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rinemb - Posted - 02/07/2007: 10:49:19
I am working up a prepared guidelines, etiquettes, and suggested tune list for an "old time" only, public jam we are forming. I would like to include in the handout a farily lengthy tune list of the most popular old time tunes, say about 50-100 tunes. Is there any site or resource out there I can just paste in and edit, rather than create it. Also, I have a topic going in the "non-banjo" related forum seeking suggestions for a public Saturday Jam in an area with little old time music. Please visit that topic and make a few suggestions. Thanks, Brad
May not the incidence of success, nor the pretense of retirement-Lessen the want of enlightenment.
trapdoor2 - Posted - 02/07/2007: 10:54:52
check out the Nashville Old Time String Band site. They have an extensive tune list as a link on the front page.
http://www.nashvilleoldtime.org/
"If banjos needed tone rings, S.S. Stewart would have built 'em that way."
===Marc
wormpicker - Posted - 02/07/2007: 11:11:54
Dan Levenson's three clawhammer books comprise a pretty comprehensive list of old-time standards. You can find tune lists for all of them at Dan's web site:
http://www.oldtimemusic.us/
Paul
Obsession is a great substitute for talent. -Steve Martin
dbrooks - Posted - 02/07/2007: 11:59:19
I thought about replying but you have gotten three excellent suggestions from Trapdoor2, J-Walk and Wormpicker. The Nashville Old-time association was the first thing that came to my mind. I am also a big fan of Hetzler's site and Dan's books.
David
Copo - Posted - 02/07/2007: 13:22:53
So in essence, dbrooks, you have indeed replied.
rinemb - Posted - 02/07/2007: 14:02:50
Our private jam group has a tune list of about 75 tunes, some we play with no thought, some we have to review chords and dabble with melody a bit to get going on tune, some are on the "we are going to learn" list, but there are quite a few oddball tunes in there (at least for these parts). I did copy all of the "Hetzlers" Fakebook lists in the various keys. It is a great list, the Nashville list is good as well. If I had time I would edit it down to maybe a top 100. One purpose of the list is to illustrate the stuff that will not be allowed. That education process will need a bit of diplomacy, I think. Thanks for the suggestions. Brad
May not the incidence of success, nor the pretense of retirement-Lessen the want of enlightenment.
Edited by - rinemb on 02/07/2007 14:04:46
oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 02/07/2007: 18:20:41
I would think the stuff some of your jammers already do would be the best source for tunes. Some of the "standards" might not even be played in your area.
example: Every list I ever see of good jam tunes always includes Billy In The Lowground --- I've never had occasion to play it at a jam. Not even the jams that did C tunes.
Likewise "Turkey In The Straw". I could probably make a list of a few dozen old time tunes that are standards but never get played.
The Whiskey Before Breakfast variations and a few tunes in "F" tuning are now available on the web at:
http://home.thegrid.net/~fjbrad/id20.html
Tikron - Posted - 02/07/2007: 22:51:09
"Some of the "standards" might not even be played in your area." - oldwoodchuckb
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THAT makes alot of sense to me. Different regions ... different "standards". And going further, I guess even in the same region - different circles of players, different "standards".
It also brings to mind a thought about which tunes are "prefered" by banjo claw-hammerers as opposed to which might be the choice of flatpickers or fiddlers. I suppose for fiddle the 'tune list' might look more like a banjos players list, but sometimes guitar players like tunes that are easier to play on the guitar [and not all of them migrate as well from fiddle to guitar as one might like].
Then we get to the point about - where experience and expertise come in. There are some among us who are unaffected by little things like the "level of dificulty" of a tune. Throw ANYTHING their way and they come right back at you with a great version of it no matter WHAT instrument they happen to be holding. You gotta' love it!
Ron
Bill Rogers - Posted - 02/07/2007: 23:39:42
One thing I would include as a paragraph with the tune list is a pointed suggestion that during the jam, players stay in one key for a significant number of tunes before shifting to another key; that way the banjo players' retuning will be minimized and the jammers will be able to spend more time playing, less tuning.
Bill
rinemb - Posted - 02/07/2007: 10:49:19
I am working up a prepared guidelines, etiquettes, and suggested tune list for an "old time" only, public jam we are forming. I would like to include in the handout a farily lengthy tune list of the most popular old time tunes, say about 50-100 tunes. Is there any site or resource out there I can just paste in and edit, rather than create it. Also, I have a topic going in the "non-banjo" related forum seeking suggestions for a public Saturday Jam in an area with little old time music. Please visit that topic and make a few suggestions. Thanks, Brad
May not the incidence of success, nor the pretense of retirement-Lessen the want of enlightenment.
Rimstick - Posted - 01/25/2007: 12:39:45
Hi guys, New the forum and wanted some advice on nails and/or picks.
Thin nails run in my family. The one on my index finger is less than .020 inches thick. When it finally gets long enough to make a clear note I snag it on something and tear it off. 
My wife told me that gelatin capsules would thicken my nails but after several months I noticed no difference. I note that Pete Seger played with a reversed Scruggs style finger pick. Dwight Dillard told us to brush on "super glue"... which a lady at work told me actually dissolves nails. I even tried some fake nails, but it kept begging to be painted "Hot Flamingo Pink". 
Any consensus or better ideas here on this subject??
Uncle Dave Macon makes me laugh !!
Copo - Posted - 01/25/2007: 12:56:57
Maybe a false nail might help. I tried picks myself but find they drown out the sound of the thumb on the fifth string
stringbeaner - Posted - 01/25/2007: 19:12:19
Try your middle finger.
I have been a middle finger CH picker since day one because that's what my granddaddy used.
banjobutte
BishopLevi - Posted - 01/25/2007: 20:48:40
I have had good success with acrylic nails applied by a nail shoppe.. (they build a nail, not a glued on one) and it lasts several months.. Presently I apply frequent super glue to my pickin' nail which will wear and break off otherwise.. The super glue elaves a some what rough finish so I file it lightly to smooth it.. It's either the nail shoppe or super glue for me.. Naked nail don't work..
BishopLevi
oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 01/26/2007: 00:52:21
Besides learning to use the middle finger too, I suggest a cheap plastic fingerpick.
You have to stretch it to fit your finger, flatten it somewhat and it works best if you cut off the point, then sand it thinner and smooth.
Do the sanding outdoors and I recoimmend wearing a mask when sanding plastic - or most anything. It is only a little bit of junk that gets in your lungs but over the decades those little bits add up.
The Whiskey Before Breakfast variations and a few tunes in "F" tuning are now available on the web at:
http://home.thegrid.net/~fjbrad/id20.html
Ralph White - Posted - 01/26/2007: 02:04:45
I use a white Dunlap pick on backwards and cut down as Oldwoodchuck suggests. Works fine for me and can add volume if desired.
Ralph White, Jr.
"Just because I'm the oldest doesn't mean I'm the Best"
http://www.myspace.com/achenbackstringband
Clawdan - Posted - 01/26/2007: 11:07:26
Check out JR's Clawpick. Available at Elderly I believe. Natural sounding and funky looking.
Play nice,
Dan "Ain't no bum-diddy" Levenson
Old Time Music and Dance
www.ClawhammerBanjo.us
Author of Clawhammer Banjo From Scratch, A guide for the claw-less - a MelBay Publication
and Old Time Festival Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo (MelBay 20313) - 117 tunes tabbed for clawhammer banjo with standard notation and suggested chords.
Tune list at http://www.folknet.org/dan/FestTunesBJBook.htm
Tom Banjo - Posted - 01/26/2007: 11:14:51
There's this new thing called the Atomic fingerpick. I haven't tried it, but it looks cool.
I used to use this polish that helps the nail both harden and grow faster, and got good results.
_________________________
www.myspace.com/crt4au
Rimstick - Posted - 01/26/2007: 12:26:31
Thanks for the input guys. This is great. stuff!!
Uncle Dave Macon makes me laugh !!
gailg64 - Posted - 01/26/2007: 13:50:59
My husband (Dwight Rogers) has been a clawhammer-er since the early 70s. He uses a Kyle Creed pick on his index finger for band use. Tom Mylet & a few others in our area have these, though some other very good clawhammer players use a modified, turned-around-backwards National/dunlop style pick.
The Creed picks were made from thin brass (supposedly from the reflector plates of Model A cars). If anyone wants to know more details, email me for a pattern and a jpeg of an example.
gail
(
quote:
Originally posted by Tom Banjo
There's this new thing called the Atomic fingerpick. I haven't tried it, but it looks cool.
I used to use this polish that helps the nail both harden and grow faster, and got good results.
_________________________
www.myspace.com/crt4au
rinemb - Posted - 01/26/2007: 14:39:10
My favorite (if you can find them) is to take a med weight brass fingerpick and file it down to fingernail height. The brass files or sands down real easy and has a slightly mellower tone then the harder picks, IMHO. Brad
May not the incidence of success, nor the pretense of retirement-Lessen the want of enlightenment.
gottasmilealot - Posted - 01/26/2007: 21:51:00
An Ernie Ball picky pick worn backwards and flattened somewhat works well. It's thin, shapes well to your ginger, and has a limited amount of string contact, but just enough to help accent your melody notes.
Keith
ponty - Posted - 01/27/2007: 09:19:05
On closer inspection these picks look thouroughly home-made. Have ago!
Sola Scriptura, Sola Christo, Sola Fide
bnjomn - Posted - 01/27/2007: 12:06:26
I've used a .013 Dunlop worn backward on my index finger for years. Once you get used to it you're hardly aware of having it on. I've used both nickel and brass picks and find no difference between them.
Cheers,
Len
"A man must love a thing very much if he not only practices it without any hope of fame or money, but even practices it without any hope of doing it well."
G. K. Chesterton
Clawdan - Posted - 01/27/2007: 12:22:19
quote:
Originally posted by ponty
Check out these EXPENSIVE ($10) clawhammer picks from Elderly.Any used them??
http://elderly.com/search/elderly?t...cname=Search
Sola Scriptura, Sola Christo, Sola Fide
Yes, that is the JR clawpic I wrote about. Great sounding, funky looking. JR makes em himself!
Play nice,
Dan "Ain't no bum-diddy" Levenson
Old Time Music and Dance
www.ClawhammerBanjo.usAuthor of Clawhammer Banjo From Scratch, A guide for the claw-less - a MelBay Publication
and Old Time Festival Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo (MelBay 20313) - 117 tunes tabbed for clawhammer banjo with standard notation and suggested chords.
Tune list at
http://www.folknet.org/dan/FestTunesBJBook.htm
ponty - Posted - 01/28/2007: 14:07:34
Thanks Dan...How did I miss that?! Who is JR?
Sola Scriptura, Sola Christo, Sola Fide
Penchaser - Posted - 01/28/2007: 18:11:49
Anyone tired the "Atomic" frailing pick. I think they sell them at Janet Davis.
Bob
scottee - Posted - 01/28/2007: 22:54:19
I just got my Atomic frailing pick from Janet Davis yesterday. It certainly makes a big difference in volume and brightness. For me right now, it overpowers the thumb pluck notes. I think that's probably a matter of adjusting technique, though.
With me just beginning--and I mean pretty much just--I will stay with the fingernail to keep from complicating things further soundwise at this point. I'm very happy with my tone as is right now. It remains to be seen if my fingernail will hold up over time.
I think you owe it to yourself to invest and try out all the pick options available to see what feel the most comfortable to you.
gailg64 - Posted - 01/29/2007: 10:38:45
These look to be the shape that the Kyle Creed picks break into after years of use. The original picks folded over the fingertip into a rounded box that worked in both directions. (Kyle often played in a picking style)
G
quote:
Originally posted by ponty
Check out these EXPENSIVE ($10) clawhammer picks from Elderly.Any used them??
http://elderly.com/search/elderly?t...cname=Search
Sola Scriptura, Sola Christo, Sola Fide
yodebg - Posted - 01/29/2007: 14:13:39
I've tried John Balch's use of modified ACRI picks which he desribes in the following link :
http://www.johnbalchmusic.com/picks.html
It works great for me, I'll never go back to fingernail again
10-S-C
Edited by - yodebg on 01/29/2007 14:26:15
uncledaveh - Posted - 01/31/2007: 13:35:16
When playing with the band, I use an old metal fingerpick on my middle finger. The pick is slightly straightened, and turned around backward. I have used this for years. It works very well with our hard driving old-time sound. (But then I also play a Gibson TB-11 Conversion with a Huber Flathead Tonering.) When I am playing alone, I forgo the pick and use my fingernail.
Hot dog!!
David "Uncle Dave" Holbrook
Rockdale Ridgerunners
"Now good people, we're going to play this next tune with more heterogeneous constapolicy, double flavor and unknown quality than usual."
teebee - Posted - 02/07/2007: 11:26:56
There is a discussion on this under the title "Clawhammer pick that works"
It has a couple pictures of workable solutions as mention in both discussions
teebee
happy to tinker
dbrooks - Posted - 02/07/2007: 11:54:01
I also have been using John Balch's suggestion of the modified Acri pick. I get some rattle as the string vibrates against the pick as I make some strokes, but I am getting better with practice.
I met with Dan Knowles this past weekend to duscuss some repair and set-up work on a banjo I bought. Dan had just broken a couple of nails, and he used a flattened Dunlop pick as a stand-in. He said he sells the JR Clawpick in his shop in Paris, TN. Dan made that banjo sing -- so much so that I started thinking that it was I, not the banjo, that needed the repair and set-up work. Fine fella, also.
David
arnie - Posted - 02/07/2007: 14:28:13
I recently tried using a medium sized brass Alaska pick. You need to snip off the 2 small metal grip sections and file those down for clawhammer use so those dont get caught by the strings, but this lightweight brass pick which just sticks out a little gives off an amazing mid range/bass tone!
Arnie Naiman
http://www.merriweather.ca/Records.aspx?ID=2
Edited by - arnie on 02/08/2007 12:09:41
caintuck - Posted - 02/08/2007: 00:40:49
I'm in the JR clawpick camp. They sound, as Clawdan stated, very natural. I like to trim and shape mine so that they just barely peak above the meat of my middle fingure. I like to thin the blade at the top just a bit too.
ponty, "JR" is Val Johnson, who is involved with Nechville Banjos in some capacity.
David
