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munchausen - Posted - 11/19/2009: 04:21:09
I noticed there is a new book available through Mel Bay called 'Rennaissance & Elizabethan Music for Banjo.' Are there any early music enthusiasts here playing Renaissance music on their banjo? I've played quite a bit on the lute and guitar, so I'm game for it.
beegee - Posted - 11/19/2009: 05:39:08
I've been working on trying to learn classical banjo, so I'm thinking about getting the new book, just to see what it holds.
pearcemusic - Posted - 11/19/2009: 05:50:51
my daughter is working on cello suite #1 (Bach) which is lute suite #6 I think ... or the other way around .... but in D like some guitarists play it.
it's really fun to just get the piano, lute, cello literature and work out an arrangement for 5 string.
and it improves your reading and knowledge of the fingerboard.
another way to do it is to just listen to a recording .... then take it down from the audio, just like we used to have to do it in the old days .... huh beegee?
I learned all of my scruggs tunes before I ever had a scruggs book ... right off the vinyl.
R Buck - Posted - 11/19/2009: 06:18:29
I played banjo at a Renaissance fair once. We did old time but not that old. LOL!
banjopaolo - Posted - 11/19/2009: 07:11:05
in my opinion a lute works better on that repertoire...
beegee - Posted - 11/19/2009: 07:21:40
quote:
Originally posted by pearcemusic
another way to do it is to just listen to a recording .... then take it down from the audio, just like we used to have to do it in the old days .... huh beegee?
I learned all of my scruggs tunes before I ever had a scruggs book ... right off the vinyl.
I still have some hand-written transcriptions of Carl Jackson banjo Album tunes you did for me in 1973-74
pearcemusic - Posted - 11/19/2009: 07:38:05
quote:
Originally posted by beegee
quote:
Originally posted by pearcemusic
another way to do it is to just listen to a recording .... then take it down from the audio, just like we used to have to do it in the old days .... huh beegee?
I learned all of my scruggs tunes before I ever had a scruggs book ... right off the vinyl.
I still have some hand-written transcriptions of Carl Jackson banjo Album tunes you did for me in 1973-74
seriously? .... can you read my handwriting? I'd love to have a copy of them (like a .pdf or something) to see how wrong I got them !!! My kids would get a laugh out of them I'll bet. only if it's not a hassle for you ... Bob ... not trying to hi-jack this thread ... but as a side note ... I've been e-mailing back and forth with Carl for the last couple of years .... he is such a great guy .... and very humble. He was trying to get his hands on a Tonight Show (with Johnny Carson) performance that he did with Glen Campbell in 1973 ... promoting the "Banjo Player" record ... luckily I was able to find the exact performance .... and they made a DVD for me to give him. The Tonight Show tapes were destroyed in a fire I think ... all of them up to about 1972 or early 73, so we were VERY fortunate to find that performance.
trapdoor2 - Posted - 11/20/2009: 08:28:11
I'll probably pick it up. I wish it had the notation to go with it... 
Should sound great on nylons.
I wonder what Mr. MacKillop might think about it (being a luter converted to banjoista)? You out there Rob?
===Marc
dhergert - Posted - 11/20/2009: 09:35:11
I've dabbled with a little Bach music. Jesu Joy is very do-able in D (G-tuning) on a banjo's neck (although it is more traditionally done in G on most other instruments). Many other Renaissance pieces also work very nicely on the banjo. I've also played at Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata (not Renaissance, but very classical) but I don't have a complete arrangement for it yet. I very often play (in studio work) very old hymns in a classical sounding banjo style. The banjo is very adept at classical music in general, and in particular nylon strung banjos sound very good with it.
http://www.youtube.com/user/dh5string
Our classic-banjo friends may be able to correct me here, but my observation is that there is a big difference between being a classic-banjo player and being a banjo player who plays classical music. A bluegrass trained banjo player, for example, can play classical music on a steel string bluegrass banjo with fingerpicks and normal bluegrass right and left hand posture, and can make things sound very nice (ie: Bela Fleck). In contrast, a traditional classic-banjoist has a special posture, plays on a special classic-banjo with gut or nylon strings and plays with the fingertips (not fingerpicks and not fingernails). In other words, they are very different diciplines.
In this regard, I consider myself a banjo player who among other things dabbles with classical and classical-sounding music. Some of the time I do that on a classic-banjo with nylon strings and some of the time I do that on other types of banjos. That said, I greatly admire the work of our dedicated classic-banjo friends.
Best,
-- Don
(Btw, what happened to our signature lines???)
(asked and answered: http://www.banjohangout.org/topic/163081 )
Edited by - dhergert on 11/20/2009 09:51:55
Ronnie - Posted - 11/20/2009: 17:49:17
Jesu, as mentioned earlier, Bach's Minuet in G major and Pachelbel's Canon in D are fairly easy to play. Noam Pikelny plays an awesome Allegro from the 3rd Brandenburg with Punch Brothers. Tim Wiedenkeller (aka Tim Weed) composes his own material in baroque style, and we are all familiar with Bela Fleck.
I believe Renaissance music would predate the baroque styles we are discussing here. Obscure old lute pieces long before J.S.Bach or even Samuel Scheidt.
Edited by - Ronnie on 11/20/2009 18:25:56
Bullard - Posted - 11/21/2009: 07:21:07
I have played a fair amount of Renaissance stuff on banjo that I have transcribed myself...a couple of these pieces are on my CD The Classical Banjo. The hard thing about Renaissance stuff is that when written for lute, the pieces usually contain a bass line that is integral to the piece and is very hard to reproduce on banjo because the banjo's range is much more compressed compared to the lute. There are certain pieces that work but it takes a lot of searching and work to get them to sound ok. I will check out the mentioned book and see what is in there and how it is approached - should be interesting. Renaissance music is unique in that it usually has a couple melodies going on at once (but different than Bach's counterpoint sound). So it's hard to render these pieces so that the various melodies stand out properly - again because of the limited range of the banjo. Tuning the 4th string down to c often helps gain a little more lower end. I've thought of adding strings to the banjo with a modified design etc. (which has been done by somebody - can't remember the name) but then I start to think that's not really "the banjo" any more if I start changing the instrument that much - at that point I should just get a lute =)
John B
Ronnie - Posted - 11/21/2009: 13:26:13
If I can get the hang of the oud I just bought, I might try some renaissance lute pieces on it.
munchausen - Posted - 11/21/2009: 21:30:35
Ronnie, would you tie frets to the oud? There may be some Medieval pieces you could play fretless, with a plectrum as well. I'd be interested to hear about your adventures with the oud!
There is a late Renaissance instrument called the orpharion. It is strung with wire. There are recordings of Paul O'Dette playing Dowland on the orpharion. Here is a video of someone playing one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vn_...ture=related Note the slanted nut and bridge.
I think steel and nylon would both sound great on the banjo when playing Renaissance repertoire. Some voices, however, may not be clear on the banjo, largely due to the lack of sustain. Interesting counterpoint and tensions/resolutions may be lost on the banjo. These are all challenges to be overcome! I think it would be worth the effort.
Spanish vihuela music is some of my favorite music of this period. The vihuela is a 6 course instrument--there are not as many bass notes or diapasons to worry about if you want to play the music on the banjo (although I haven't tried it yet!).
There is also music for 4 and 5 course guitars. Some of the baroque guitar stuff is quite rhythmic--I wonder how well it would translate to banjo...
Ronnie - Posted - 11/21/2009: 21:47:50
Haven't done much with the oud yet. Just got a Hal Leonard book and I am trying to figure the instrument out. I imagine the first renaissance lutes were ouds plundered during the Crusades with pieces of gut tied around the neck for frets. The western Europeans later added more courses.
Thor - Posted - 11/23/2009: 01:51:34
quote:
http://www.amazon.com/Baroque-Stree...p/B0000025J7
Is that available again?
Hmm. From the Amazon link, there are some new/used copies available from $50.00-$173.06.
Unfortunately, I guess it has not been re-issued.
It's another one of my vinyl albums on my list to convert to digital. I guess I need to dust off my turntable.
Paul Roberts - Posted - 12/04/2009: 22:12:33
When you say Renaissance, that can include lots of English country dance tunes, and other music from that period, which is well suited for banjo. Just as these tunes can be played on a mandolin, they can also sound nice on tenor and 4-string cello banjos.
Ed and Don's duet, which Ed sites above, shows a wide spectrum of possibilities for Renaissance type music on the 5-string.
PauL http://www.banjocrazy.com/
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