Posted by JanetB, written by Owen "Snake" Chapman
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- Play count: 198
Size: 1,352kb, uploaded 7/12/2017 9:33:30 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
Owen "Snake" Chapman (1919 - 2002), Kentucky fiddler, recorded two CDs through which we can learn about him and his music. He knew BHO member Jim Reed well, and also played with and for notables such as Ed Haley and Kenny Baker. Snake felt Jenny's Waltz was his best composition, dedicated to his wife. In the recording he's accompanied by 3-finger picker Paul David Smith, who passed away a few years ago. My arrangement is clawhammered on my new small-scale Doc's Banjo, which I can't seem to put down. :)
Add CommentPosted by JanetB, written by Bill Monroe
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- Play count: 1711
Size: 1,363kb, uploaded 2/25/2013 6:12:52 AM
Genre: Other / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
Kenny Baker was a genius playing his fiddle. It's real hard on clawhammer banjo, but I can hear the melody and like to think of Bill Monroe listening to his fox hounds hunt on Jerusalem Ridge by his Kentucky home.
7 commentsPosted by JanetB
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- Play count: 165
Size: 1,364kb, uploaded 4/28/2019 3:02:21 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
For the old-time Tune of the Week, 4/26/19, you can look up lots of versions of Jesse James on BHO. It's been a popular song over the ages, though with some controversial feelings. My arrangement is based on Pete Seeger's.
5 commentsPosted by JanetB
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- Play count: 886
Size: 920kb, uploaded 12/22/2012 5:32:32 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
For the TOTW, Dec. 21, 2012
5 commentsPosted by JanetB
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- Play count: 181
Size: 1,424kb, uploaded 3/9/2018 3:45:02 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
For the old-time Tune of the Week, 3/9/18, Jimmy in the Swamp comes from the fiddle playing of Nebraska great Bob Walters. It's in the key of G and I'm playing in guitar tuning gDGBE. Most banjo players play it in G tuning.
5 commentsPosted by JanetB
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- Play count: 161
Size: 1,869kb, uploaded 5/25/2018 10:02:55 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
Jimmy Johnson is described by Dwight Miller as being a WV tune known elsewhere as John Brown's Dream (also John Harvey's Dream). The two are similar so I put them together. Jimmy Johnson is from Dwight's playing for the Tune of the Week discussion, 5/25/18 and John Brown's Dream comes from Hobart Smith, a past TOTW.
4 commentsPosted by JanetB
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- Play count: 1119
Size: 934kb, uploaded 8/1/2014 8:35:17 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
This is from Hobart Smith's fiddling, recorded by Alan and Elizabeth Lomax in 1937. He said he got it from his grandfather.
2 commentsPosted by JanetB
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- Play count: 194
Size: 1,376kb, uploaded 1/11/2019 11:50:57 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
From the playing of Dwight Diller, this old-time Tune of the Week is one I've heard, but not tried. It was nice learning from a video of Dwight recently playing the tune at a slow tempo. It's one of the tunes taught to our TOTW presenter, Andy Fults, at the first music camp he attended with Dwight.
3 commentsPosted by JanetB, written by Turlough O'Carolan
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- Play count: 129
Size: 1,747kb, uploaded 11/30/2015 11:31:44 AM
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
O'Carolan composed John Drury on his harp with lyrics to honor the wedding of John Drury and Elizabeth Goldsmith in 1724. The last line praised marrying for love, not money, though both bride and groom were well-to-do. Unfortunately the groom died a year later. I'm reminded to gratefully enjoy life's precious moments as they occur. My clawhammer adaptation, with finger-thumb-finger, finger-thumb-finger for the most part, allowed me to claw a jig -- a rare technique for me to use. It's quite fun to get into the 6/8 time rhythm, which I'm playing rather slowly here. I first heard the tune picked in Banjo Hangout member Ron Hughes' instructional book/CD called O'Carolan for 5 String Banjo.
1 commentPosted by JanetB
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- Play count: 115
Size: 1,815kb, uploaded 9/1/2021 10:11:57 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
From another time when Plinky & Plunky used to perform this ballad....I haven't sung it in years, but for the sake of TOTW, here is our version, less Plinky whose arthritic hands don't want to play mandolin these days.
Add CommentPosted by JanetB
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- Play count: 1256
Size: 762kb, uploaded 2/15/2014 3:41:09 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
A great American folk hero song, the Tune of the Week for February 14, 2014, played on a Gold Tone cello banjo.
7 commentsPosted by JanetB, written by Turlough O'Carolan
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- Play count: 657
Size: 1,467kb, uploaded 3/14/2017 1:13:06 PM
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
Here's a clawhammered planxty from Turlough O'Carolan (1670 - 1738) in 6/8 jig time with cello banjo accompaniment.
2 commentsPosted by JanetB, written by Turlough O'Carolan
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- Play count: 727
Size: 2,070kb, uploaded 6/23/2018 9:23:50 AM
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
In topics:
Playing Jigs
The O'Reilly's of 17th century Ireland were amongst Turlough O'Carolan's supportive patrons as the blind harpist traveled far and wide. When O'Carolan wrote a tune in their honor it was given the label "planxty." Unable to play for several weeks due to my broken shoulder, I offer something recorded previously on my clawhammer banjo.
4 commentsPosted by JanetB
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- Play count: 1262
Size: 1,627kb, uploaded 2/14/2013 6:20:59 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
The similarity of these tunes' beginnings inspired me to combine them as a medley.
6 commentsPosted by JanetB
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- Play count: 583
Size: 1,472kb, uploaded 6/1/2018 9:22:27 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
For the old-time Tune of the Week, 6/1/18, with no real title. It may have been collected in Ireland and the title forgotten. The tune has a beautiful emotional quality I like. Thank you, Mary Z Cox for presenting another one of your outstanding repertoire pieces this week.
2 commentsPosted by JanetB
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- Play count: 117
Size: 849kb, uploaded 9/30/2012 7:55:26 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
This is one of Don Borchelt's Clifftop, 2012 tunes he played with a WV fiddler named Ralph Roberts. This tune was learned from Ralph's grandfather, John. Its structure is unique, with 12 measures that lead right back to the beginning. I'm grateful to Don for sharing Ralph's music.
1 commentPosted by JanetB
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- Play count: 942
Size: 801kb, uploaded 9/21/2013 4:31:58 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
For the Tune of the Week, Sept. 19, 2013, played on a Gold Tone mini-openback. I think the other names for it are related, and I like them better, like Johnny Booker or Johnny Bucker, but oh, well. The way Lee Hammons played and, more specifically, the way Chuck Levy interpreted it, make it another Lee Hammons beautiful piece I'm glad to learn.
2 commentsPosted by JanetB
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- Play count: 283
Size: 1,124kb, uploaded 3/21/2015 4:25:11 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
For the old-time Tune of the Week, this comes from Texas fiddler Duck Wootan (1882 - 1964) whose grandson posts on Fiddle Hangout. The paper collar part was an education for me. Check it out: http://www.banjohangout.org/topic/301201. I was able to learn this quickly through the tab of Ken Torke. It's a light-hearted tune for this Saturday afternoon before company comes, but we're going to work the garden a bit, not dress up in anything with a fancy collar.
5 commentsPosted by JanetB
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- Play count: 201
Size: 969kb, uploaded 9/21/2019 5:03:12 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
From the playing of Virginia fiddler Albert Hash, this Tune of the Week for 9/20/19 is an old and widely recorded and tune.They say it goes back before the Civil War and was a comical courting song. The Johnson Boys really got around, even when they were broke.
2 commentsPosted by JanetB
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- Play count: 126
Size: 1,352kb, uploaded 9/14/2019 4:09:43 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
As brisk a storm as one can imagine caused Jonah to be thrown off the ship to Tarshish in the biblical account. I don't normally attempt to play this rapidly, but that's how it was played when Kentucky fiddler Glen Fannin was recorded. Then again, many fiddlers play faster than I like to (or can) go...
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