Well, I finally caved in and bought Eight Songs, so I now know that this bears only a fair resemblance to what's in there. So it is with a clear Pi"... Patrick R. Schwemmer Oberlin College 1/27/1 ============ "Machine #2" ------------ By Leo Kottke Transcribed from Mudlark and Standing in my Shoes by Patrick Schwemmer (with help from Alan Korpardy) pschwemm@hotmail.com 4/20/99 ============
Introduction: ============= This has always been one of my favorite tunes--it's one of the ones, the Mudlark versions especially, that are really totally outside any genre but the one called Kottke. It wasn't until I was at my dad's antique shop in Princeton (WI) watching a friend of his, that I actually saw someone play it (I've been meaning to get Home and Away so I can figure out all those songs more easily--I don't know if this is on there or not). The guy's name is Alan Korpardy, and he's a lawyer from Madison, I think; a friend of Kottke's, I hear. He and Patrick Jennings have an album called Traveler; it's not bad at all--they play two Kottke songs, "Fisherman" and "Stealing", and Alan won a fingerstyle guitar contest at which Kottke was a judge for his song, "Traveler", way back when he was sixteen (a year younger than I am now, incidentally). My favorite of his is "The Victory Dance of St. Thomas Aquinas". I don't think the CD is in stores or anything; he gave my dad a whole bunch of them to try and sell--so if you want one, you'll just have to come to my dad's store. :) Well, anyway, Alan played what he had figured out of it on the old Martin we have (which my dad has purposely marked so high that nobody'll ever buy it), and that was sort of the impetus behind this tab (hence the plug for his album). This was made much easier by having the version ("Vaseline Machine Gun") on Standing In My Shoes, in which it's played at half speed (completely butchering the song, IMHO, but making it quite useful to anyone trying to transcribe "Machine #2"). Also, any fan of Kottke really ought to check out Bruce Head's site Bruce seems quite squeamish about putting new TABS up at his site.) Instrument Specificatons: ========================= 12-String Guitar (6-string sounds fine, too) Open G Tuning (DGDgBd) down 3 half steps (Technically an Open E) Standing In My Shoes version is down a whole step (Open F) Slide used (but you can get get some nice (and different) grooves without one, too) Unusual Tab Notation: ===================== On or around notes: ------------------- (#) = ghost note--it is fretted and will make some sound, but is not plucked (written for clarity) # = stacatto--release LH pressure to stop sound right after playing Above Line: ----------- >= accent SsSsSsSsSs = use slide Right-Hand Fingerings (Below Line): ----------------------------------- 1 = thumb 2 = index 3 = middle 4 = ring 5 = chuck pink # = strum w/ finger indicated ~ Repeats: -------- / SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsS |-------12--------------10---------|-------5---------------7-------7--| |/12--------12------10-------------|-5-----------------7-------7------| |-----0-------0-------0-----0------|-----5-----5---------7-------7----| |-----------------------------0----|-------------5/-------------------| |-0-------0-------0-------0--------|-5-------5------/7-------7--------| |----------------------------------|----------------------------------| 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . > > SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsS |-------7-------7--|-------10\-----8\------3----------| |---7-------7------|/10--------8-------3-------3---3--| |-----7-------7----|-----10------8-------3-------3----| |------------------|----------------------------------| |-7-------7--------|/10-----\8------\3-------3--------| |------------------|----------------------------------| 1 . + . 2 . + . 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . > > > > SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsS |----------------------------------|-------10\-----8\------3----------| |-------10\-----8-------12--12--0--|/10--------8-------3-------3---3--| |---10------8-----------12--12--0--|-----10------8-------3-------3----| |-----10------8------/12------12---|----------------------------------| |/10-----\8-------0-------12-------|/10-----\8------\3-------3--------| |----------------------------------|----------------------------------| 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . > > > > > > > > SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsS |----------------------------------|------------------| |-------10------8-------12--12--0--|*------12--12--0-*| / Play |---10------8-----------12--12--0--|-------12--12--0--| > > > > > SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsS |----------------------------------|----------------------------------| |----------------------------------|----------------------------------| |---0--/5---5---0---0--/5---5---0--|---0--/5---5---0---0---0---0---0--| |----------------------------------|----------------------------------| |-0---0---5---5---0---0---5---5----|-0---0---5---5---0---0---0---0----| |----------------------------------|----------------------------------| 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . |----------------------------------|----------------------------------| |----------------------------------|----------------------------------| |---0---0-----------0---0---0---0--|---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0--| |----------------------------------|----------------------------------| |-0---0---0-------0---0---0---0----|-0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0----| |-----------0h2--------------------|----------------------------------| 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . Never did transcribe that middle part. Sorry. Some Technical Notes: ===================== The first thing I noticed, when trying to tab the intro of this song, was that there was some very elaborate, underlying right-hand pattern which you pluck over what you fret. The latter was the easy part to figure out, and that for which Alan was most helpful: |----------------------------------| |----------------------------------| |---.-----.---------.-----.--------| |h4/5--h4/5------h4/5--h4/5--------| |---.-----.---------.-----.--------| |h4/5--h4/5------h4/5--h4/5--------| 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . But just what do you pluck over that? At first I thought it was this: |----------------------------------| |----------------------------------| |----------------------------------| |----------------------------------| |----------------------------------| \ |---.-----.---------.-----.--------| |---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0--|===>|(4)5---4(5)0---0(4)5---4(5)0---0--| |----------------------------------| / |---.-----.---------.-----.--------| |-0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0----| |-4(5)0(4)5---0---4(5)0(4)5---0----| 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 But I could plainly hear Gs (or whatever they are when he tunes down) droning in the background on the recording, so I tried using the same RH pattern as in measure 8: |----------------------------------| |----------------------------------| |----------------------------------| |----------------------------------| |-----0-------0-------0-------0----| \ |---.-0---.---0-----.-0---.---0----| |---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0--|===>|(4)5---4(5)0---0(4)5---4(5)0---0--| |-0-------0-------0-------0--------| / |-0-.-----0-------0-.-----0--------| |-0-------0-------0-------0--------| |-4(5)-(4)5-------4(5)-(4)5--------| 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . 1 2 3 2 1 2 3 2 1 2 3 2 1 2 3 2 ~ ~ ~ ~ I decided this sounded the most like the recording, but another possibility which I investigated and which you may want to try out is as follows: |----------------------------------| |----------------------------------| |----------------------------------| |----------------------------------| |-----0-------0-------0-------0----| \ |---.-0---.---0-----.-0---.---0----| |-----0-------0-------0-------0----|===>|(4)5-0-4(5)--0--(4)5-0-4(5)--0----| |---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0--| / |---0---0-.-0---0---0---0-.-0---0--| |-0-------0-------0-------0--------| |-4(5)-(4)5-------4(5)-(4)5--------| 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . 1 2 4 2 1 2 4 2 1 2 4 2 1 2 4 2 3 3 3 3 Or you could just go for the whole shebang and play this: |----------------------------------| |----------------------------------| |----------------------------------| |----------------------------------| |---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0--| \ |---0---0-.-0---0---0---0-.-0---0--| |---0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0--|===>|(4)5---4(5)0---0(4)5---4(5)0---0--| |-0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0----| / |-0-.-0---0---0---0---0---0---0----| |-0---0---0---0---0---0---0---0----| |-4(5)0(4)5---0---4(5)0(4)5---0----| 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 3 ~ 2 ~ 2 ~ 2 ~ 2 ~ 2 ~ 2 ~ 2 ~ 2 It gets to the point where it becomes less a matter of exactly what Leo plays on the record(s) and more a matter of what you like or what you can come up with--and this TAB becomes less a rigid piece of sheet music and more a make-your-own-arrangement kit. Whenever I sit down with a piece of TAB I've found on the internet, I almost always immediately disagree with a lot of things: the rhythms are completely unfeasbile or the notation leaves too little to the imagination (the antithesis of one of Leo's most effective stylistic elements), for example. I have to wonder if you'll find similar qualms with my TAB when you read it. Well, if so, play it however you want (at least I'll have gotten you started); it may very well be that there's no wrong way to play Kottke. Also, when you're learning the chorus--if you want to get that really low-to-the-ground Kottke sound--use thumb alternation; your right-hand thumb should bounce back and forth between whichever bass notes which are being alternated between: |-------12--------------10---------|-------5---------------7----------| |/12--------12------10-------------|-5-----------------7-------7------| |-----0-------0-------0-----0------|-----5-----5---------7-------7----| |-----------------------------0----|-------------5/-------------------| |-0-------0-------0-------0--------|-5-------5------/7-------7--------| |----------------------------------|----------------------------------| 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . 1 . + . 2 . + . 3 . + . 4 . + . 3 4 3 3 4 3 3 4 3 3 4 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 patrick schwemmer