For enthusiasts of early banjo

Gumbo Chaff

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.

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wes Merchant on February 17, 2014 at 4:06pm

One thing that I was noticing, and Tim's reference to the Glee Book reminded me of this, is that these seem to be mainly songs. The only one that seems to be a strictly a dance tune is the Jim Crow Polka. Now that's not to say that they couldn't have been played as instrumentals, but I think it does differentiate it from the later tutors that include jigs, jigs reels and hornpipes that would be used for social dancing.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Wes Merchant on February 17, 2014 at 4:10pm

And so I look it up and Jim Crow Polka is a song too.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Rob Morrison on February 17, 2014 at 4:38pm

Wes--Many years ago I played with a string band at a care home where many residents were in their 80's and 90's. I was amazed to find that people were singing along to the tunes we were playing. It seems that many of the old fiddle tunes had words. An obvious example is "Arkansas Traveler."

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Nicholas A Bechtel on February 17, 2014 at 5:35pm

OMG I can't stop laughing. Who's cat is this? Is this your Tim or is this your cat Strumelia

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Strumelia on February 17, 2014 at 5:39pm

Just an internet Kool Kat. ;D

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Nicholas A Bechtel on February 17, 2014 at 5:43pm

ah! ok...pretty funny!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Wes Merchant on February 17, 2014 at 7:15pm

What I am saying here is that most of these tunes were songs published just a few years before Howe put this book as Tim says the hot songs of the day. (see Below) The later tutors incorporate things like Fishers Hornpipe, Money Musk, the Grapevine Twist, the Camptown Hornpipe etc, which are more strictly instrumental pieces.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mussm:@FIELD(SUBJ+@band...