Jenny Get Around

Posted by JanetB

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Size: 1,807kb, uploaded 10/13/2012 1:28:06 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time

John Salyer of Kentucky is credited most with this song. Pete Sutherland's slow version on "Banjo Gathering" inspired me to learn it, listening both to his 3-finger picking and the original fiddle recording of Salyer in 1940. Thus I'm playing it slow first, then fast; picking, then clawhammer.

Jenny in the Cotton Patch (TOTW)

Posted by JanetB

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- Play count: 254

Size: 1,196kb, uploaded 9/17/2017 11:43:46 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time

For the old-time Tune of the Week, 9/15/17, Clyde Davenport, wonderfully smooth Kentucky fiddler, learned this from his father Will who learned it from their neighbor, elder fiddler Will Phipps (b. 1829). It has a modal sound, so I arranged it in sawmill tuning.

Jenny's Waltz

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. :)

Jerusalem Ridge (CH)

Posted by JanetB, written by Bill Monroe

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- Play count: 1767

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.

Jesse James (TOTW)

Posted by JanetB

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- Play count: 172

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.

Jim Shank

Posted by JanetB

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- Play count: 895

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

Jimmy in the Swamp (TOTW)

Posted by JanetB

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- Play count: 189

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.

Jimmy Johnson/John Brown's Dream medley (TOTW)

Posted by JanetB

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- Play count: 164

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.

John Brown's Dream (TOTW)

Posted by JanetB

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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.

John Brown's March (TOTW)

Posted by JanetB

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- Play count: 198

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.

John Drury

Posted by JanetB, written by Turlough O'Carolan

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- Play count: 131

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.

John Hardy (TOTW)

Posted by JanetB

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- Play count: 120

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.

John Henry (CB)

Posted by JanetB

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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.

John O'Connor

Posted by JanetB, written by Turlough O'Carolan

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- Play count: 661

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.

John O'Reilly (1st air)

Posted by JanetB, written by Turlough O'Carolan

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- Play count: 765

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.

John Riley the Shepherd/Southern Flavor medley

Posted by JanetB

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- Play count: 1328

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.

John Riley the Shepherd/Southern Flavor medley (w/chords)

Posted by JanetB

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- Play count: 49

Size: 4,126kb, uploaded 9/20/2024 11:10:47 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time

Chords are added to an older recording in the first time through for John Riley the Shepherd,

John Stinson's #2 (TOTW)

Posted by JanetB

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- Play count: 589

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.

John's Tune

Posted by JanetB

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- Play count: 118

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.

Johnny Booger

Posted by JanetB

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- Play count: 1013

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.