Being a Hawkwind fan almost forever I spend a lot of time playing Hawkwind riffs adapted to the banjo so as a genre that would space rock. The good thing about Hawkwind is that it's simple rhythmical stuff. I'm always using sawmill tuning and make a simple chord sequence more interesting with partial chords and lots of hammer ons and offs and always lots of open strings. Paradox (Dm, B flat and C) works especially well. Using partial chords I converted the more involved chord sequence in the middle of Damnation Alley to a more note based sequence which I play as part of medley with Cluck Old Hen and Cold Frosty Morning. If wasn't technically useless I'd add in parts of the violin solo to make it work standalone.

I use to play my own music, I’m a classical graduated viola player with a modern jazz background and love traditional music…
In these videos I’m playing all the instrument but I also perform these tunes with my band…

I play what sounds interesting to me.
I suppose they come from many genres from tin pan alley to reggae to Celtic or wherever.

I play a lot of Gordon Lightfoot stuff when performing and even at jams. Gord's music has been classified as folk, country, pop; it has been played on all of those charts so I guess GL covers several genres.
Joe

“Banjo is best known for bluegrass and folk…”*


*today, (and since the folk revival post WW2).

I'm mainly a traditional bluegrass genre type picker although I do play gospel, old time country, pop, blues, jazz, rock-n-roll and anything that sparks my interest.

Old swing tunes - Heartaches, I’ll See You in my Dreams, My Blue Heaven, etc

I got into guitar because of blues, open g, slide etc.
I got into banjo because I was the only one in my jam group, who could make heads or tails of the banjo a friend bought, because of my guitar experience.

So my favorite genre to play when alone, is blues.

My favorite genre to play with my friends, outside of the normal BG and country stuff, is church hymns. It’s fun to give them just a little bit of banjo smile, in a serious service setting. I grew up very much disliking the slow boring church music that was forced upon us by way of a very religious family. But they became ingrained in my mind. Now, banjo in hand, I can play them the way I would have loved to hear them, growing up. Now I absolutely love them.

I like Cakewalks, Marches, Characteristic pieces, programmatic pieces (usually romantic era, popular), intermezzos, some polkas, jigs, reels, hornpipes or “fiddle tunes”.

Not real big on the schottische.

Lately I’ve been into sentimental popular songs arranged for instrumental banjo by Zarh Myron Bickford.

One old (I guess it is jazz or swing) song that is fun to play, is very suitable for the banjo, and goes over well at jams is "Just Because." I play it a lot at jams and everyone loves it.
Joe

Disturbed-The Sounds of Silence

I've gotten a lot of enjoyment trying to work up Bluegrass style arrangements for Tin Pan Alley tunes. Most of the tunes have great melodies and interesting chord progressions.

I’ve played a lot of different stuff. I like this one a lot.

And why not Stewie Wonder or a Lou Reed song in banjo?

Still enjoy the "out of the box" playing of Roger Sprung

bing.com/videos/riverview/rela...FORM=VIRE

quote:

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Originally posted by banjopaolo

And why not Stewie Wonder or a Lou Reed song in banjo?

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Your Stevie and raise you a Billy Joel. 

Why not O Danny Boy ? (have ye ever bin to sea, Danny?)

Alabama Jubilee,Hot Rod Man,Maybeline,Secret Love,Alley Cat,Honky Tonk Man,Call Me the Breeze,Abeline

I like playing Do Re Me from the Sound of Music:

https://www.banjohangout.org/myhangout/music.asp?id=5526

Classic rock.

Within the last few months I learned Zeppelin's Going to California, Bee Gee's To Love Somebody, Phish's Waste, and an up-tempo version of Free's Wishing Well.