The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #17144   Message #164303
Posted By: Jon W.
17-Jan-00 - 02:15 PM
Thread Name: What is 'Vestapol'?
Subject: RE: What is 'Vestapol'?
Vestapol tuning as taught by Stefan Grossman is open D tuning, not open G. If I remember right it is DADF#AD. There is a tune of the same name which Grossman got from Elizabeth Cotton's playing (and Pete Seeger may have also). There are no words associated with the piece that I know of. The piece is essentially a musical imitation of a train with whistle, bell, and the clacking rhythm of the wheels on the rails at a crossing. And I don't see where words would fit in. The name has always been a mystery to me but I bet it is more associated with the town in Mississippi than the city in the Crimea. However it's very possible that the piece takes its name simply from the tuning as explained by Stewie and not vice versa. The sheet music and guitar tablature for Grossman's version is in his "Play Country Blues Guitar" book.