If you happen to look at the little “Tunes of the Week” section on the right side of this blog, you may have noticed that “Winder Slide” has overstayed its welcome and become a Tune of the Month--and perhaps will earn its place as a Tune of the Season in due time. It’s not that I haven’t learned any other tunes this month. It’s not that I haven’t been able to pick up the basic melody of this tune and play along in jams. It’s a matter of stubbornness.
“Winder Slide” drew me in the first time I heard it at a late-night jam around the fire at Rustic Roots. Before collapsing in my sleeping bag that night, I scribbled down “Winder Slide” in a little notebook my fairy godmother gave me, where I keep lists of tunes learned and tunes to learn. A month later, I found Lucy Wise’s recording (the link on this page), and was both intrigued and haunted by her graceful old-time bowing, the rhythm, and her use of double-stops. Now, with most tunes, I learn a basic beginner-friendly version, practice it for a few days, add it to the list, and enjoy playing along when it comes up at jams. But I watched Lucy’s clip over and over again and decided that I must learn this tune just as she plays it. This is much like the way Rayna Gellert, who wrote the tune, plays it in her album, "Ways of the World."
My first attempts were rather pathetic. There was the basic melody to catch by ear, then the syncopated rhythm, and all those fast old timey tricks she does with her bow that I haven’t learned how to do yet. After the first week of failed attempts, a friend went through the recording with me and translated the technical elements, demonstrating them slowly so that, at least, I understood what she was doing, despite not being able to replicate it. I practiced a few more days and gave up on the song for two weeks.
When I revisited Lucy Wise’s clip after the hiatus and attempted to play it, I discovered with great surprise that I could actually do it. Well, slowly and with some rough patches, that is. And so I return to it as a treat while practicing every day, although I still don’t quite have it.
Last Monday at the Salem Jamlet on the pier, someone called “Winder Slide.” I leaned in towards the strongest fiddle so I could listen the first time through. They were playing a simpler version, which I quickly picked it up and began playing with the group. I think this simpler version is one that would be sufficient for playing along at any jam.
But I cannot let go of the more complex, beautiful, haunting version of “Winder Slide” and perhaps one day I will play it like Lucy Wise. My students have recently been studying the Renaissance explorers and we were all fascinated by Henry the Navigator, who spent twelve years attempting to get a voyage to round Africa’s elusive Cape of Bojador. With patience and encouragement, he sent one expedition after another into the great unknown until his goal was reached. Even if "Winder Slide" takes twelve years, what a joyful activity to carry through the next decade!
