funkydan - Posted - 10/27/2015:  02:48:25

I've been learning this piece for a while. I can finally get through it without the wheels entirely coming off the wagon. It's still very rough though.

youtu.be/FEZMr6tTvCY

Any feedback would be great.

Banjosnob - Posted - 10/27/2015:  03:20:30

This is beautiful! Great job! I have been at this one for 2 yrs. :)

DH#52 - Posted - 10/27/2015:  04:02:32

Great job, Daniel!  I love those Bach cello suites.

Steve

raharris - Posted - 10/27/2015:  05:56:16

Lovely! I've linked this post to the BHO Cello Pluckers group -- Cheers --

Tom Hanway - Posted - 10/27/2015:  06:36:34

Daniel, welcome to the Banjo Hangout! That's terrific playing and you're feeling the music. Be self-monitoring, as Bill Keith used to recommend, and listen for any sounds or glitches that you yourself may not desire, then try different things until you're happy with the sound. 

You're clearly a sensitive and realized musician, and I'm a fan.

Bravo!  Keep 'em coming!

All the Best ~ Tom

cuberous - Posted - 10/27/2015:  11:40:05

Good job, particularly standing up! I've too have been playing this for a few years and have found that although I'm not sure the tempo at which Bach intended it to be played, it works a bit better on the banjo at a slower pace with more subtle shifts in the tempo to emphasize the phrases (without over doing it). There is a Youtube video of the late Rostropovich (celllist) playing the piece in a very quick tempo with very strong phrasing.  It don't think that works so well for the banjo.  Slower will also help with the clearer articulation of the notes. Apparently there are a number of banjo arrangements for this piece and some of them don't require as much right hand movement in some places as others.  I've changed the fingering in few times in various places to make it a bit easier and fluid without changing the music.  Thanks for posting. If you like Bach on the banjo you might want to try the Prelude in C Major from the 1st Book of the Well Tempered Clavier. I wrote out an arrangement for it in tab if you would like to give it a go. You would be able to play it without too much difficulty. Let me know and I'll send it to you in document form. You can hear my rendition of both of these pieces if you go to my BHO home page and find my music files.

John Gribble - Posted - 10/30/2015:  16:50:38

Nice job and good music. I haven't tried any of it on banjo yet, but I have played sections from the various cello suites on guitar. 

johnstephen - Posted - 11/03/2015:  11:37:11

I'll add my compliments, Dan.  A great piece for just about any stringed instrument, and you played it great.  I agree with one of the previous commenters that varying the tempo and pacing here and there can help (particularly if there's a specific part of it that gives you trouble -- a good reason for slowing that part down, then picking up the tempo again).  I play tenor banjo, and at some point I'm going to give the Bach cello suites a try -- I've got a great book by Rob McKillop of 4-string banjo transcriptions for the suites, I just need to get past some other stuff I'm learning and take the plunge.  Beautiful playing and thanks for posting this.

Rawhide Creek - Posted - 11/03/2015:  15:03:03

I know Ken Norkin (Old Hickory on the BHO) has been working on this; I hope he'll step in with some comments.

Your bariolage​ is very nice.  You can take some further liberties with the tempo (rubato) when playing a low note followed by a broken arpeggio.  Where figures are identical, you might consider playing the first louder and the second more softly, as if an echo.

All in all, a very good effort!

Edited by - Rawhide Creek on 11/03/2015 15:06:48

Rawhide Creek - Posted - 11/03/2015:  15:10:59

quote:

---

Originally posted by johnstephen

 

I'll add my compliments, Dan.  A great piece for just about any stringed instrument, and you played it great.  I agree with one of the previous commenters that varying the tempo and pacing here and there can help (particularly if there's a specific part of it that gives you trouble -- a good reason for slowing that part down, then picking up the tempo again).  I play tenor banjo, and at some point I'm going to give the Bach cello suites a try -- I've got a great book by Rob McKillop of 4-string banjo transcriptions for the suites, I just need to get past some other stuff I'm learning and take the plunge.  Beautiful playing and thanks for posting this.

---

John, consider beginning with the prelude to the 2d suite (D minor).  It deserves more attention from the banjo community than it gets!

johnstephen - Posted - 11/04/2015:  12:05:38

Thanks Russ, I'll tackle that one first.  Appreciate the suggestion.

johnedallas - Posted - 11/10/2015:  06:51:59

Dan,
I agree - very well played!

Just one thing, though. I found the pick noise rather distracting. Have you thought of using your fingernails? There's really nothing to beat the natural material for a smooth sound IMHO!

Cheers,
John

Tom Hanway - Posted - 11/10/2015:  20:44:25

This is so well played, con brio, and keep picking!



Jens Kruger plays Bach Cello Suite No. 1 on Banjo

Best ~ Tommy

Old Hickory - Posted - 11/11/2015:  14:54:40

quote:

---

Originally posted by Rawhide Creek

I know Ken Norkin (Old Hickory on the BHO) has been working on this; I hope he'll step in with some comments.

---

I've been outed!

Sorry to say that I've put this on a back-burner while other things happen in life and banjo.  But I've made too much progress not to finish.

Dan: Your rendition is really nice. It will only get better with repetition.  I agree with others that it's impressive you can do it standing.  I need to sit.

While I do not instantly recognize every transcription that's been published or posted, it appears to me that your approach is similar to mine:  not using any one tabbed out version in entirety, but coming up with your own fingering for some sections.  I have four or five different tabs for this, plus I watched the videos of Jens Kruger and Hangout member Colin Knight to get ideas.  What I've been doing -- and part of what was taking me long even when I was working on this -- was going through this measure-by-measure, trying each tabbed version to see which I liked best. If none of them felt right under my fingers, I'd look at the notation and sometimes find my own approaches to those measures, for fingering that I found easier or more natural to do.  I'm just a few measures past that first pause at measure 23, about 1:15 into your video.

I really like your handling of the final run up the neck.  It looks more straightforward than anything I immediately recognize from tabs, so I might come back to you video and steal that.

I also like that you're doing this in drop C, because it lets you go down to the low C# and C that happen around measure 20.  People who play it in G tuning have to play those notes on the 2nd string and it loses the arpeggio effect of notes going from low to high.

In some email exchanges with Russ (Rawhide Creek) about a year ago, we determined that Jens Kruger plays one, two or three notes that don't agree with most versions.  Because I've been away from this I forget exactly how many and where they are.  Russ told me there are actually multiple versions in use.  He can explain in more detail.

Once I finish and can play the piece, I will definitely post an MP3 or video. 

Tom Hanway - Posted - 11/24/2015:  19:07:09

quote:

---

Originally posted by Old Hickory

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Rawhide Creek

I know Ken Norkin (Old Hickory on the BHO) has been working on this; I hope he'll step in with some comments.

---

I've been outed!

Sorry to say that I've put this on a back-burner while other things happen in life and banjo.  But I've made too much progress not to finish.

Dan: Your rendition is really nice. It will only get better with repetition.  I agree with others that it's impressive you can do it standing.  I need to sit.

While I do not instantly recognize every transcription that's been published or posted, it appears to me that your approach is similar to mine:  not using any one tabbed out version in entirety, but coming up with your own fingering for some sections.  I have four or five different tabs for this, plus I watched the videos of Jens Kruger and Hangout member Colin Knight to get ideas.  What I've been doing -- and part of what was taking me long even when I was working on this -- was going through this measure-by-measure, trying each tabbed version to see which I liked best. If none of them felt right under my fingers, I'd look at the notation and sometimes find my own approaches to those measures, for fingering that I found easier or more natural to do.  I'm just a few measures past that first pause at measure 23, about 1:15 into your video.

I really like your handling of the final run up the neck.  It looks more straightforward than anything I immediately recognize from tabs, so I might come back to you video and steal that.

I also like that you're doing this in drop C, because it lets you go down to the low C# and C that happen around measure 20.  People who play it in G tuning have to play those notes on the 2nd string and it loses the arpeggio effect of notes going from low to high.

In some email exchanges with Russ (Rawhide Creek) about a year ago, we determined that Jens Kruger plays one, two or three notes that don't agree with most versions.  Because I've been away from this I forget exactly how many and where they are.  Russ told me there are actually multiple versions in use.  He can explain in more detail.

Once I finish and can play the piece, I will definitely post an MP3 or video. 

---

I love coming back to this post ... just to re-read it.

I really have no comment, I don't, but it's food for thought!

~ Tommy

Tom Hanway - Posted - 12/13/2015:  03:06:54

quote:

---

Originally posted by Old Hickory

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Rawhide Creek

I know Ken Norkin (Old Hickory on the BHO) has been working on this; I hope he'll step in with some comments.

---

I've been outed!

*snip*

In some email exchanges with Russ (Rawhide Creek) about a year ago, we determined that Jens Kruger plays one, two or three notes that don't agree with most versions.  *snip"



 

---

More notes that don't agree with most versions:

Béla