Mtngoat - Posted - 04/29/2022:  05:07:15

TOTW 04/29/2022 Stone’s Rag

I’ve chosen Stone’s Rag for this installment of TOTW.   

The tune was composed by fiddler Oscar Stone and recorded in October of 1928 by Paul Warmack and his Gully Jumpers.   Warmack (1889–1954) formed the band in 1927 and it soon became an early star of the Grand Ole Opry radio program.  The Traditional Tune Archive says the 1940 recording of Lone Star Rag by Texas fiddler Bob Wills “appears to be a close variant of Stone's Rag with improvisations.”

The tune has a healthy internet presence and a few illustrative examples are below.

Here’s the Gully Jumpers’ recording:  youtube.com/watch?v=w8aRorypB3A

Here’s a band featuring Doc Watson with an all-star lineup:  youtube.com/watch?v=5wXqQ2Snh_A

Here’s a band featuring fiddler Chubby Wise:  youtube.com/watch?v=xXcUPkAWZas

Here’s a fiddle with piano back up:  youtube.com/watch?v=C_LvJVtuq3A

Here’s a mandolin solo: slippery-hill.com/content/stones-rag-4

Here’s a band with plectrum banjo:  m.facebook.com/redcedarreviewm...33143415/

Here’s a fiddle and banjo duet with Stone’s Rag starting at 1:02:   youtu.be/XfoRcG74WAs

Wills’ 1940 interpretation entitled Lone Star Rag is here:  45worlds.com/78rpm/record/05637

Ken Perlman has an advanced clawhammer tab in his recent book Appalachian Fiddle Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo here: 

books.google.com/books?id=AXHp...p;f=false

And a transcription in standard notation is here:  sandiegocontra.org/sheet-music...esRag.pdf

I like this tune but I haven’t yet come up with a satisfying solo clawhammer arrangement.  For dances I play backup chords and work hard to maintain the proper rhythm.  I’ll throw in a melody note when possible but I generally hide behind the fiddle and mandolin.   I’m thinking I might have to dust off my fingerpicking in order to get something presentable.   If anyone has any tips on how to approach this tune please post them along with other comments, performances, and tabs contributing to this thread.

ndlxs - Posted - 04/29/2022:  06:42:18

I haven't seen Ken Perlman's arrangement, but I would think that the high A, third note from the end of measures 1 and 2 (and a bunch of other places) could be done by fretting the fifth string.  That might give the right sound; I'd try it myself, but it's early morning here, the cat is on me and it is morning quiet time by mutual agreement. 

Don Borchelt - Posted - 04/29/2022:  07:24:28

I love this tune, my two fiddling friends and I have it on our C tune rotation list. With its high level of syncopation, it's going to be very tricky to do in clawhammer style, if you insist on hitting every single note the way Ken does. If you look closely at Ken's tab, he has to employ a lot of unusual techniques, including bringing his thumb down to the first string, pulling off on a string without first plucking it (not unusual in and of itself, but he does it in at least half of the measures), and even dragging his middle finger to obtain a roll effect (at the beginning of the B part). These are all techniques I've watched Ken do for years, but he has to use them in overdrive for this one! I did find a recording of Ken backing up a fiddler "down under" named Sidney Baglole, but it didn't sound like he was playing what was in the tab. There is probably an audio recording with the book, but I couldn't find it available to steal anywhere.



Thank God I have three fingers on my right hand! I made a video of this six years ago, which I have inserted below. Like Ken, I straighten it out, because that's how it's generally played at jams these days.  I am playing my 1902 Fairbanks Whyte Laydie in double C tuning (gCGCD).  

Edited by - Don Borchelt on 04/29/2022 07:27:29

RG - Posted - 04/29/2022:  12:01:56

One of the all time great tunes!

Don, WOW is all I can say! Perfection!

Mtngoat - Posted - 04/29/2022:  17:13:17

Andy, Thanks for the 5th string tip. It will indeed make things easier.

I used to have a cat who would sit in my lap while I practiced. He wasn't deaf and I'm not sure why but it was automatic when I sat down with the banjo.

Don, I agree with RG. That's great picking. I haven't played Bluegrass in years but I'm hoping the rolls are still in my muscle memory. Now that you've demonstrated what is possible I just have to work out an arrangement.

Thanks for posting fellows.

JanetB - Posted - 05/03/2022:  12:02:06

Stone's Rag is a tricky tune with its modulation and fancy runs.  Don's video is, as always, enjoyable and he continues to add to our C tune awareness. 

I've heard the Doc Watson rendition for a long while, but only had Kansas fiddler Vernon Spencer's on my laptop from the Fields Recorders' Collective #726 (FRC726  and track notes).  He played it at a more relaxed pace, which appealed to me for learning purposes.  Though he also plays in the key of C, my efforts in double C tuning weren't satisfying, so the cello banjo once again enabled playing in the key of C, but tuning equivalent to open G -- cGCEG.  The runs were fun, but the modulation in the B part prevented the use  of the 5th string.  I used other strings and notes that mimicked the rhythmic use of the 5th string so typically used in clawhammer.  I just don't like discord when the 5th string isn't harmonious. 

This arrangement in different tuning from the key of C might not help you, Mtngoat, but at least you can hear Stone's Rag played with clawhammer.  Thanks for another fine tune.

Stone's Rag (CH) tab

Stone's Rag (CB)(TOTW)

Mtngoat - Posted - 05/04/2022:  08:58:05

Janet,

That's good stuff. I find the relaxed pace and deep tones of the Cello banjo pleasing.

I always look forward to your tabs and you've certainly risen to the challenge here. The notes are there and the picking is straight forward so I should be able to play it. As I'm typing I'm debating whether to capo 5 or tune up to A and capo 3. Guess I'll try both.

Also thanks for bringing the Spencer recording to our attention. I plan to mine that for some new material and variations of old standards.