clawhammertim - Posted - 08/07/2020:  06:48:22

Here's a great tune attributed to West Virgina Fiddler Lee Hammons. It has a single 8-1/2 measure "A" part and a single 9 measure "B" part. I learned it from the fiddling of Jimmy Triplett. He recently generously shared a set of recordings of his own fiddling based on his research of Lee Hammons. Mr. Triplett wrote:

“I learned these from field recordings made by Dwight Diller, Gerry Milnes, Wayne Howard, and others. Many were reconstructed from fragments, and some of the names are best guesses. Lee Hammons (1886-1980 I think) learned to play traditional tunes from family and community musicians, mostly before commercial music was available. He played in a style that's often characterized as archaic and deceptively simple.”

I think it's hard to talk about the Hammons family without an important nod to Dwight Diller. He spent time with Lee Hammons and other members of the Hammons family learning their tunes and intern passing these tunes on to countless others.

I think of these melodies as boats on a river. They travel downstream filled with information about the people on the river. The contents are offloaded and examined with the filter of time and social circumstance. Learning about these tunes and the people who made them is a never ending source of our shared history and wonder.

More about Jimmy Triplett:
oldtimeherald.org/archive/back...ndex.html

More about Dwight Diller discussing Lee Hammons:
banjonews.com/2016-09/lee_hammons.html

A video from West Virgina Public Broadcasting introducing the Hammons family:
youtu.be/tlFUeZkMsrU

My playing of the tab:
youtu.be/A0pHYjOEA38

Tab of Burl Hammons Tune

 

JanetB - Posted - 08/07/2020:  08:07:38

Thank you, Tim, for this lovely, emotive tune, and your video and tab. Here’s a link to hear Jimmy Triplett fiddling the tune and also the opportunity to purchase the whole digital album, naming your own price. skyislandstringband.bandcamp.c...mons-tune

carolynf - Posted - 08/07/2020:  13:10:07

What a wonderful tune! And I love your interpretation. I never get tired of these West Virginia pieces.

And thanks Janet, for the link.

atleson - Posted - 08/07/2020:  13:52:39

Thanks so much for posting Tim. Hammons' tunes are always most welcome. Lee Hammons, a relative of some kind, is one of my all time favorite musicians.

JanetB - Posted - 08/08/2020:  09:33:58

Tim, you always give us a real treat, thanks much. Your tab and playing were already done well, so I wondered what else to do. Arranging a TOTW is like a Sudoku or crossword puzzle -- it's a fun challenge. After downloading Jimmy Triplett's recording, I used the cello banjo and tuned to his pitch. It amounted to sawmill tuning with a raised 5th string. Tabbing was hard for me because the tune feels so crooked. In the end I wish there were no measure markers. The tune flows like a winding river which needs no markers, but the tab nonetheless helped me play fluently.

Burl Hammons Tune (TOTW)(CB)

Burl Hammons Tune (CH) tab

Hay-on-Wye - Posted - 08/08/2020:  13:03:32

Lovely tune played by both Tim and Janet. I like the description by Janet, a river that needs no boundaries. It’s the sort of tune you can meander through at whatever pace you like

clawhammertim - Posted - 08/11/2020:  14:29:04

yes, Janet! perfect description- "a river that needs no boundaries"