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mjt0229 - Posted - 06/30/2023: 07:22:26
The TOTW for this week is Clyde Davenport's Flatwoods. It's a G tune, played in standard tuning on the fiddle.
Normally I pick a tune that I'm working on, but lately I've been working specific versions of common tunes that'll have been covered many times before, so today I turned to Jeff Titon's book "Old-Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes" and spotted a Clyde Davenport tune that hasn't been covered before (!). According to Titon, the title "Flatwoods" has been attached to a number of unrelated tunes from other places (Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia) as well.
Flatwoods is a shorter tune, and to my ear it's sprightly, with a couple of long notes in the B section where the fiddle "rests". You can hear Clyde Davenport playing it very clearly in this recording:
slippery-hill.com/content/flatwoods
Even better, you can watch him - he's playing a fair bit slower here, so you can watch what he does and still hear the notes very clearly. Davenport has a great, consistent sound.
oldtimetikiparlour.com/2014/10...latwoods/
Our own @JanetB has already posted recordings and tab for the tune:
banjohangout.org/archive/335184
I haven't found a lot of other recordings of this tune on the banjo, actually, so this is your opportunity to learn! I was tinkering a bit with the tune last night and found that it's going to be an awkward fit fro Sandy River Belle tuning - the A part will have to be up the neck a bit to reach the the low notes, or I'll need to find some alternative locations. I don't play a lot in standard G tuning, but I might need to reach for it this week.
JanetB - Posted - 06/30/2023: 20:21:45
Your pick is a good one, Mark, thanks! And thanks that I have less homework this week as you posted my past effort to tab and learn it. Truly, studying Clyde Davenport's music is a rich experience in smooth fiddling and unique and pleasing tunes. "Clyde the Glide" was his nickname as shared by BHO member Tractor Tom Elder and it sure says much. Gliding in clawhammer banjo, however, is another story, though some of us try.
Here's what I did a while back:
Edited by - JanetB on 06/30/2023 20:23:33
