Posted by beanseo on Tuesday, November 13, 2007
I recently "discovered" Gm tuning. Dude! This is so cool. I've been tinkering a lot with some minor fasola tunes (shaped note music a la Sacred Harp, etc.) and have worked out simple melodies for some beauties like:
I first discovered the ability to translate the simple melodies from shaped note tunes to banjo when I was playing around with double-C tuning, but this Gm thing is wicked cool.
The place I want to get to now is figuring out how to add that texture that makes this kind of music so...awesome. Most of it is written in 4-part harmony (though a good deal is in 3-part). I wonder whether this would sound cool with different instruments taking different voice parts. Banjo as tenor, guitar as bass. What would fit as counter (alto) and treble (soprano)? Thoughts?
1 comment on “Fasola on the banjo”
festusbug Says:
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 @7:18:42 PM
Boy - you've got the bug!
For my two cents worth you can't go passed a fiddle or cello or even a mouth organ.
Also, try another banjo. Two banjos can make a harmonically rich mix.
Some non-western instruments can also be very compelling eg. the mongolian two string cello/fiddles like the morin khuur and igil. Or the Tibetan dramyen, a plucked three course banjo, works really well against a regular banjo.
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