Shenandoah Breakdown

Well the move has certainly slowed down my bloging, but hopefully not my fingers. I've been picking even more than usual lately, probably has something to do with the Rockyfest afterglow.  How long does that last?  Oh, that and my lack of a job. I know that you, my loyal fans, will be excited to know that I've picked up a copy of the new Tony Trischka "Master Collection of Fiddle Tunes for the Banjo".  Yep.   Looks like about 150 tunes of melodic madness, spiral bound with 2 CDs.  If you have the means, I highly suggest picking up a copy. So, Shenandoah Breakdown.... Most "breakdowns" are awesome, as I'm sure you know.   Well I think this song falls into the category of "pretty darn awesome", so I wanted to learn it.  I've almost got it up to speed, eh?  I can actually play it much faster than this now, due to the 200 blazing takes it took to get this 2 minute recording. My apologies for the imitation bluegrass-guitar playing.   The 'ol Martin needs to get the neck reset.   The strings are nearly a foot off the fretboard.   I can strum it fine; pickin' it is a different story.   That and my playing is crap. :-)   Enjoy! P.S.   A big howdy to my 4 "followers".  That's right, I'm up to 4 now!  Don't be a free-loader, click that button and join the throng.  If I can get up to 10, I'll put some kazoo on the next tune I record! "Shenandoah Breakdown"

You are my Sunshine

This seems like an appropriate tune right now.  It's been raining nearly every day at three o' clock for the past two weeks.  Longest.  Spring.  Ever.  There is almost too much green. Apparently, there is a thing as "too much banjo."  Somehow I've sprained my index finger, probably from "over picking."  It's sore and a little bit swollen.  I'm going to try and not use it for a couple of days and see if it gets better. "You are my Sunshine"

Long time no Blog

Dear Blog, Sorry it's been so long since I've rapped at ya... Well I was hoping to be able to post a new song this morning. I'm almost done with it but I ran out of time before work.(I was even late this morning.) I've got a couple tunes in the hopper right now so it won't be long before the record drops, so to speak. I finally made an appointment with Woodsongs to get my banjo properly set up. They're going to do it while I'm at work this Tuesday. I'll get it back the same day so I won't miss out on any cruisal pickin' time. I'd like to learn how to do the adjustments myself at some point, but I just want it done right, right now. There are a ton of adjustable parts on a banjo. Practice wise, I've been working on some Scruggs stuff. Two tunes and a bag o' licks. Of course, I'm still fiddlin' with Sailor's Hornpipe. I can play it fast and I can play it clean, but I can't play it fast and clean... yet.

Note for Note

This weeks homework: Jayme has been showing me the ins and outs of single-string picking for the past two lessons. The "single-string" style of picking a melody is similar to guitar playing because you pick several notes per string in a row, moving across the neck.  It differs from "melodic-style", which uses open strings and a different string each time a new note is played, and "Scruggs-style" which is based on rolls, giving it the "bluegrass" sound. Last week I memorized the G major scale, including all of the different modes, on the entire neck of the banjo. No small feat; yeah I'm gloating. This week's homework is to pick a song and learn to play it in several different locations on the neck of the banjo.  I've been busy this week transcribing Bill Keith's version of Sailor's Hornpipe, recorded in 1963 right after he was hired by Bill Monroe.  It's a "melodic-style" tune, but I'm going to arrange it for "single-string" picking.  Transcribing this tune has been tricky, mainly because it's so fast.  So I've been listening to 3-5 second sections of it over and over.  I finished it LATE last night and now I just need to figure out how to arrange it on the banjo. I'll get around to a "melodic-style" arrangment after that.  It will sound smoother and I'll be able to play it faster that way.

Whiskey Before Cheerios!

FDA Approved! Good news from the Gubment this morning!  The FDA has recently approved Cheerios as making you 25% more cheery, provided that you drink some whiskey 2 - 3 minutes before eating an 8oz bowl with a cup of 2% milk!  No word yet as to which brand of whiskey the government is recommending. Make sure to eat some Cheerios after listening to this one. "Whiskey Before Breakfast"

Soldier's Joy

Soldier's Joy A little faster.  A little cleaner. "Soldier's Joy"

Soldier's Joy - take 1

Here is a very rushed recording of Soldier's Joy. I did this in one take, even the flubs!  I've gotta get going!  I'll do a better recording tomorrow.  Off to the Beer Fest! "Soldier's Joy"

Knox man to play banjo during marathon

Knoxvillian John Longmire, 46, will run the 26.2-mile course Saturday while picking tunes on a banjo to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. "It's not going to be my best playing, I'll tell you that," Longmire said. "I'm having to keep the playing to very simple things." Full story...

Big Sciota

For my first installment: Big Sciota! This is Jayme Stone's version of the traditional Irish fiddle tune, "Big Sciota." I recorded this on April 12th, 2009. Instruments: Banjos, spoons, coffee cup, jug (bass), and a book closing(thumping sound). "Big Sciota"

Testing the music player.

Work sucka. Let's see if I can add a music player to my posts.  This music player doesn't have a volume control, so you'll have to use your speaker knob to adjust the volume. Pee Wee Herman Theme - Danny Elfman

Setting up my spot.

Alright.  A blog. My intention for this blog is to create a banjo/diary which will follow my progress of learning about and playing the 5-string banjo.  I plan on posting recordings here as soon as I can figure how to do it.