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OldPappy - Posted - 01/11/2019: 03:55:57
When I attended my first banjo camp at Brown's Creek we were given two tunes to work on. My favorite of the two was "John Brown's March".
I don't know a lot about the origin of the tune other than it probably has something to do with the murderous raid at Harper's Ferry, so might date back to the Civil War, which was anything but civil.
Appreciate any enlightenment on this one.
Anyway, here is a link to the man I learned it from:
youtube.com/watch?v=0bEIcucshFk
And another link of my attempt with the tune:
photos.google.com/share/AF1Qip...xOEU0UjJ3
maneckep - Posted - 01/11/2019: 04:46:21
Andy,
Dwight's link worked but the other did not.
Thanks
canisminimus - Posted - 01/11/2019: 05:19:22
Nicely played. Thanks for adding this tune to the list. I have not heard it before and I think I will enjoy learning it.
banjered - Posted - 01/11/2019: 07:07:10
Couldn't hear you but thanks! I've enjoyed playing this tune for years but I've never played it with anyone because I haven't come across anyone who also plays it. We'll see where this one goes! banjered
Bill - Posted - 01/11/2019: 07:26:37
I don't have enlightenment for you, but I sure did enjoy both links. Thanks for posting.
mjbrennan - Posted - 01/11/2019: 09:06:06
Lovely and relaxed. I wonder are the tabs here on the hangout. If not, any advice wher one could get them?
banjered - Posted - 01/11/2019: 09:07:23
Ah, thanks to what others said I got to hear you, pretty much the same version. I like to bar the fifth fret just before reaching to that 7th fret. Tell us about your banjo, sounds nice. And the tuner on the 6th fret - I always thought that was a good idea for old time banjo and wonder why other builders don't build it that way more often. banjered
mjbrennan - Posted - 01/11/2019: 09:15:26
Yes,it is in the tab library, but I can't open it, whether its the same as this version or not. I'd love to get the tabs for this version.
Help please;
Regards
Michael B.
Wyozark - Posted - 01/11/2019: 11:14:54
I like this tune as played by Dwight and Old Pappy. I looked up the tab and found two available.
One, as played by DD, is here on BHO: John Brown's March tab on BHO
For some reason, when I looked up the above BHO tab, it showed up all covered in a dark screen so that I could barely make it out. So what I did was download it. Note that it is in the GIF form, not jpg, and though it was treated as a photo by my computer it still showed up dark. So I opened my Microsoft Word Starter program, "copied" the dark gif, and then pasted it to the blank document. It then showed up and I was able to print it off.
The second tab can be found here: Tater Joe's Old-Time Musical Mercantile
Look under the Key of G tunes. It's such an excellent resource. Hope this helps.
JanetB - Posted - 01/11/2019: 12:03:07
Thank you, Andy, for sharing a tune from Dwight Diller and for your own video, which I was able to open with a Google account. Nice! I used Dwight's video to try to make a tab and listened to others who play this tune (there are some good ones on YouTube). I also listened to the Alan Jabbour recording of Harlan Coble of North Carolina (1894 - 1976). Dwight had mentioned the Alan Jabbour connection, but wasn't sure of the source recording. That John Brown's March is different, but sounds related. It will be interesting to explore that version, too, and together they'd make a nice medley.
Dwight plays through the tune and finishes by playing the A part.
OldPappy - Posted - 01/11/2019: 13:28:38
Appreciate all the comments.
Someone asked about the banjo. It is one I built 3 or 4 years ago, and came back in my hands for some minor setup adjustments, and touch up on the finish, so I played it today to see if I liked the result of the adjustments.
I don't like the peghead cut I used on that one, but the owner seems to. It is a 12" walnut block rim, a 24 1/2" scale, 3 piece laminated black walnut neck with a center lamination of white oak encased in green veneer. There are pictures of it on my BHO home page I believe. The tone ring in that banjo is a two piece brass tone ring I build in my shop. The bottom piece is a scalloped truss to support the 5/16" hardened brass hoop. The fretboard is 33mm at the nut with a 20" radius on the board which helps with bending strings. Yes the 5th string tuner is at the 6th fret to give more room for 2-4 slides. I sometimes place it at the 7th fret. This placement doesn't matter with most folks playing clawhammer, because most do not fret the 5th string. It might not work for a bluegrass picker, but I haven't built any banjos for bluegrass players.
I play this tune differently depending on who I am playing with. I ended it by intentionally leaving out the double strikes which is how I sometimes play it when playing with a fiddler, as it is sometimes better to have less notes. To do this you still need to have the down stroke to keep the rhythm, just don't strike the string.
My wife recorded the video, and rather than it being a Youtube she saved it to Google. Sorry for anyone who wanted to listen to it, and couldn't access the Google recording.
carolynf - Posted - 01/11/2019: 19:59:42
Ahh! One of my top few very favorite tunes! I can't tell you why, except the first time I heard it, it got to me. I learned it from Dwight's arrangement. I also enjoy listening to the 2nd Carolina String Band's rendition. When I am trying out a banjo, when I can't think of what else to play around with when I'm holding someone else's banjo, this tune is the one that alway comes out.
When I got my new banjo the other day, it was very deliberate that I played JB March as the very first tune on it.
RV6 - Posted - 01/12/2019: 07:32:45
Carolyn, Very nice sounding banjo and the tune, very nicely played.
Would you mind telling me what kind of banjo and the setup, i.e., scale length, type of head, strings, tailpiece. and bridge?
Tamarack - Posted - 01/13/2019: 06:38:24
Some fine renditions of a fine old tune here. Our BHO comrades have a fine sense of subtle timing that differentiates an old-time march from a slowish reel.
I too would be interested in the origins of the tune, whether it originated with John Brown's supporters, his detractors, or neutral observers of the times.
'Prewar Kershner Tailpiece ' 40 min
'Coleman's March' 1 hr
