Minstrel Banjo

For enthusiasts of early banjo

I recently got myself a copy of the book and have been having a bit of fun. I have to admit that I foolishly arrived at the conclusion that if the man played standing up and sang and danced the tunes would be a bit more simple. But to my surprise the first song camptown hornpipe hits the twelfth fret. Goes up pretty high on the neck sometimes, I think i saw a 17 somewhere in there!

Having lyrics to every tune is also pretty cool as I get to practice playing and singing from the start. I have taken the liberty of penciling in my own pull offs and stuff while i play the songs over and over and find what suits me best. I have also been trying to channel my inner Ayers/Weems and sprinkle some funk on there whenever possible but will prolly be a while longer before it all falls into place

All in all a very nice collection of music to get to learn from and a wonderful addition to my repertoire.

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...and that would be Mark Weems' book/cd on Joe Sweeney's banjo music,

available here:  http://www.earlybanjostyle.com/tore/m3p1rk46yosb0th2chbkspai1k2koy

oh yeah, thnx! I guess that would be helpful for those that don't have it yet (go get you some)

I have a copy of this book I got from Mark at the Sweeny Early Banjo Convergence last May at Appomatox CH.  A very nice work, I agree that having the words handy is a handy thing.  Thanks Mark for putting this one together.

Thanks Chris. Because no evidence exists of a five-string banjo being played in the U.S. before Sweeny and the Virginia Minstrels return from England in 1845, we have to assume that his repertoire was established on the four-string banjo. Since Sweeny was the first to use the five, it also seems likely that he did so in order to make playing certain large-ranged melodic pieces easier or more practical to play on a fretless instrument. (With the bass string on, the octave can often be lowered so that most things can be played below the 5th fret.) Of the twelve pieces of his known repertoire in my book, only two require the use of the bass string. In other words, certain melodies played on a four string require notes to be played up the neck like that. On my four-string gourd, the sustain and clarity is still pretty good way up there, making the approach, I think, feasible on a musical level.  

 

oh yeah you play a four stringer... I was watching a few vids online and was wondering why the fingerings were different but that would be because you lack a string. very interesting. is the four stringer tuned the same?

Yep.

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