Minor Tunes?

[John Cohen]

I've just started playing the minstrel banjo, and lately I've been listening to a lot of tunes.  I've found that most are major.  Is this just a coincidence, or are there less minor tunes? 

[Tim Twiss]

No coincidence. There are less minor songs.

[John Cohen]

Can you recommend some minor tunes then from the Civil War era?

[Wes Merchant]

The Converse 1865 method (the green book) has a few in A Minor and E minor ( Abraham's Daughter and John Anderson, aka John Anderson My Jo, date to the CW). Others are around in an assortment of tune books and many of these could be arranged for banjo, Jefferson and Liberty comes to mind as well as Roslin Castle.

[Strumelia]

John, can you clarify a little- are you looking for any minor type tunes from around the CW period?  Or are you looking for specifically stroke style banjo tunes and songs?  Are you looking for examples from the banjo tutor books that are laid out already for banjos, or would fiddle tunes and general songbook pieces for example do just as well...?

[Strumelia]

John, here's one of my favorites, just in time for Halloween! :

http://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/video/de-blue-tail-fly

Also, this tune has a minor feel in the B part:

http://youtu.be/I5E5RLNxymk

both are tunes played during that time period.

[John Masciale]

Most of my favorite minor tunes/minor feeling tunes were published after the end of the war including

Peanut girl
Swain Buckley's Celebrated Minor Jig
Weston's Frolic

 

There is also Van Bramer's Jig from Emmett's manuscripts which predates the war.

[Wes Merchant]

Strumelia makes a good point, it kind of depends if you strictly want to stick with tunes from the banjo tutors or if you want to use other sources. Lanigan's Ball shows up in period tune books, but I don't recall seeing a banjo arrangement, Billy Barlow, though is in Howe's Gumbo Chaff book, in the key of E minor, here it is transposed to what I feel is a more banjo friendly key-