Mickey Baker Site?

Steve Cat · #1 03-05-2010, 02:31 PM

I just got the Mickey Baker book and I seem to remember a site that used/reviewed/analyzed that book a in depth, but I can't remember where. I know there was one by a thumb picker but I thought there was another one by a student of his. I seem to remember him saying that, "Mickey really played it this way, at least that's how he taught me". Any ideas?

dwdougherty · #2 03-05-2010, 03:03 PM

Mickey Baker

Steve Cat · #3 03-05-2010, 03:10 PM

yes, that's the finger picking one I knew about, but I think there was another, maybe I'm just confused

Drumbler · #4 03-05-2010, 03:53 PM

I'd be interested if you can find it.

Steve Cat · #5 03-05-2010, 04:01 PM

I seem to remember some staves photocopied out of the book, or some book. Or, hand written notation. All notation no tabs

FatJeff · #6 03-05-2010, 10:46 PM

I think I know what you mean - did you see some of the pages in a thread here on this site? Not sure it was Micky though...

Steve Cat · #7 03-06-2010, 08:21 AM

Ya Know, you may be right.............I think it was a Freddie Green site. Confused Michael Joyce's site with the shell voicing lessons here, and the FreddieGreen.org site............all jumbled up in my head.

OOPS! sorry

Some people refer to my thinking as consorting with the enemy

Drumbler · #8 03-08-2010, 11:29 AM

Just think. Mickey Baker is still alive.

He could share a lot with us.

It's kind of a waste.

Michael_Joyce · #9 03-13-2010, 02:37 PM

Hi Mr. Cat et al;

Since my name has been brought up several times in this thread, maybe I should enter it?

My Mickey Baker Project started about 4 years ago when some folks on the Chet Atkins forum (Chetboard) complained about not knowing more than three chords and being frustrated by not knowing how to learn more. As an alumnus of Mickey's course, I came up with the idea of putting it into a music writing program with MIDI capabilities and sharing it. Mickey says throughout the course to get a book of manuscript paper and write everything in it. I'm sure in his wildest 1955 imagination that the idea of writing everything as a computer file never was even a dream.

When I finished (there are about 1600 files total), Mr. Len Collins of the Texas Fingerstyle Guitar Association came to me and offered free webspace for the project. The original name for the site was "Advanced Guitar Study Group." Their website is www.thumbpicker.com; hence, some may have noted the reference to "thumbpicking". I personally am a fingerstyle player. Let's face it: in 1955 there were no nationally known fingerstyle players. This was two years before George Van Eps' classic "Mellow Guitar" LP, 7 years before Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz's collaboration on "Jazz Samba", etc. I'm sure Mickey never gave playing jazz guitar with one's right hand fingers a second thought. So in my notes I share in each lesson, from time to time, I've added some info for a fingerstyle player... as an addition to the course, not as substitution. I truly believe that one must follow the little guitar player that resides in our minds' orchestras. Mine happens to play with his fingers. Most of my guitar heroes don't, though.

I've been pretty low key about the site. It is not a commercial site, I have not made a penny from it, nor have I tried to, or desire to. That makes it somewhat of a rarity, maybe refreshingly so. When I first posted about the Mickey Baker Site on this forum, a couple of folks were critical of it and of me because of "finger picking stigma." I asked them to go to the site and actually check it out, then let me know if they still had the same opinion. I'm happy to say that they changed their opinions to a supportive ones.

Every week I receive more and more emails from folks that have discovered the website, mostly from posts on this forum. I realize that maybe 1 out of 100 or more will actually go through the course lesson by lesson. But I did, and this site gives the evidence. From reading the emails and posts from this forum, I've concluded that there is a great big market for folks that want a jazz guitar pill- take two at night with a glass of water, and miraculously one will awake with all the chops in the world. If anyone finds a source for that pill, please let me know.

In the meanwhile, seriously check out the site, and I'm sure one will come away with no doubt that I am a disciple of Mickey's. When Mr. Cat refers to the site as "the fingerpicking one", I can't help but conclude he's been predjudiced by someone's comments, rather than checking out what the site is all about. But remember to have fun doing so!

Best regards,
Mike

Mickey Baker

Steve Cat · #10 03-14-2010, 07:30 PM

My Joyce, please accept my apology for issuing a snap judgement. This behavior is one of my many character defects, that I am well aware of; unfortunately, God has not yet chosen to remove this particular one at this time.
Allow me if you will to elaborate a little. I have done many searches of the internet for chord melodies and Bach Cello Preludes but most of the good ones, i.e., ones that I would have the facility for or are in the tuning I use are for finger picking style. That is not the style I currently wish to play and because I can tell from the tabs they are transcribed for finger style I have developed quickly pass over them.
I don't have the time, in that I'm 63, and only took up jazz chord melody in the last year and still have a certain skill with flat pick ability and which seems to not have deteriorated as much as fingerpicking. This may or may not be due to a rather heavy foray in the the world of roll, .e. pattern picking. I will probably lose some of that due to age of lack of intellectual of artistic atrophy. On a certain level, I even resent these sites although one of my favorite guitars players was/is Leo Kottke and it is not necessarily reasonable or warranted for me to have this belief.

So

I see the following, "thumbpicker.com" and "Michael Joyce and the Texas Fingerstyle Guitar Association " on the very website that came so well well endorsed and my narrow mind made the next mental leap that yes, in fact that it was another fingerpicking site. No one told me this and I was not prejudiced by anyone except my self by information listed in rather large letters in relatively large letters at the top of the very site in question.

With you assurance that this was not actually the case I did investigate further. Herbert Spenser has been quoted as saying "There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance — that principle is contempt prior to investigation." Now it is my understanding that he never actually said that but it is more likely Rev. William H. Poole that said it. Anyway it is good advice.

You site is in fact applicable to flatpicking, and even though I will not go through the whole sets of lesson I will certainly read it in much detail, and study with great interest the midi portions because I really find midi useful to me as my reading of standard notation is very slow. Thank you for taking the time to point out my error and I wish to compliment you one you very scholarly expositions of Mister Baker's most excellent which has more than stood the test of time. You should be very proud of your accomplishments. You are of great service to all of us who wish to learn from Mr. Baker but can benefit from some outside assistance.

ffej · #11 03-28-2010, 09:05 PM

"Finger-picking stigma"? I never heard of that. Are there people that consider finger-picking bad? I'm not very good at it but sure enjoy listening to people who are.

Steve Cat · #12 03-30-2010, 08:44 AM

I never said or implied anything of the sort

ffej · #13 03-30-2010, 11:35 AM

Don't know what you're referring to, Steve Cat. Somebody else, I don't think it was you, used the term "finger-picking stigma" and I was simply questioning what that meant. That's all.