For enthusiasts of early banjo
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Wes Merchant
- Frederick, MD
- United States
- 40 yrs
- Blog Posts (5)
- Discussions (255)
- Events
- Photos (60)
- Photo Albums (1)
- Videos (42)
Wes Merchant's Discussions
I this was interesting
Started this discussion. Last reply by Chris Prieto Jul 14, 2018. 3 Replies 1 Like
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/retropod/the-oldest-surviving-banjo-recording/
Another Concert featuring Clarke Buehling with the Skirtlifters
Started this discussion. Last reply by Wes Merchant Jan 30, 2018. 5 Replies 1 Like
https://youtu.be/_4IuDXA3x-AHere's another concert from the Missouri State University, the sound quality is a little better, it presents some great early…Continue
The Skirtlifters in concert
Started this discussion. Last reply by Wes Merchant Jan 27, 2018. 3 Replies 0 Likes
I was looking at some YouTube videos today and came across this. There is only sound and it’s not the greatest quality, but there’s some great music by Clarke and friends including some old favorite…Continue
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Wes Merchant's Page
Profile Information
- How did you find out about Ning Minstrel Banjo?
- Online
- How long have you played banjo?
- 40 yrs
- What kind of banjo(s) do you own?
- Buckeye style perhaps 1880's,unnamed circa 1900 and 1923 vega tenor, irish tuning
I mostly play fiddle these days, over the years i've learned to read sheet music and have lately been very much enjoying looking through old tune books. Through leafing through stacks of old music books,over the years I've come across some gems, among them an 1864 edition of Winner's New Primer for Violin and an early edition of Howe's School for the Violin. More recently I've been looking at some of the songbooks on the web
(http://archive.org/details/beadlesdi19newy for instance ) and trying to match some of the songs with the tunes,don't know why but I find this stuff fascinating.
Wes Merchant's Photos
Wes Merchant's Blog
Banjo repair
Posted on August 24, 2013 at 11:00am 4 Comments 1 Like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYO4Qi1sYt4The small ebony guide that holds the fifth string on my banjo split so I made one out of an old fiddle peg. I sized it through a hoIe I drilled in a steel plate then drilled out the old peg with the same bit and filed in a slot with a small knife edged file. i"ve strung it up with nylgut and I'm really pleased with the sound. I'll post sound clips if I came remember how to play the dang…
ContinueDAN EMMETT and the Rise of Early Negro Minstrelsy
Posted on August 9, 2013 at 4:00pm 7 Comments 3 Likes
I came across this digital book today and thought some others here might be interested. You can navigate to the various pages and songs by clicking the arrows by the bar in the center of the page, a lot of Dan Emmett songs and tunes are shown as well as some songs of the late 18th /early 19th century.
Happy 4th of July
Posted on July 4, 2013 at 12:27pm 1 Comment 0 Likes
I was thinking about going to a July 4th anvil shoot ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anvil_firing ) at the home of a black powder enthusiast I know, so I found this on Utoob,
Joe Bussard's Annual Banjo Podcast
Posted on April 19, 2013 at 3:02pm 6 Comments 1 Like
https://soundcloud.com/dusttodigital/joe-bussards-country-3
For those of you unfamiliar with Joe, he is one of the world's premier collectors early country, blues and jazz of 78's. He's also the subject of the Australian Documentary "Desperate Man Blues". I've known Joe for many years, and actually played in a band with him for a while, he's quite a character and a great resource Here's the play list : Taylor's…
ContinueWes Merchant's Videos
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Comment Wall (8 comments)
Hi Wes...good to have you here! There are some fine folks among us. Welcome!!
Welcome... Wes good to see you found us here.. Kick back and enjoy...
Welcome Wes!! My boy plays Irish Tenor too. One night in the shop we had him on the Irish 4 stringer, me on the minstrel, his buddies playing clawhammer and a banjolele. And it sounded GREAT.
Thanks Buddy!
Thanks Wes -- We'll be back next year, or perhaps paths will cross before then. What a beautiful weekend.
~ Marek
Thanks, Wes. Enjoyed the dual fiddle quartet as well. We'll have to try some other tunes when we get a chance. - Mike
Wes.... My printer/scanner is not working but until that time, I see that (for some reason, at an earlier time) I scanned the front cover that you are missing.
You can find it in my photos. When I get a working scanner, I will send you a better representation.
Wes.... On second thought, I'm not so sure. The index that accompanies what I think is the entire publication seems to be accurate on some of the entries but not others. If you can read the index from the photo, you can see what I mean.
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