes on Solo breaks

Since the A and B parts are nearly identical from a rhythm standpoint, as a soloist, you’ll need to make sure you highlight the differences. That means paying attention to how the main melody is played – like what are the most common / important themes and etc. This is a good practice for any tune, but especially when the the A and B parts are similar and potential for getting lost in the progression is high.

Wrap Up

I hope you enjoyed this dive in to East Tennessee Blues. If you’d like to take a deeper dive into this song or any other tune click here for information on private coaching. Do you like the free content I’m providing? If you do, considering donating to my site here – donations really help keep things going!

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