Hi All,
Newbie post here!
I'm principally a guitarist and looking for guidance on an old cover of the Baby Tree Song by Jefferson Starship.
Search on Youtube for "The Baby Tree Paul Kantner"
Looking for educated guess as to the banjo tuning, capo or not (I have a five string banjo) and the basic chord pattern.
Thanks - Peter
Kantner did in E, tuned G CGBD, then capoed up 4 frets. If you also do it capoed up in E, you'll need to use a spike on the 5th string.
Straight ahead "Seeger style" up-picking in 3/4.
Without a capo, in C, the chords are C-C-Am-G, C-C-Am-G, F-F-C-Am, G-G-C-Am, G-G-C-C.
The basic strum pattern is I - B T B T, I - B T B T [index - brush thumb brush thumb], giving you a boom diddy diddy rhythm.
Edited by - rcc56 on 09/13/2024 17:50:07
Thanks - that gets me 90% there! What would the G be spiked to? If I don't have a spike, can I tune it up or down a few steps ?
quote:
Originally posted by MDFingerPickerThanks - that gets me 90% there! What would the G be spiked to? If I don't have a spike, can I tune it up or down a few steps ?
If you don't have spikes on the neck you can tune the fifth string up to G#. That will blend with an E chord.
If you had spikes you would hook the fifth string on the ninth fret for a B note.
If you don't have them, it would be worth your while to have two spikes installed-- one at the 7th fret, and another at the 9th. Especially if you like to sing while you play.
Installing spikes is a job that is best performed by someone with experience. While it's not rocket science, it's a little tricky; and amateurs and electric guitar "techs" have been known to mess the job up, including drilling all the way through the neck.
Edited by - rcc56 on 09/14/2024 15:26:57
"The Baby Tree" was written by Rosalie Sorrels, and the banjo part on this recording was played by Jerry Garcia, with Paul Kantner on vocals. This was one of the recordings that drew me towards the sound of clawhammer banjo, though I didn't actually start learning to play until several years after that album's release.
Edited by - BrendanD on 09/16/2024 03:19:30
