{"id":145759,"date":"2024-11-20T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-20T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/?p=145759"},"modified":"2024-11-20T08:32:42","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T16:32:42","slug":"learn-a-challenging-arrangement-of-spotted-pony-by-the-late-great-guitarist-dudley-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/learn-a-challenging-arrangement-of-spotted-pony-by-the-late-great-guitarist-dudley-hill\/","title":{"rendered":"Tackle a Challenging Arrangement of \u201cSpotted Pony\u201d by the Late, Great Guitarist Dudley Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"flatpicking guitar repertoire dudley hill alan barnosky spotted pony\" width=\"1290\" height=\"726\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aZxx1OD_MjY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Dudley Hill was an eclectic guitarist from Washington state, well known among traditional swing and gypsy jazz circles, and a founding member of the internationally celebrated band Pearl Django. A wide net of esteemed guitarists have praised Hill\u2019s playing, including Scott Nygaard, who called him \u201cone of the best guitarists I\u2019ve known,\u201d and Greg Ruby, who told me, \u201cHe could swing like nobody else.\u201d But before becoming involved in the jazz scene, Hill was first a flatpicker. He released one fantastic solo album, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YZL2gS\">From a Northern Family<\/a><\/em> (1976), that featured a cast of great musicians including renowned fiddler Benny Thomasson. It\u2019s a wonderful record, and in my opinion, one of the finest examples of fiddle music arranged for guitar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If Hill\u2019s name sounds familiar, it may be because I featured his story in the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/collections\/back-issues\/products\/no-327-march-april-2021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">March\/April 2021 issue<\/a> of this magazine. In that column I described Hill\u2019s unique arrangement of \u201cSally Ann,\u201d which uses an open-G tuning. There is much more that can be gleaned from the record. One of my personal favorite tracks is the second on the A side, the traditional Missouri fiddle tune \u201cSpotted Pony.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"713\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Dudley-Hill-and-Mark-O-Connor-Photo-by-Marty-OConnor-from-Mark-OConnors-book-A-Musical-Childhood-in-Pictures.jpg?resize=1024%2C713&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Dudley-Hill-and-Mark-O-Connor-Photo by Marty O'Connor from Mark O'Connor's book A Musical Childhood in Pictures.\" class=\"wp-image-145762\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Dudley-Hill-and-Mark-O-Connor-Photo-by-Marty-OConnor-from-Mark-OConnors-book-A-Musical-Childhood-in-Pictures.jpg?resize=1024%2C713&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Dudley-Hill-and-Mark-O-Connor-Photo-by-Marty-OConnor-from-Mark-OConnors-book-A-Musical-Childhood-in-Pictures.jpg?resize=500%2C348&amp;ssl=1 500w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Dudley-Hill-and-Mark-O-Connor-Photo-by-Marty-OConnor-from-Mark-OConnors-book-A-Musical-Childhood-in-Pictures.jpg?resize=768%2C534&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Dudley-Hill-and-Mark-O-Connor-Photo-by-Marty-OConnor-from-Mark-OConnors-book-A-Musical-Childhood-in-Pictures.jpg?resize=300%2C209&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Dudley-Hill-and-Mark-O-Connor-Photo-by-Marty-OConnor-from-Mark-OConnors-book-A-Musical-Childhood-in-Pictures.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Dudley Hill and Mark O&#8217;Connor, Photo by Marty O&#8217;Connor from Mark O&#8217;Connor&#8217;s book &#8216;A Musical Childhood in Pictures&#8217;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Hill\u2019s rendition of \u201cSpotted Pony\u201d sounds straightforward but is deceptively tricky: the phrases start and end in places you don\u2019t expect, and the notes twist and swirl around each other in ways that the fingers don\u2019t always agree with. There are a lot of jumps between strings\u2014for example, bar 15 covers five of the six strings all within a single measure. This is not an easy tune to play, so make sure to take it slow, memorizing one measure at a time and giving it the dedication that it deserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe title=\"From A Northern Family [1976] - Dudley Hill\" width=\"1290\" height=\"968\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JfvKEhXUgNg?start=89&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Hill\u2019s recording places the capo on the third fret, resulting in the key of Eb, but most fiddlers will play this tune in D, so I\u2019d recommend learning it with capo at the second fret. Notice that the A section is all in the open position (open strings and frets 1\u20134), and largely outlines the shape of an open C chord. The beginning of the B section uses a slide with the third finger along the fourth string to transition to the third position (frets 3\u20136) for one measure before quickly returning to the open position in bar 11.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The goal for the right hand is alternating picking, where downstrokes are used to strike the string on the beats and upstrokes are used in between the beats (pick directions are provided in the notation). There are a number of slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs throughout, and these fretting-hand techniques help give the right hand a little bit of a break. These slurs are how Hill plays the tune on the record, but you may choose to drop them or add more depending on your own preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ruby, who played alongside Hill for several years in Pearl Django, says that Hill continued finding musical inspiration up until his untimely passing in 2005, and that he would spend nearly all his gig money at festivals purchasing CDs from other artists. Let\u2019s pay this same high level of respect back to Hill by resurrecting his album and finding some inspiration in these timeless tunes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"756\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/AG349-PK-SPOTTED-PONY-NOTATION.png?resize=756%2C1024&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-145764\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/AG349-PK-SPOTTED-PONY-NOTATION.png?resize=756%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 756w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/AG349-PK-SPOTTED-PONY-NOTATION.png?resize=369%2C500&amp;ssl=1 369w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/AG349-PK-SPOTTED-PONY-NOTATION.png?resize=768%2C1040&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/AG349-PK-SPOTTED-PONY-NOTATION.png?resize=222%2C300&amp;ssl=1 222w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/AG349-PK-SPOTTED-PONY-NOTATION.png?w=1079&amp;ssl=1 1079w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 756px) 100vw, 756px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/products\/no-349-nov-dec-2024\" name=\"magazine\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 198px; margin: 0px 20px 10px 0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/001_349_Cover-150px.jpg?w=1290&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Acoustic Guitar magazine cover for issue 348\"><\/a>\n<p style=\"font-family: sans-serif; margin: 0px 0px 15px 0px;\">This article originally appeared in the <a href=\"https:\/\/store.acousticguitar.com\/products\/no-349-nov-dec-2024\">November\/December 2024<\/a> issue of <em>Acoustic Guitar<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hill\u2019s rendition of this traditional Missouri fiddle tune sounds straightforward but is deceptively tricky.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":145762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"Hill\u2019s rendition of this traditional Missouri fiddle tune sounds straightforward but is deceptively tricky.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"A traditional arrangement of 'Spotted Pony' from the late, great guitarist Dudley Hill","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1151],"tags":[1954],"ppma_author":[1589],"class_list":["post-145759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-instrumentals","tag-november-december-2024"],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Dudley-Hill-and-Mark-O-Connor-Photo-by-Marty-OConnor-from-Mark-OConnors-book-A-Musical-Childhood-in-Pictures.jpg?fit=1200%2C835&ssl=1","authors":[{"term_id":1589,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"alan-barnosky","display_name":"Alan Barnosky","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Alan-Barnosky.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Alan-Barnosky.jpg"},"user_url":"https:\/\/www.alanbarnosky.com\/","last_name":"Barnosky","first_name":"Alan","job_title":"","description":"Alan Barnosky is a guitarist based in Durham, NC. He performs solo as a songwriter as well as in bluegrass and folk bands."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=145759"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":146560,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/145759\/revisions\/146560"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/145762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=145759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=145759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=145759"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=145759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}