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So I'm officially on my third day of playing banjo and just finished reading the original banjo and bluegrass thread on my phone only to realize that apparently every thread in this forum past the end of the first paste is archived? Sucks but ok. Obviously I don't have much to add here since I'm just starting out but do we still have some banjo players in here? I'm leaning towards frailing/clawhammer because it feels much more natural to me than finger picking/bluegrass style.
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Nov 19, 2019 04:26
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Hell yeah. I went to grab my favorite online clawhammer resource, Mike Iverson's tabs, and just discovered that he's moved to a new site and is undertaking a huge project to revamp all of his tabs, none of which are currently available online. So that one is out. This book was a great help to me: https://www.amazon.com/Clawhammer-Style-Banjo-Ken-Perlman/dp/0931759331/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=clawhammer+banjo&qid=1574305401&sr=8-4 Working through it and trying to force yourself to spend a whole week (or at least a few days) on each song really comes hard to the mind of the internet age, but as with developing any skill, time is perhaps the most important part of the equation. Drop C is my favorite tuning for clawhammer, such a golden, resonant sound. I learned Scruggs style from an old NYC folkie who had transcribed tabs by hand by slowing down Flatt and Scruggs LPs in the 70s. As of five years ago you could still find him on Banjo Hangout shouting down posters with inferior tablature. Half of every lesson I took was occupied with him airing the week's online grief. One of these days I'll get around to scanning all of the hand-written photocopies he gave me over the years (I have at least 50 songs, transcribed note for note), but until then that's my secret cache  Otherwise I don't play enough these days and have certainly lost any touch I had with fingerpicks (ugh, fingerpicks!!!).
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Nov 21, 2019 04:12
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I play the tenor banjo tuned Irish style GDAE for trad Irish music. I've got a Gold Tone CC Tenor right now I play with, but I've been lusting over a Clareen banjo, I just haven't been able to justify it yet with how much I (don't) play. I'm hoping to give myself a kick in the rear end and start making our local Irish session again, and if I can make that stick maybe I'll justify the price tag, or start looking for a vintage tenor to play. So I guess if anyone has any questions about playing tenors, I can try to field them.
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Nov 26, 2019 21:18
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I was just thinking of prepping a mega infodump post for a new banjo thread. Great minds. I've been playing 'clawhammer' (or frailing, knockdown, picking, whatever you want to call it) for 18 or 20 months now, and have been working on some old-time 2 finger as well; before this I'd never played any instrument. I actually just bought my first (and hopefully last) nice banjo, a Bart Reiter Buckbee. Mostly I prefer playing songs to diddly-diddly fiddle tunes. If you're just starting out some resources to check out: The 'Brainjo' 8 Steps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXtwo-m_rXE This is what got me started and helped me crack the basics. Plenty of exercises and tabs available from Josh Turknett. Wayne Erbsen's book: https://nativeground.com/product/clawhammer-banjo-for-the-complete-ignoramus-40th-anniversary-edition-book-cd-set/ Whole website is a great resource, and the book is super approachable with nice easy arrangements (and includes the lyrics, which seems to be rare in old-time) Clifton Hicks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUHJ0aF3tTs https://www.youtube.com/user/clfhcks/videos Not really 'beginner lessons' but if you want to learn cool unusual songs from a grouchy antifascist who lives in a shack in the mountains (and you should) he's your guy. Mikes Iverson's stuff has been mentioned, it's all still up on archive.org last I checked, but he gets lovely about people linking it so I'll let you figure that out yourself. Banjo Hangout has also been mentioned. There are some ok resources there but it's basically cranky boomer central. 1000 umbrellas posted:Drop C is my favorite tuning for clawhammer, such a golden, resonant sound. That's kind of interesting - it's not a common tuning at all for clawhammer these days. For C tunes I almost always play out of double C, and occasionally open C. I think I probably play more stuff out of double C than every other tuning combined. Blacknose fucked around with this message at 15:54 on Dec 3, 2019 |
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Dec 3, 2019 15:49
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I see that banjo is super popular here these day.
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Dec 16, 2019 12:14
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Not many banjo players on the something awful . com forums
das crikstar fucked around with this message at 15:43 on Jan 7, 2020 |
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Jan 2, 2020 00:30
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das crikstar posted:Not many banjo players on the something awful . com forums Add one more. I started 5 days ago. Learning Bluegrass/Scrugs style at the moment to get started with something and tremendously enjoying it, definitely want to get into Claw Hammer though, i love the style, and it seems to be much more prevalent on the old Appalachian folk stuff that gets my rocks off. I've played guitar on and off for years so that helps but only so far.
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Jan 27, 2020 07:01
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I am teaching myself clawhammer using Ken Pearlman's book and whatever I find out online. It seems like the old time music world has a similar issue with jazz in that you're half expected to know a huge catalog of tunes. And since everyone has heard the tunes a million times they then embellish and embellish. Then if you weren't really exposed to it too much its hard to catch up.
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Jan 29, 2020 02:45
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Yeah I very much found that to be the case, but as I was wading through that I realised I don't really care for a lot of the round peak fiddle tune standards anyway.
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Jan 30, 2020 09:38
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Well, I think in reading about clawhammer banjo is that there are a bunch of philosophies about how you play. Some people (I believe Dwight Diller is an example) say to always play a constant rhythm since you're the rhythm for dance music. This emphasizes the use of the drone string on almost every upbeat. Some try to make the banjo a solo instrument, which is what I'm more interested in. I like some Adam Hurt tunes because of how front and center the banjo is. And there are other approaches as well, but they're all lumped together as "clawhammer banjo." I guess Ken Pearlman has been trying to distinguish it by referring to some as "melodic clawhammer banjo."
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Jan 30, 2020 17:28
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Yeah there's a bunch of history in terms of playing styles that all get lumped under Clawhammer now, and the round peak style is very much the trendy way to play. I tend to play a more rhythmic and strummy style, the instruments just more fun for me that way. I'm also way more likely to use my left hand for the first offbeat than my thumb. I really enjoy the flexibility of just mixing and matching playing styles.
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Jan 31, 2020 01:46
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Hello thread. Started learning clawhammer a year ago because that's what the nearest tutor taught. I ended up dropping it quite fast as I wasn't getting the timing or vibe of tunes trying to learn tabs, and lost interest. I really like the idea of clawhammer though and want to get back on it. I've spent the last couple of weeks learning bluegrass by ear with Murphy Method videos and am really enjoying it. Got four songs down waaay below tempo but having a blast with them. Maybe I can have a crack at clawhammer Cripple Creek now I have a feel for the tune.
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Mar 13, 2020 00:11
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I started the banjo / bluegrass thread and will be happy to answer any questions about banjo and Scruggs style. Will bookmark this.
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Apr 11, 2020 02:15
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I'd recommend anyone that's interested in old time banjo have a look at Clifton Hicks. He's got lots of videos on YouTube, and if you enjoy them he also has a Patreon where he teaches tunes. He really opened me up to the variety of styles within old time banjo, so that I now use up-picking and two finger style in addition to the regular down-picking bum-ditty clawhammer style.
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Apr 15, 2020 12:59
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Since the general bluegrass thread fell into archives, I’ll post this here. I’ve been playing with the Acapella app for bluegrass tunes and it’s been an absolute blast so far. Some of my other bluegrass pals have put together a few neat pieces with it. In the absence of any effective + cheap solution for remote jamming, it seems like the next best thing. Here’s a swing at Blue Virginia Blues with room for other folks to hop in and take breaks.
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Apr 18, 2020 21:43
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Planet X posted:I started the banjo / bluegrass thread and will be happy to answer any questions about banjo and Scruggs style. Will bookmark this. Any suggestions on what to look for in a "starter" banjo? Been playing guitar for a long time but never touched a banjo, and started to realize there's a lot of fingerpickers that have clearly been inspired by banjo (Lindsey Buckingham for one) which got me thinking that it'd be fun to try one out. 5-string resonator seems the obvious choice for the type of music I like (based on what I've read and seen), but how important is e.g. one vs two coordinator rods and other features? Figure on a $300-$500 budget, probably going to need to buy new since there rarely are decent condition used ones for sale here in Sweden. Clayton Bigsby fucked around with this message at 19:10 on Apr 20, 2020 |
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Apr 20, 2020 19:03
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Clayton Bigsby posted:Any suggestions on what to look for in a "starter" banjo? Been playing guitar for a long time but never touched a banjo, and started to realize there's a lot of fingerpickers that have clearly been inspired by banjo (Lindsey Buckingham for one) which got me thinking that it'd be fun to try one out. 5-string resonator seems the obvious choice for the type of music I like (based on what I've read and seen), but how important is e.g. one vs two coordinator rods and other features? Figure on a $300-$500 budget, probably going to need to buy new since there rarely are decent condition used ones for sale here in Sweden. There may be other options that I'm not aware of, but I generally recommend the Deering Goodtime banjo. It was the first banjo i ever bought, and I kept it as a lightweight / camping / office option, as a "full" bluegrass banjo with a tone ring are ~15lbs and get heavy quickly. I feel the Goodtime is a good blend of quality vs cost, and is a domestic (US) product. https://www.deeringbanjos.com/collections/goodtime-banjos This may be slightly north of your price range, but you can also head to the Banjo Hangout forums and poke around there for questions, recommendations and for used instruments. If you're going to mess with finger picking, the goodtime is a great option. You can even get an open back version if you're not going to do a lot of group jamming or ensemble playing and need to "cut through". The reason why (more expensive bluegrass) banjos have that heavy metal tone ring is to amplify and project the sound. Goodtimes do not have this, so while they're a great all around banjo, don't expect it to crack or cut like the more expensive ones. I love mine. Hope this helps. Edit: Looks like there are a lot more goodtime options than when I first got mine, and they've gone up a bit. I think Recording King makes a decent banjo for the money, but a $300 banjo may have a more unfinished fretboard, will have issues staying in tune, and higher action. Be patient, something will come up. Planet X fucked around with this message at 19:27 on Apr 20, 2020 |
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Apr 20, 2020 19:24
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Planet X posted:There may be other options that I'm not aware of, but I generally recommend the Deering Goodtime banjo. It was the first banjo i ever bought, and I kept it as a lightweight / camping / office option, as a "full" bluegrass banjo with a tone ring are ~15lbs and get heavy quickly. I feel the Goodtime is a good blend of quality vs cost, and is a domestic (US) product. Thanks! I read in a few places that open back banjos also tend to have higher action, being intended more for clawhammer technique. Is there anything to this? I don't mind a quieter banjo since I am just playing at home, so if there's no practical difference in playability for a fingerpicker that's definitely an option.
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Apr 20, 2020 19:56
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Clayton Bigsby posted:Thanks! I read in a few places that open back banjos also tend to have higher action, being intended more for clawhammer technique. Is there anything to this? I don't mind a quieter banjo since I am just playing at home, so if there's no practical difference in playability for a fingerpicker that's definitely an option. Yes. The frailing banjo and the bluegrass banjo are quite different. Often times the frailing banjo has a frailing scoop (look it up), which is basically the very last part of the neck scooped out so your fingers have more vertical space over where the hand sits, which is right where the neck and head come together on the instrument. However, if I'm not mistaken, the goodtime open back is not a frailing / clawhammer banjo per se, and it doesnt have a frailing scoop or particularly high action. Note that the goodtime (I think) has no truss rod so you're not going to make a lot of adjustments on a goodtime due to this. Therefore, if you decide to buy a goodtime, it's probably good for either or. I mainly play Scruggs, but I also frail occasionally on my bluegrass banjo as well as my goodtime. With that said, if anyone ends up going a particular direction, the two styles are rather distinct and you will not be able to rip fast scruggs licks on a frailing banjo nor will you be able to get a soft, plunky old time tone on a full bore bluegrass banjo.
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Apr 20, 2020 22:59
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Planet X posted:Yes. The frailing banjo and the bluegrass banjo are quite different. Often times the frailing banjo has a frailing scoop (look it up), which is basically the very last part of the neck scooped out so your fingers have more vertical space over where the hand sits, which is right where the neck and head come together on the instrument. Well, I managed to find "the guy" here in Sweden for banjos and had a chat with him today. Based on my desires he thought I'd be pretty happy with the Gold Tone CC-50 open back. Apparently it's basically the same as the CC-50 R/P minus the resonator and should be a fine player for bluegrass stuff, as well as not being as loud as the resonator version (which is a bonus since I play at home when the kids go to bed). He sells new banjos that he does a setup on and adds capo spikes, and the prices aren't bad at all. Said I'd probably be happy with either the CC-50 or the Deering Goodtime but that I'd probably prefer the Gold Tone since it has a brass tone ring and sounds a bit brighter. Dude's also located about 45 mins away so I could easily pick one up from him.
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Apr 22, 2020 19:22
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Finally stopped hiding from the foggy mountain roll after a few weeks just working on the tempo of my extremely basic cripple creek etc. A pull off and another note at the same time?? Like everything else so far it's actually pretty easy after half an hour. small steps.
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Apr 26, 2020 18:32
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Chubby Henparty posted:Finally stopped hiding from the foggy mountain roll after a few weeks just working on the tempo of my extremely basic cripple creek etc. A pull off and another note at the same time?? Like everything else so far it's actually pretty easy after half an hour. small steps. I remember there was a time I was convinced I would never play a clean c chord because the pads of my fingers kept touching other strings. It’s amazing how much just doing it over and over will just make it work. My current gripe is being convinced I’ll never properly play an f chord but progress I guess
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Apr 26, 2020 21:45
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The F chord sucks but it'll come with practice.
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Apr 26, 2020 22:15
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Blacknose posted:The F chord sucks but it'll come with practice. Oh gently caress me, does the F suck on the banjo as well? Ended up getting that CC-50. Loving it so far but man it's weird playing with fingerpicks. 
Clayton Bigsby fucked around with this message at 17:57 on Apr 27, 2020 |
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Apr 27, 2020 17:54
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Clayton Bigsby posted:Oh gently caress me, does the F suck on the banjo as well? I just have a really hard time doing it on command. That was the problem for me with a c is I got used to it but my brain just could never form it quickly enough. I can do an e minor or partial c no problem but adding that 3rd finger just breaks my brain. Anyway I ordered a recording king ot25-br because I really want to start playing clawhammer more often. Does anyone recommend any good resources or YouTube channels to look at? I got spoiled with Jim Pankey’s videos but his clawhammer stuff isn’t as good.
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Apr 27, 2020 18:09
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F isn't as bad as guitar but by 4 stringed (the thumb string does count cos you almost never fret it) instrument standards it's pretty tricky. Nice banjo you got there! I made a post early in the thread r.e. resources for old time and folk picking.
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Apr 27, 2020 19:09
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Hold up is that a Yngwie strat in the background, scalloped and all?
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Apr 27, 2020 19:47
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Planet X posted:Hold up is that a Yngwie strat in the background, scalloped and all? Sort of. It's a 2006 (I think) Mexican Classic Series 60s strat that was once sunburst. A Bulgarian luthier then stripped it, painted it olympic white, did the scalloping job (which is beautifully done), threw some Lace Gold pickups in there and added a treble bleed circuit. Also did a lot of nice finishing work, super smooth fret ends and all that jazz. Picked it up from the owner a few years ago for a great deal since people were scared of sending money to a bulgarian dude. Super fun guitar to play and so well put together. I mostly play guitar so have a small collection. But once I realized how much some of my favorite players have borrowed from bluegrass banjo players I got more and more into the idea of playing the banjo as well.
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Apr 27, 2020 20:00
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If you play guitar to a high standard you are definitely not going to struggle with banjo chord shapes, that I am sure of.
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Apr 27, 2020 20:55
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OK I can now play Foggy Mountain Breakdown from start to finish and am feeling a very 'I made that sound!' sense of pride after the cooler licks. Now I just have to play the whole thing in a way that sound like music.
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May 3, 2020 23:04
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Hey guys, I've decided to record a folk album by myself and am looking to buy a Deering Goodtime for it. I saw this on ebay, and I assumed it was a Goodtime 2 because of the resonator, but the seller says it's not a 2. Am I right in thinking it's an openback goodtime with a resonator retrofitted, and is it still worth it? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DEERING-GOODTIME-5-STRING-RESONATOR-BANJO/233369948392?epid=0&hash=item3655eed0e8:g:x3MAAOSwxv1eruNF If not, I'm afraid I can't seem to find many other goodtimes for sale in the UK (without stupid delivery costs from Europe or the US), would a Goldtone CC with resonator be a good fit for what I'm trying to do? Celtic vibed folk songs, other instruments would be mandolin, guitar, possibly tin whistle.
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May 4, 2020 15:28
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That's a "gumby" - called so because of the headstock. This is the exact Deering goodtime that I have. This was made before the 2 came out. I got mine about 12 years ago, and AFAIK they've since discontinued that headstock style. Correct - It's an openback fitted with a resonator. No tone ring. I don't know what it's worth, but I do know the Goodtimes have gone up in price a bit since I got mine. I wouldn't pay much more for it. I would offer to record mine for you and send it along, but mine is still at the office, which I'm not going back to any time soon. I'm sure you know this, but the tone from a tenor banjo is going to be a bit different than this one. If you're looking for more of a folk vibe instead of straight Irish trad, it'd probably foot the bill.
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May 4, 2020 16:11
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Planet X posted:That's a "gumby" - called so because of the headstock. This is the exact Deering goodtime that I have. This was made before the 2 came out. I got mine about 12 years ago, and AFAIK they've since discontinued that headstock style. I don't want to play tenor banjo, I've got the mandolin for the lead bits, I just want to be able to increase my rhythm section and be able to play different interpretations of my melodies. The seller's being a bit antsy about the shipping distance, so in the meantime I'm considering biting the bullet for the extra cost and buying a new Goodtime 2 from Eaglemusic, which I assume is worth the extra 130 quid? https://www.eaglemusicshop.com/prod/5-string-banjos/deering-goodtime-2-banjo.htm#delivery
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May 4, 2020 16:39
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I literally sold a Goodtime in the UK like 6 weeks ago, bad timing. The Eagle leader branded Goodtimes have some nice little upgrades over standard.
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May 4, 2020 16:42
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So what do youse reckon, is it worth it for a new goodtime 2 for 550 pounds?
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May 4, 2020 18:15
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Depends if you want a resonator or not, really. If you're just recording in your bedroom it probably doesn't matter.
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May 4, 2020 18:44
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Blacknose posted:Depends if you want a resonator or not, really. If you're just recording in your bedroom it probably doesn't matter. I think eventually it would be for performing as well, I'm a full time musician so my thinking is if I'm already spending a few hundred quid on an instrument, might as well make sure it's something I can use for more than one specific thing. Can you unscrew a resonator from a banjo to have both open back / resonator options if you want to play both old time and scruggs?
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May 4, 2020 20:38
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Yes although the flange with dig into your leg if you're playing sat down. It's worth noting that a resonator doesn't really make a banjo bluegrass or old time, plenty of the old timers used resonator banjos. I think the bluegrass guys like their action slightly different and prefer lighter strings but it's not some kind of huge gulf. If you want the extra volume of a resonator go for it, and it'll work fine for either. It's not going to make any real difference to the sound, Goodtimes all sound like Goodtimes.
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May 4, 2020 21:16
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Lol so all the music stores are sold out of good times with a 4 week wait for new stock. So the option is either a goldtone cc50rp new or nab that 400 quid goodtime off amazon. Guy in the shop said absolutely no difference between the actual instruments when it comes to goodtime, goodtime 2, resonaters, etc. So am I right in thinking this guy looks the best bet at the moment? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233369948392
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May 6, 2020 14:49
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You could also check https://www.andybanjo.com/trolleyed/index.htm I got my first banjo from them. They're pretty decent and very well priced. E; 400 seems like a lot for a used Goodtime. I sold mine for a bit under 300 and it was newer than that and wasn't just a big standard model.
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May 6, 2020 15:47
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