I'm looking for old time / appalachian folk style tunes. You know, that kind of tune that has a haunting feel to it, mostly in G modal tuning, very minor sounding with pentatonic runs.
Some examples are Red rockin' chair (this version specifically: youtube.com/watch?v=STzoTmbemvA), Shady Grove, Cluck Ol' Hen, etc.
These are the types of songs that got me into playing banjo and while I do enjoy some of the more uplifting stuff and bluegrass, I'd like to listen to every tune of the style I just described and learn how to play them on my banjo.
I'm looking for old time / appalachian folk style tunes. You know, that kind of tune that has a haunting feel to it, mostly in G modal tuning, very minor sounding with pentatonic runs.
All the tunes below, I play in aEAde. The first batch the fiddle is in AEAE and the second batrch the fiddle is in GDAE, at least for me.
I especially like "The Green Beds". Art Rosenbaum sings and plays it, but I cannot find it anywhere on YouTube or Spotify. Here is John Hedgecock with an instrumental version:
Someone posted a link to a Dwight Diller tab book some time ago. It has some excellent tunes and an excellent narrative. I learned Dead Mans Piece from it (or rather, am still learning as the advice from the player whom he quotes is to pay attention to the silences between the notes, which really expanded my understanding and told me what an awful lot I still have to learn). Maybe someone here can post that link (I don't have an electronic version any longer)
Someone posted a link to a Dwight Diller tab book some time ago. It has some excellent tunes and an excellent narrative. I learned Dead Mans Piece from it (or rather, am still learning as the advice from the player whom he quotes is to pay attention to the silences between the notes, which really expanded my understanding and told me what an awful lot I still have to learn). Maybe someone here can post that link (I don't have an electronic version any longer)
Someone posted a link to a Dwight Diller tab book some time ago. It has some excellent tunes and an excellent narrative. I learned Dead Mans Piece from it (or rather, am still learning as the advice from the player whom he quotes is to pay attention to the silences between the notes, which really expanded my understanding and told me what an awful lot I still have to learn). Maybe someone here can post that link (I don't have an electronic version any longer)
I got a lot of great suggestions in this threads. Thanks y'all! I've been listening to these tunes and picking the ones I like. I'm searching them on Youtube and sadly some of them do not even show up but I'll work with what I can find.
Pete Seeger has a couple of modal tunes in his "How to play the 5 string banjo a manual for beginners". They are in the section on "Frailing". One is "Little Birdie" and the other is "Jinnie Git Around". Jinnie Git Around is in G-modal (GDGAD -which I believe is known as "Sawmill tuning) and "Little Birdie" is in the C-tuning analog (GCGAD).
Pete only gives a few bars of "Little Birdie", but writes "The complete banjo transcription has been made by Hally Wood and is printed in a 1961 issue of Sing Out magazine, 121 47 St. NYC. Also has all verses and melody for voice." Many years ago I was traveling in NYC and found a copy in (possibly the music branch of) the library. Even though my driver's license was from Massachusetts, they gave me a card, retrieved the right issue of the magazine, and I made a copy. I'm certain I didn't throw it away, but I have no idea which box of papers it ended up in. Maybe Sing Out magazine can get you a copy.
I always thought they were really pretty, when I (slowly) picked them out. Pete has a (much faster than mine) version on his CD "For Kids and Just Plain Folks".
Bill: Half Barbaric Twanger Art Rosenbaum gives Little Birdie tab in his "Old-Time Banjo Book, 47 old time 5 string banjo tunings and picking styles" pages 74-76. His tab is for eCGAD tuning, instead of gCGAD tuning. He says that if you listen to the eCGAD version, you should get the gist of the song for playing in gCGAD. I have not tried that, just played it in eCGAD. The book comes with 2 CD's so you can hear all the songs, including Little Birdie. I like Little Birdie, too. Neat that the librarians put your desire for information above your place of residence.
I tune Sawmill to gDGCD, somewhat different than your Sawmill. Art gives 4 Sawmill tunings in the above book pg 42-48, representing "Mountain Minor/ Dorian Mode" tunings: gDGCD, fDGCD, gFGCD, fFGCD. Others know more about Modes than me, so questions should be directed elsewhere :-)
I agree, there's a whole gang of those tunes in the Dwight Diller free tab book mentioned above. You can find YouTubes of Dwight playing most of them. Also Texas in R D Lunceford's Cotton Blossom fits that description, a great Henry Reed tune. And Miles Krassen's great book has ten or 12 really nice sawmill tunes, e.g., Frosty Morning, Elzic's Farewell. There are excellent performances of all the Krassen tunes by Bob Lanham right here on our website!
If you go to Bob's playlist linked in my previous post, you can hear all the Chapter 2 modal tunes in the Krassen book. We should be grateful to Bob for those recordings, very faithful to the tab and great starting point for taking off in your own direction on those tunes!
I found that old recordings, such as the one suggested by Mike, are often not tuned to modern standard pitches. For these recordings, I find that Audacity is a useful program for changing the pitch (and speed) to make learning easier. You can even change the key of the song to fit your favorite banjo tuning(s). I've too lazy to capo to change key, so often change the key to the open tuning I think will work. (not all laziness, changing tunings, to compensate for the capo, wears out strings faster than leaving them alone...they lose their ductility, and harmonics change, usually for the worse).
I found that old recordings, such as the one suggested by Mike, are often not tuned to modern standard pitches. For these recordings, I find that Audacity is a useful program for changing the pitch (and speed) to make learning easier. You can even change the key of the song to fit your favorite banjo tuning(s). I've too lazy to capo to change key, so often change the key to the open tuning I think will work. (not all laziness, changing tunings, to compensate for the capo, wears out strings faster than leaving them alone...they lose their ductility, and harmonics change, usually for the worse).
Hope this helps
No doubt the recording technology on some of these 1960's reel-to-reel tapes is not up to modern standards. And of course anyone is free to adapt the tuning and key if they choose to.
However...it is worth pointing out that does move you away from one of the most interesting and beautiful aspects of these recordings of specific players and that is their individual techniques and how they made the sounds they did. That is inevitably closely related to the banjo tuning they were using. I say that as someone who will - if pressed - admit that their somewhat obsessive pleasure is analysing the specifics of individual style. Consequently I'm biased; why chop, wide-wheel and fit modern dampers on a 1929 Ford when you can drive it as-is and feel the road through the seat of your pants the way the original driver did?
I agree Mike :-) Tunings, key, non-standard intonation, are all part of the interest in listening to old time performers recorded in the field.
I mentioned Audacity and changing key/pitch to simplify the learning process for a song. As a beginner it was easier for me to adjust the song, via Audacity, than learn the nuances of the original performer. This was particularly the case for me since I did not have a teacher.
