TOTW 12/8/23 - Cincinnati Hornpipe (Estil Adams Version) - Discussion Forums

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Playing the Banjo
Playing Advice: Clawhammer and Old-Time Styles
ARCHIVED TOPIC: TOTW 12/8/23 - Cincinnati Hornpipe (Estil Adams Version)

Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/394406

zach w - Posted - 12/08/2023: 08:03:46

My choice for TOTW is a version of ‘Cincinnati Hornpipe’ that comes from Estil Adams of Washington Courthouse, Ohio. Since my last TOTW entry, additional recordings of Estil Adams, as well as other Ohio fiddlers, have been released on slippery-hill.com. The recordings came from Kerry Blechs personal archive, and were donated to slippery-hill following his passing a few months ago. I first heard this version of ‘Cincinnati Hornpipe’ from a youtube video of Kerry Blech and Jim Nelson. This post is my small tribute to Kerry Blech and his substantial impact on the old-time community. Below are links to Kerry Blechs slippery hill archive and other Ohio tunes.

slippery-hill.com/kerry blech archive

slippery-hill.com/ohiotunes

Brad Kramer posted an excellent tribute to Kerry on his blog site. An Old-Time Encyclopedia: In Memory of Kerry Blech:

Here’s a link to my previous TOTW post with info about Estil Adams - TOTW- Washington Courthouse.

There are multiple versions of Cincinnati Hornpipe in circulation. I believe the more common version is a mid-western tune in the key of D/A and can be found in Cole's 1000 fiddle tunes. Slippery-Hill has four different versions of Cincinnati Hornpipe and all but one are in the key of D.

This is Charlie Walden playing the Cincinnati Hornpipe-D/A for comparison.

Here's Estil playing: Estil Adams - Cincinnati Hornpipe

And here’s my recording and tab:

Edited by - zach w on 12/08/2023 10:26:13

Cincinnati Hornpipe

VIDEO: Cincinnati Hornpipe (Estil Adams version)
(click to view)

JanetB - Posted - 12/09/2023: 11:53:32

Thanks for another good Ohio tune, Zach. Nicely played! I downloaded the Slippery Hill recording of Estil Adams, which doesn't start quite at the beginning, but made that the A part. I tuned my banjo to what I heard and ended up with an arrangement in gCGCE. The A part goes really smoothly in that tuning. The B part lets the modulation happen and my left hand stays down the neck because I tuned up the first string. These days, I like to stay down the neck, though I still venture often enough up the neck.

I had worked out another version of Cincinnati Hornpipe by John Salyer and include it here for comparison.

Keep those Ohio tunes coming!

Cincinnati Hornpipe (Estil Adams)(TOTW)

Cincinnati Hornpipe (Estil Adams)(CH) tab

Cincinnati Hornpipe (John Salyer)

Mtngoat - Posted - 12/09/2023: 15:54:20

I met Kerry about 20 years ago at a winter festival in Florida. One bitterly cold night (for Florida anyway) we shared a campfire and some tunes. Thereafter he always remembered my name and always had a kind word for me.

zach w - Posted - 12/09/2023: 17:46:16

quote:
Originally posted by JanetB

Thanks for another good Ohio tune, Zach. Nicely played! I downloaded the Slippery Hill recording of Estil Adams, which doesn't start quite at the beginning, but made that the A part. I tuned my banjo to what I heard and ended up with an arrangement in gCGCE. The A part goes really smoothly in that tuning. The B part lets the modulation happen and my left hand stays down the neck because I tuned up the first string. These days, I like to stay down the neck, though I still venture often enough up the neck.

I had worked out another version of Cincinnati Hornpipe by John Salyer and include it here for comparison.

Keep those Ohio tunes coming!

Excellent arrangement Janet. Beautifully smooth playing. Thanks! I might give the coles version a try. Sounds like a funny note D tune.