Hear Me Play 'Mason's Apron' On A Deering Golden Era Banjo

Mason's Apron. I just bought I Deering Golden Era banjo from Fuller's Guitars in Houston, Texas (they gave me 15% off), but it has an issue and I might send it back. I only paid $4,376 for it! Nice! Most dealers list it for $5,149. They had a weekend special last week at Fuller's. I have to wait to hear from the music store. They're closed for the weekend. The string slides off the fret when I do a pull-off on the first string, which it's not supposed to do, causing the string to buzz. I made this short video so you can hear what I am talking about.

I also added this recording I made tonight of The Old Spinning Wheel, using another of Dave Hum's backing tracks. I didn't work up an arrangement, so it is just adlib, but this time I used a Shure 57 microphone, so you can actually hear what the Golden Era sounds like. It's a nice banjo. The more I play the banjo, the more I like it. The string buzz is there, but it's not as noticeable when I'm caught up in my playing with a backing track. What intrigues me about this banjo is that Dave Hum played a 1992 Gibson ESS, and this banjo is Deering's best attempt to recreate the Gibson ESS. So It is special to me because of Dave Hum.

I'm wanting them to send me a Deering Calico to try it out (and I'll return the one I don't want). I still have a week to return the Golden Era if I don't want it. I have to see if they'll work with me. I've had such bad experiences with music stores. When I received the Golden Era, the strings were about 3/8" away from the neck. I had to turn the truss rod about 3/4 of a turn to get the action right. It's good now.

I took some photos with my phone of my different banjos, so you can see the distance between the fret edge and the string. ...

My Recording King Elite 85

My Deering Goodtime Special

My Deering Golden Era

You can see in the above photos that the Golden Era has only half the fret space beyond the edge of the first string. This causes the first string to slip off the fret and buzz when doing a pull-off. When I capo the second fret the problem goes away. So I'm thinking the nut's raised elevation contributes to the issue. In my humble opinion Deering poorly designed the neck, by not making the fret a little longer. On my Deering Goodtime Special and Recording King Elite 85, I cannot pull the string off the fret even if I try, because there is ample fret space still available to work with. But on the Golden Era the string flops off the fret sometimes when doing a pull-off which is annoying. If I decide to keep the banjo, I might need a have a Zero Glide Nut installed by a local Deering Dealer in Pensacola. However, I am not sure if that will fix the problem, it is my best guess. I am not a Luthier. Having said that, I really like this banjo!

I made the following MP3 recording today of me playing the song Mason's Apron along with a backing track I got by Dave Hum (that I bought from his website). I missed some notes and it's a bit rough, but I'm still learning the song. It's one of the folk songs I've been learning. ...

I'm Playing Mason's Apron On a Deering Golden Era

I Used Painter's Tape To Temporarily Protect The Head

I recorded Mason's Apron in the Key of A, using a capo on the second fret. When I put a capo on the second fret the problem goes away. As I mentioned, I think it's because the capo lowers the string height, preventing the string from sliding off. Without the capo, the nut holds the strings higher, and that's when the first string slides off the frets.

I took a photo of the Golden Era. It's one of Deering's nicest banjos. I put blue painter's tape on the head, so my picks wouldn't scratch the head in case I choose to return it. I still have a week to decide. I might get the Calico banjo instead. The Golden Wreath also intrigues me. I have to wait and see. I'm trying to see if the music store in Texas will send me the Deering Calico, and I'll choose which one I want to keep and send the other back. If I keep the Golden Era, I'll take it down to a local Luthier and have them install a Zero Glide Nut, which lowers the string height, as if the nut were just another fret. All Gold Tone banjos come standard with Zero Glide Nuts now, except their new OB3 Twanger model.

I'm not recording live with a microphone for Mason's Apron, I used a Gold Tone Dynamic (ABS-D) microphone on my banjo. It attaches to the J-hooks. It has a guitar cable that plugs into my Scarlett interface, and then it has a USB output to my computer.

Anyway, you can hear some of my banjo playing. I just made a quick recording so you could hear what I'm working on. I missed some notes and need a lot more playing to perfect my skills, but I'm doing well so far, by God's grace. Dave Hum is such an inspiration. I love that man! I really enjoy learning and playing the banjo. It takes my mind off of my chronic neck pain. Thanks to everyone for visiting my blog.

There's 75 New Original Dave Hum Backing Tracks Available On His Website

GOOD NEWS! There are now 12 different backing track albums available for purchase from Dave Hum's wife on his website (a total of 115 backing Tracks). I have purchased all of the tracks and cherish each of them. I cannot recommend enough getting Dave's backing tracks if you play the banjo (or other Bluegrass and folk instruments).

115 Dave Hum Backing Tracks

As you all know, I've been doing my best to recreate some of Dave's backing tracks and sharing them for free, because I love the man and his music, as a tribute to him. But my tracks pale in comparison to Dave's. He was a master of percussive timing and a truly seasoned musician. I am just a wannabe...lol. When I play along with Dave's backing tracks, I feel like I'm vicariously performing through Dave, which I think is pretty cool. The driving percussion and overall timbre that Dave was able to achieve in creating his backing tracks, in my humble opinion, really enhances his banjo playing. Put another way, Dave's backing tracks motivate me to want to play my banjo every day.

Like a kid who collects baseball cards, I collect backing tracks; and I'm sure you've noticed along with me that there's a lot of poor quality tracks available online. Most of the backing tracks I've run across are cluttered with other instruments, and are annoying at best. Dave's tracks are simple, focusing primarily on bass, drums and some simple padding (piano, guitar strum, et cetera). Dave's tracks are unique and one of a kind in my humble opinion, and worth twice what is being charged for them. Having said all that, I encourage you to buy some of Dave's backing tracks, and if you can afford it over time, all of them.

The going price right now to pay someone to make you a backing track is $150. So, for about $12 each, these are a super deal! It takes me at least a few hours to make one backing track. More elaborate tracks require several hours. So, can appreciate the hard work that Dave invested into making his. I dare say that to make 219 tracks, he spent over 1,000 hours! Each of Dave's videos on YouTube is a banjo course in itself. By using the “settings” option at the bottom of each video, you can slow down (or speed up) the video by whatever percentage you want. At 25% I can figure out just about anything that Dave is doing. To me, having his backing tracks to play along with are an invaluable blessing from God!

The money goes to help Dave's family. They lost their home to the greedy bank after Dave passed away in 2012. Losing the husband and father in a home is about as difficult a situation that life can throw at a family. So, I encourage you to help them out, and get some great backing tracks at the same time, which the Hum family will appreciate greatly. God bless!

Dave Hum
(photos from his old website)

A New Backing Track For “Down The Road”

This is a popular Bluegrass classic, “Down The Road.” I used Dave Hum's YouTube video to make this backing track. It didn't take me too long, a couple hours. It's straightforward. I used a MIDI bass and MIDI piano. I added a shaker audio loop and a real tambourine. Enjoy!

• Down The Road (key of A, normal)
• Down The Road (key of A, slower)
• Down The Road (key of A, slow)
• Down The Road (key of A, woodshed)
• Down The Road (key of G, normal)
• Down The Road (key of G, slower)
• Down The Road (key of G, slow)
• Down The Road (key of G, woodshed)

I made tracks in both keys of G and A. Dave plays the song in A with a capo on the second fret, which is also my choice.

Dave Hum (1966-2012)

A Different Backing Track For “Peeler's Jacket”

I received my new backing track today for “Peeler's Jacket” from David Day. I paid him $150 to make it for me (I don't recommend him to anyone), but I want you to have it for free, as I promised everyone. I made additional tracks from the master, so you have a choice of different tempos in both keys of G or A for your preference. Here is David Day's backing track...

• Peeler's Jacket Tablature (TablEdit tabs)
• Peeler's Jacket Tablature (.PDF tabs tabs)
• Peeler's Jacket (by David Day, that I finished, key of G, normal)
• Peeler's Jacket (by David Day, that I finished, key of G, slower)
• Peeler's Jacket (by David Day, that I finished, key of G, slow)
• Peeler's Jacket (by David Day, that I finished, key of G, woodshed)
• Peeler's Jacket (by David Day, that I finished, key of A, normal)
• Peeler's Jacket (by David Day, that I finished, key of A, slower)
• Peeler's Jacket (by David Day, that I finished, key of A, slow)
• Peeler's Jacket (by David Day, that I finished, key of A, woodshed)

After I heard what David Day had made, I was inspired to go back and improve my own backing track, particularly the percussion, so I did and here it is. I used a Closet High Hat drum, repeating on each beat with the kick drum and tambourine. Here is my backing track...

• Peeler's Jacket (key of G, normal)
• Peeler's Jacket (key of G, slower)
• Peeler's Jacket (key of G, slow)
• Peeler's Jacket (key of G, woodshed)
• Peeler's Jacket (key of A, normal)
• Peeler's Jacket (key of A, slower)
• Peeler's Jacket (key of A, slow)
• Peeler's Jacket (key of A, woodshed)
• Peeler's Jacket Tablature (I used TablEdit)

I love playing this song! It's a lot of fun. I was intimidated the first few times I heard Dave Hum play it. My fingers fumbled and I thought there is no way I'll ever figure this song out. But I learned that if I slow down Dave's videos 50% on YouTube, and study the videos note by note, and carefully watch Dave's hands, I can almost always figure out the basic gist of what he's doing.

Because “Peeler's” rhymes with “Dealer's,” I keep unintentionally calling this song “Dealer's Choice”...lol. So please pardon me if I made a typo somewhere in my blog and referred to this song as “Peeler's Choice.” Enjoy!

My Negative Review Of David Day's “Backing Tracks Express”

I DO NOT recommend doing business with David Day at BackingTrackExpress.com, because he has a very bad attitude. I contacted him in July of 2024 to make me a backing track for Dave Hum's YouTube recording of Peeler's Jacket. This is the song that I sent to him to replicate. David charged me $150, which I paid to him using PayPal. On David's first attempt, he ended the song on an Em chord, which disappointed me, because Dave Hum clearly ends the song on a G major chord. I didn't pay David to do his own thing!

Also, if you listen closely at the end of his first attempt below, David Day doesn't finish the song, he leaves 5 seconds off the last bar. When I played along with my banjo, I noticed immediately that the timing was messed up in his backing track. The song is 5 seconds too short! That is an inexcusable error for a musician who claims to make professional backing tracks. You can hear for yourself what David Day did. And as I mentioned, he also ended the song on an Em chord, which didn't sound right. ...

• Peeler's Jacket - David Day's First Attempt

As you just heard for yourself, the song isn't correct. I was very kind and didn't critique David Day's work in any way. I felt that from one musician to another, I paid him $150 just to see what he could make using his own creativity. I showed appreciation for his work, for giving his best attempt. But I kindly asked him to add the MISSING 5 seconds to the backing track. And I also asked him to end the tune on a G major chord instead of an Em, like Dave Hum does. 

Then on his second attempt, he got the G chord right, but he only added 2 seconds instead of the 5 seconds that I specifically requested. I couldn't have been more kind. Listen to yourself what he did below, which is his second attempt. Again, the song is too short. If you play along with a banjo, the song is still 3 seconds too short and doesn't sound right. It's so obvious! ...

• Peeler's Jacket - David Day's Second Attempt

Again, I didn't critique his work and merely asked him kindly to fix it. To shew him my sincerity in the matter, that I wasn't just being picky, I sent him the backing track that I had made, with the correct ending chords. I truly don't know what offended him. He may have became jealous, or felt threatened that I made my own backing tracks (which I do just for fun, and I freely share them on social media); or perhaps he was frustrated that after his second attempt to finish the song, I still wanted him to fix it right.

Regardless, it doesn't matter if I owned a backing track business of my own (which I don't), when he accepted my $150 payment and agreed to make me a backing track, he was obligated legally, morally and ethically to do one of two things:

1) Complete the backing track as agreed upon, for which he was well paid; or,

2) give me a full refund and apologize that he couldn't make the track. Instead, he cheated me, kept the money, and I had to finish the backing track myself by chopping, copying and pasting parts of the song to the end, to finish it. Shame!

On his main webpage, David Day says this about his so-called “professional” tracks...

Backing Tracks Express Information

“Backing Track Express is a production service that specializes in creating high quality custom backing tracks. Any song, regardless of style or genre can be made into custom backing tracks. We also produce original songs. Songs can be customized and can even be put in your ideal key. Our music tracks don’t sound like amateur store bought tracks. We custom create our custom backing tracks new and fresh track by track! We do not use vocal elimination for professional tracks, that leaves the track sounding washed out. This service is for those who demands better quality custom production. You could be a singer, school, choir director or anyone who needs custom backing tracks. We usually create those songs not found in stores or online anywhere. ...It will be copied exactly like the original, same key and everything unless there are custom instructions you require. Your new custom backing tracks are sent to you as a high resolution mp3 and as a wave if you request. Pro Tools sessions can also be sent as an upload! Send a you tube link or mp3 of the song you want to do and we’ll get back to you with an honest price. You can count on us.” —David Day/Producer There’s some very bad tracks out there. [emphasis added]

That is FALSE advertising! Mr. Day in fact, as you can clearly hear for yourself, DIDN'T live up to his promise to produce an EXACT COPY OF THE ORIGINAL. When I asked him for the second time to do it right, he totally ignored me. After a few days, I sent him the following e-mail (I didn't change a word)...

David,

Kindly said, if you're working on another project or are too busy at this time to complete the backing track that I paid you $150 to make, please let me know when I can expect it to be finished. I haven't heard from you for a few days.

When you sent me the first completed track, I kindly told you it was too short and that you needed to add "5 seconds" to the track. For whatever reason, you only added 2 seconds in your second attempt. There are still 3 seconds of the song missing, which doesn't work for me when I try to play along with the track. I need for you to finish what you started, please.

You advertise on your website that you replicate original songs. That is all I am asking for you to do. I gave you a choice of picking either one of two of Dave Hum's versions of Peeler's Jacket. Although one song fades out at the end, it only fades after Dave completes playing the song, so structurally both songs have the same exact chords at the end. For whatever reason, you strayed away from the song.

If I don't hear back from you in the next couple days, then I will reasonably conclude that you have defrauded me, which is on you.

Mistreated customer

I never heard from David Day again. The guy has an attitude problem and I don't recommend him to anyone. His work is shoddy and his attitude childish. Shame on him!

Now listen to my own backing track that I made of Peeler's Jacket, which I humbly think is at least equivalent (if not better) than David Day's (but I never told him that, which would have been mean; I'm not a jerk like him). I try to live by 'The Golden Rule' (Matthew 7:12). ...

• Peeler's Choice - by David J. Stewart (my backing track)
• Here's my Peeler's Jacket page with more backing tracks in different tempos and keys
• Here's my older backing track for Peeler's Jacket without the closed high hat drum
• Peeler's Jacket Tablature (TablEdit tabs)
• Peeler's Jacket Tablature (.PDF tabs tabs)

The reason I am writing this negative review is because David Day refused to fix his shoddy work. I am a forgiving, reasonable and understanding man as a Christian. But David Day horribly ignored my multiple emails, in which I kindly asked him to please add the 3 missing seconds to the song, but he refused (without ever giving me an explanation). What a jerk! He stole my $150, since he didn't finish the song.

God knows that I was going to pay him in a few weeks to make me another track for, “The Maid Behind The Bar,” but since he refused to finish the first song I paid him to make, and he is immature emotionally and lacks character, we're done! I'll never contact David Day again.

I even sent him my own backing track after his failed second attempt, just to be helpful, so that he could hear exactly what I wanted him to fix. The only thing I can speculate is that he became jealous that my work was as good as his. Or perhaps he became angry that I asked him for the second time to finish the song correctly, but he doesn't know what he's doing. But regardless of the reason(s), he should have completed the song that I paid him $150 to make (or refund my money). I won't do repeat business with an ungodly man who cheats his customers. I couldn't have been nicer to Mr. Day. I am a firm believer in Word of Mouth as a consumer. I was recently cheated out of $619.20 by Alamo rent car company. I have already filed a complaint with the Florida Attorney General's Office and Consumer Affairs (among the hundreds of other defrauded Alamo customers). RUN from Alamo and avoid Priceline!

The bottom line is that 3 seconds are missing at the end of the song, and I cannot play my banjo along with it without having to do some weird ending, which is frustrating. I didn't get what I paid for. I didn't receive what I was promised by ExpressBackingTracks.

I understood when I hired him that David Day couldn't make a perfect replica (that is common sense). But I did at least expect for him to get the chords and bar lengths correct, which is basic 101 musicianship. His work is shoddy at best. I will never hire him to make another backing track for me again, which is his loss. I only asked him to make the track because I wanted to see what he, as a unique individual musician, could come up with. I was overall pleased with his work, even though I did pretty good on my own, and I took the time to get the chords right for my backing track. Leaving a frustrated customer hanging is not okay, it is unethical and wrong. RUN from this place!

Having said all that, I am good with manipulating audio files using MixCraft software. So, I went back and cut, copied and pasted portions of the messed up song that David Day made for me, and I was able to finish the song by piecemeal. It sounds good now, and you'd never know that I cut, copied and pasted portions of the song to other places in the song to complete it, but it worked well (I humbly think). But I shouldn't have had to cut, copy and paste to complete a song that I paid David Day $150 to make for me. That was very unprofessional, unethical and rotten of him. Good riddance to bad rubbish Mr. Day!

To be fair and honest, I think overall that his track came out pretty good, despite his mistakes and unwillingness to complete the song correctly. I managed to whip the backing track into shape to share it with everyone. So, without further ado, Enjoy! ...

• Peeler's Choice (by David Day, that I finished, key of G, normal)
• Peeler's Choice (by David Day, that I finished, key of G, slower)
• Peeler's Choice (by David Day, that I finished, key of G, slow)
• Peeler's Choice (by David Day, that I finished, key of G, woodshed)
• Peeler's Choice (by David Day, that I finished, key of A, normal)
• Peeler's Choice (by David Day, that I finished, key of A, slower)
• Peeler's Choice (by David Day, that I finished, key of A, slow)
• Peeler's Choice (by David Day, that I finished, key of A, woodshed)
• Peeler's Jacket Tablature (I used TablEdit to make these tabs)

I tabbed out the song by slowing down Dave Hum's video and meticulously studying his hands, and I think I've got it right. Here's another video, in which his hands are easier to watch. This is one of my favorite songs.

By the way, you can purchase the original rhythm track that Dave Hum himself made (that you hear in his YouTube videos). It is packet #6 on his website. As I mentioned, I paid David Day $150 to make one backing track for Peeler's Jacket, so the price for Dave Hum's quality backing tracks is a SUPER DEAL!!! I encourage you to buy some of them. The money will help Dave's widow, and you'll be able to vicariously play along with the man himself. What a tremendous blessing!!!

***********************************

A FINAL UPDATE: I did finally hear back from David Day. To my unbelief he actually said that my two requests for him to correct his mistakes is called “song development” for which he charges more money. Unreal! I guess for $150 that doesn't include his mess ups! Where I come from people pay for their own mistakes, they don't expect others to pay for them.

“The Session Book” By Sean Ray

I had shared this available banjo course by Sean Ray including backing tracks with everyone back in May. I bought it myself and I'm still making my way through the lessons. Tonight I delved into the classic Bluegrass song, “Fireball Mail.” Wow! Sean has some really great stuff in here. I learned some really cool new things on the banjo tonight that I had never thought of before. Sean does some awesome string bending, unison sounds and nice bluesy things. I think this course is well worth the money spent. Here is Sean's website (he also has other resources available). I don't receive any compensation for promoting his stuff. I just love music, the banjo and helping inspire other musicians. I will never sell anything on my music blog, it's all free. Also, here is Sean's YouTube channel).

If you haven't purchased them yet, I highly recommend buying Dave Hum's backing tracks (40 of them so far) directly from his family, which helps financially support them. I am sincerely hoping that many more of Dave's 179 remaining backing tracks will be available in the future. One day at a time. Dave was taken from life way too soon in 2012, at age 46 due to cancer. I learned a long time ago to never ask God the question, “why,” because we're just going to have to wait until we face the Lord in eternity to find out some answers. 1st Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” The backing tracks at Dave Hum's website sell for 75 pounds (about $100) per album of 10 tracks (that's approximately $10 per backing track), which is a SUPER DEAL!!! I just paid David Day $150 to make me one backing track of Peeler's Jacket. He emailed me today to let me know it's almost done. When I get it, it's yours for free! I love that song the way Dave recorded it.

I've been mainly studying Dave Hum's style. Dave's 219 YouTube videos are a lifetime library of banjo lessons. I recommend converting all of Dave YouTube videos to MP4's and downloading them to your own computer. You never know what might happen to YouTube's servers with all the cyber-hacking going on nowadays. I also converted all 219 songs to MP3's and downloaded them to my MP3 player, which I listen to in my car when driving, to study how Dave articulates his playing. I cherish Dave's music. By God's grace, he doesn't have a bigger fan than me! The first time I heard Dave Hum play the banjo in 2018 was his song, “Ballad Of Jed Clampett,” which made me weep. I had never heard the banjo played that way.

If you enjoy playing along with backing tracks like I do, I highly recommend buying the program MixCraft. This software allows you to change tempo and keys for a song. I often need to slow a backing track or song down, so I can learn and play along with it at my own speed. MixCraft allows you to easily do that. Like Dave Hum, I enjoy playing in the key of A on the second fret with a capo. Most songs for banjo are made in the key of G. If you only want MixCraft to do these things, the Basic Studio Version ($79) is more than enough. But if you want to make your own backing tracks, like I am doing, then I strongly recommend getting the Pro Studio Version ($149). Unlike other Digital Audio Workstations (DAW's), MixCraft is priced extremely reasonable.

I bought a new Fender Mustang bass several months ago to make backing tracks, but have since learned that using MixCraft's included MIDI bass has actually worked better for my needs. The MIDI bass sounds realistic enough for making basic backing tracks. So, even if you don't play bass guitar, you can use MixCraft to generate all your percussion, piano and bass sounds digitally. I think that is so cool. My heart's desire is to play the banjo, and I only make backing tracks for that purpose. I hope that you're enjoying the backing tracks I've made, as much as I have enjoyed making them to freely share with everyone. Music makes the world a better place! God bless you friend.

Gibson ESS, Baldwin Ode, Gibson Epiphone

Updated “Peeler's Jacket” Backing Track

I redid these backing tracks this week. I changed the feel (as versus the original ones that I made back in in April) to a straight feel instead of swing, which is how Dave Hum did his. The volume is much higher on these new tracks. The bass has less distortion. I'm using a MODO bass emulator for the MIDI bass. I added a crash cymbal in the places that Dave Hum used one, and also at the very end.

Here is the TablEdit tablature that I made (here's .PDF tabs, which I also updated and am confident is now very accurate. I studied Dave's hands in slow motion on YouTube to write these tabs. I didn't tab out every note in the song, just the more difficult parts. In my humble opinion, these tabs would rate as intermediate to play. It takes awhile to get the pattern down pat, but once you've spent some quality time with the song, it's a lot of fun and rewarding to play. Dave is playing some repetitive distinct patterns. I don't enjoy playing some songs, like Cherokee Shuffle, but I love playing Peeler's Jacket. Each song has its own unique feel to it. To each his own.

I'm paying a new guy (David Day) to make me a professional track right now for $150 for Peeler's Jacket, based off one of Dave Hum's two YouTube recordings of it. I told him to pick whichever one he wants to recreate. I love this song! I'll freely share the new backing track with everyone when I get it. By God's grace, here are the best quality tracks I've been able to make so far for Peeler's Jacket. I think you'll like what I made. And as always, I encourage you to freely share anything I make with others. So enjoy my friends!

• Peeler's Jacket Tablature (TablEdit tabs)
• Peeler's Jacket Tablature (.PDF tabs tabs)
• Peeler's Jacket (normal, Key of G)
• Peeler's Jacket (slower, Key of G)
• Peeler's Jacket (slow, Key of G)
• Peeler's Jacket (woodshed, Key of G)
• Peeler's Jacket (normal, Key of A)
• Peeler's Jacket (slower, Key of A)
• Peeler's Jacket (slow, Key of A)
• Peeler's Jacket (woodshed, Key of A)

My bass playing is okay, but not the greatest. Sadly, MIDI bass sounds better than my own bass playing, so I used it instead...lol. Hey, whatever works! I cannot tell if Dave Hum used how own bass playing or MIDI for his backing tracks. I need to work on my bass playing. On the way to my doctor today, while driving I listened to Tobin's Jig. I like to hear the same song over and over. On the way home, I listened to his album recording of Timour the Tartar and I was blown away by the high quality booming bass. Nice!

Peeler's Jacket is a bit of a tricky song to master, until you develop the muscle memory, but well worth the effort. It didn't take me too long to learn it well at a slower speed. I really like playing it. You need to play a song enough until you're so familiar with the tabs, that you can play it without having to think what comes next. Only then can you begin to focus on articulating the song in your own style. I learned that from an interview of guitar virtuoso Tommy Immanuel with Rick Beato. It's a great interview!

Here are the older original backing tracks for Peeler's Jacket that I made in April of 2024. These new ones have much more volume, which I was able to obtain by reducing the low end of the bass (by adjusting the Parametric Equalizer in MixCraft 10).

And if you want to see how much I've thankfully improved at making backing tracks, listen to my first track for 'Peeler's Jacket' from 2021. Goodnight in the morning, make that noise stop!

The Railroad Spike I Installed On My Deering Golden Wreath