Gumbo Chaff

[Tim Twiss]

Anyone want to read through the Gumbo Chaff with me? It would be so awesome. Go straight  through it. Mark....do I hear a nibble of interest? We can do "as is" versions, then interpretations.

[Tim Twiss]

Another observation. We are looking at this book, the Gumbo Chaff of c. 1850 with "backwards knowledge". We cannot undo what we learned in the subsequent books, especially about how the right hand strikes the strings. This one gives us nothing! They way the tunes are arranged in G, D, F, and Bb with only an illustration of C must surely have left people scratching their heads.

[Strumelia]

Probably so, for those who had no prior examples at all of hearing and observing banjo players.

[Tim Twiss]

Okay....humidifiers are turned off after water damage from ice dams on the roof. Resuuuuuuming, the Gumbo Chaff Tour ha ha. Tonigh's episode includes Old Tar River and Rosa Dear. I redid Rosa, after the first one was so flat and sleepy. Tar Rive is certainly better as a vocal piece ( as are most in this book ) but I am sticking to the mission....just playin' the book.

[Mark Weems]

Tim, many of us on this site, myself included, did not learn about strikes and pull off's etc. from the tutors. We learned them from a culturally based oral tradition of banjo playing. I'm not aware of any techniques from the tutors that are not found in some variety of old-time banjo playing. Right here in North Carolina, for instance, we have the Round Peak style which contains what we call 'Rice Pull-offs' as well as what we call 'finger glides'. The Preceptor has been a very important book for me precisely because it pushed me to places I had never been before - higher positions from which to play notes on the second and third string; bar chords from which to play notes in a smoother, less awkward, more graceful way; how to think creatively about the banjos fingerboard;. how to play the same piece in different positions and therefore how to get a variety of sound and tone out of the instrument. If the Preceptor doesn't conform to your idea of what a tutor should be, that's okay, don't play it. For me, it really has been a wonderful tutor, one that I would encourage all players to dig into at some point.

[Tim Twiss]

I thought, since I was rather critical of it, perhaps I should take another look...prompted by your enthusiasm and fondness of the book. It has been a neglected little corner of the banjo world. I feel like I am just shedding some light on it. Not many people are aware of it, much less playing it. If I play it, I feel I am entitled to an opinion on it.

[Mark Weems]

Right you are. Carry on, Sir!

[Strumelia]

I see it simply as a sheet music tune book... and it's cool because it gives us tunes that we can be sure were played at that time.  Those tunes can be read and then played on any instrument if one knows how to play that instrument.  I think it's pretty obviously not a terrific 'how to play the banjo' book.   :)

[Tim Twiss]

Seems like "The Real Book" of 1850. Any jazz players, you know what that is.

This site, is a place for conversation, support, AND critical thinking. We should not be afraid to explore and examine anything. Also, any one person's opinion is never gospel. We are piecing together a mystery. You, Mark, made a sound case for looking at this book. I respect you, and you had some pretty good reasons. I guess...it deserves scrutiny. Where else we gonna talk about this stuff.?

For what it's worth, I got everything from the books and had no influence of an oral tradition. Maybe that is why I am such a freak....I took a pure leap back in time.

[Mark Weems]

Well, we all come to this from different places and we should use that to our advantage. You, Tim, for instance, have actually played through all of the material in all of the tutors and have knowledge gained from that huge undertaking.

[Tim Twiss]

This is the place....to put it all together.

[Leonidas (Lee) Jones]

Real Book, excellent analogy.

[Strumelia]

Yes, there are many ways from which to approach music and playing.   :)