Are there classic banjo tab instruction books? - Classic-Banjo2024-03-29T01:30:52Zhttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/forum/topics/are-there-classic-banjo-tab-instruction-books?feed=yes&xn_auth=noRed shoes are good, blue shoe…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2018-07-25:2667446:Comment:1313032018-07-25T14:38:19.914ZRichard William Inesonhttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/RichardWilliamIneson351
<p>Red shoes are good, blue shoes especially if made from suede leather tend to get trodden on.</p>
<p><br></br> <br></br> <cite>Cynthia Richardson said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://classic-banjo.ning.com/forum/topics/are-there-classic-banjo-tab-instruction-books?xg_source=activity&id=2667446%3ATopic%3A130876&page=2#2667446Comment131387"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>David, the first thing that caught my eye in your post was "told me to wear red shoes," and I actually bought a…</p>
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<p>Red shoes are good, blue shoes especially if made from suede leather tend to get trodden on.</p>
<p><br/> <br/> <cite>Cynthia Richardson said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://classic-banjo.ning.com/forum/topics/are-there-classic-banjo-tab-instruction-books?xg_source=activity&id=2667446%3ATopic%3A130876&page=2#2667446Comment131387"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>David, the first thing that caught my eye in your post was "told me to wear red shoes," and I actually bought a pair last week, so in the brief moment I was thinking, "Wow. I am SO set for this classic banjo thing." I mean, if Clarke Buehling says to wear red shoes ... And then I read the rest of the sentence. :)</p>
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</blockquote> Funnily, I'd forgotten about…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2018-07-22:2667446:Comment:1313952018-07-22T19:03:18.163ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>Funnily, I'd forgotten about that one...and that copy is from my collection!</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, the early Tab writers somehow were more interested in showing which notes were found on open strings and which were "closed" (or fretted). Stewart derided this "open and closed" method...but produced his own Tab, being the wily entrepreneur that he was. ;-)</p>
<p>So, with the B&D #1, you have a redundant system (perhaps a warning system?) that tells you a given note is to be found…</p>
<p>Funnily, I'd forgotten about that one...and that copy is from my collection!</p>
<p>Interestingly enough, the early Tab writers somehow were more interested in showing which notes were found on open strings and which were "closed" (or fretted). Stewart derided this "open and closed" method...but produced his own Tab, being the wily entrepreneur that he was. ;-)</p>
<p>So, with the B&D #1, you have a redundant system (perhaps a warning system?) that tells you a given note is to be found on the open string if you have a "O" or that to be prepared to find a fret if that "O" is filled in with ink (closed)...and if it is filled in, there's a little number next to it that tells you which fret to use. It works...but a little overboard IMHO. Note value comes from the notation...so you need to at least be able to recognize a crochet from a semi-quaver, etc. If you've gotten that far, how hard is it to finish learning notation?</p>
<p>Regarding tutors, there are dozens out there for a reason. Everybody likes things a little different...and each tutor is laid out just a little different. The Bradbury Method has gone thru numerous iterations over the years and may be the most in-depth of them all...but can be overwhelming without personal instruction. Personally, I think the two-volume set that was published in the mid 1960's is the best Bradbury version.</p>
<p>I find the Grimshaw tutor to be more friendly...but I still default to Tab. ;-)<br/> <br/> <cite>carrie horgan said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://classic-banjo.ning.com/forum/topics/are-there-classic-banjo-tab-instruction-books?id=2667446%3ATopic%3A130876&page=2#2667446Comment131591"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Just out of interest, this tune book by Brooks and Denton has an early form of tab:</p>
<p><a href="https://archive.org/details/BrooksAndDentonBanjoNo1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Brooks and Denton Collection No1</a></p>
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</blockquote> Ian, it's possible that we we…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2018-07-22:2667446:Comment:1313932018-07-22T13:26:01.247ZJody Stecherhttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/JodyStecher
<p>Ian, it's possible that we were briefly divided by a common language. The operative word here is "another". I used the word to mean "in addition" rather than "instead of". As in "let's have another beer" or "why do you think you need another banjo?" rather than "she married another".<br></br> <br></br> <cite>thereallyniceman said:…</cite></p>
<p>Ian, it's possible that we were briefly divided by a common language. The operative word here is "another". I used the word to mean "in addition" rather than "instead of". As in "let's have another beer" or "why do you think you need another banjo?" rather than "she married another".<br/> <br/> <cite>thereallyniceman said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://classic-banjo.ning.com/forum/topics/are-there-classic-banjo-tab-instruction-books?commentId=2667446%3AComment%3A131392&xg_source=activity#2667446Comment131392"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Thanks Jody, there seem to be "several" definitions of a broken chord eg.:</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/51756511?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="721" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/51756511?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="721" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>I am sure you know what I mean! The notes within the chord being played individually while the fingers remain in the chord shape ;-)<br/> <br/> <cite>Jody Stecher said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://classic-banjo.ning.com/forum/topics/are-there-classic-banjo-tab-instruction-books?xg_source=activity#2667446Comment131588"><div><p>1) Yes, and put your left hand fingers down in the indicated chord position all at once. Don't wait for each note to appear on the page. It makes all the difference in the world for coherent and flowing playing.</p>
<p>2) Ian, "broken chords" has another meaning. Generally a broken chord is one where only 2 of the expected notes are fingered and played or when 2 are played along with a note or two that are not part of the chord. I think what you mean is that the notes of the chord are played as an arpeggio ("in the manner of a harp") 1 note after another in sequence, and in the case of banjo, it would be one string after another, which is indeed the manner of a harp.</p>
<p>3) I also prefer Grimshaw's book to Bradbury's. I find the musical pieces and exercises more engaging and satisfying to play and hear.</p>
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</blockquote> Thanks Jody, there seem to be…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2018-07-22:2667446:Comment:1313922018-07-22T12:22:00.563Zthereallynicemanhttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/thereallyniceman
<p>Thanks Jody, there seem to be "several" definitions of a broken chord eg.:</p>
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<p>I am sure you know what I mean! The notes within the chord being played individually while the fingers remain in the chord shape ;-)<br></br> <br></br> <cite>Jody Stecher said:…</cite></p>
<p>Thanks Jody, there seem to be "several" definitions of a broken chord eg.:</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/51756511?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="721" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/51756511?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="721" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>I am sure you know what I mean! The notes within the chord being played individually while the fingers remain in the chord shape ;-)<br/> <br/> <cite>Jody Stecher said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://classic-banjo.ning.com/forum/topics/are-there-classic-banjo-tab-instruction-books?xg_source=activity#2667446Comment131588"><div><p>1) Yes, and put your left hand fingers down in the indicated chord position all at once. Don't wait for each note to appear on the page. It makes all the difference in the world for coherent and flowing playing.</p>
<p>2) Ian, "broken chords" has another meaning. Generally a broken chord is one where only 2 of the expected notes are fingered and played or when 2 are played along with a note or two that are not part of the chord. I think what you mean is that the notes of the chord are played as an arpeggio ("in the manner of a harp") 1 note after another in sequence, and in the case of banjo, it would be one string after another, which is indeed the manner of a harp.</p>
<p>3) I also prefer Grimshaw's book to Bradbury's. I find the musical pieces and exercises more engaging and satisfying to play and hear.</p>
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</blockquote> The only tab method book I kn…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2018-07-22:2667446:Comment:1315912018-07-22T08:32:49.890Zcarrie horganhttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/carriehorgan
<p>The only tab method book I know of is the one David Caron mentioned: 'The Fingerstyle Banjo and How to Play It' by Alan Middleton (in notation and tab). I would say it is a bit 'dry' - not enough tunes. </p>
<p>If you want to learn banjo notation, it is worth spending time with the Grimshaw method. Page 15-17 gives information on the system of numbering chords which Ian has recommended e.g. 'four-one-two' chords which acts as a short-hand for reading music notation for the banjo. It…</p>
<p>The only tab method book I know of is the one David Caron mentioned: 'The Fingerstyle Banjo and How to Play It' by Alan Middleton (in notation and tab). I would say it is a bit 'dry' - not enough tunes. </p>
<p>If you want to learn banjo notation, it is worth spending time with the Grimshaw method. Page 15-17 gives information on the system of numbering chords which Ian has recommended e.g. 'four-one-two' chords which acts as a short-hand for reading music notation for the banjo. It does take an adjustment from other ways of learning the banjo - if you come from bluegrass, you will be used to seeing tab lines rather than ledger lines and chord form 1, 3, 5 etc as a shorthand. </p>
<p>Just out of interest, this tune book by Brooks and Denton has an early form of tab:</p>
<p><a href="https://archive.org/details/BrooksAndDentonBanjoNo1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brooks and Denton Collection No1</a></p>
<p> </p> David, the first thing that c…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2018-07-21:2667446:Comment:1313872018-07-21T22:15:28.573ZCyndy Richardsonhttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/CynthiaRichardson
<p>David, the first thing that caught my eye in your post was "told me to wear red shoes," and I actually bought a pair last week, so in the brief moment I was thinking, "Wow. I am SO set for this classic banjo thing." I mean, if Clarke Buehling says to wear red shoes ... And then I read the rest of the sentence. :)</p>
<p>David, the first thing that caught my eye in your post was "told me to wear red shoes," and I actually bought a pair last week, so in the brief moment I was thinking, "Wow. I am SO set for this classic banjo thing." I mean, if Clarke Buehling says to wear red shoes ... And then I read the rest of the sentence. :)</p> I've tried the Grimshaw book…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2018-07-21:2667446:Comment:1315892018-07-21T22:03:59.146Zdavid caronhttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/davidcaron
<p>I've tried the Grimshaw book with mixed results. I've decided to give the Bradbury book a try after contacting Clark Buehling on Facebook. He kindly took the time, as everyone here has done, to answer my questions. He recommended the Bradbury book. He could of also told me to wear red shoes and ride a unicycle backwards and I would've probably tried it.</p>
<p>Honestly, it only cost me a few dollars on Amazon, tax and shipping included, so I can't wait to give it a try. As mentionned, as far…</p>
<p>I've tried the Grimshaw book with mixed results. I've decided to give the Bradbury book a try after contacting Clark Buehling on Facebook. He kindly took the time, as everyone here has done, to answer my questions. He recommended the Bradbury book. He could of also told me to wear red shoes and ride a unicycle backwards and I would've probably tried it.</p>
<p>Honestly, it only cost me a few dollars on Amazon, tax and shipping included, so I can't wait to give it a try. As mentionned, as far as identifying which note is which and knowing where to find it on the fret board, i'm improving. I just doesn't register when trying to actually play. </p>
<p></p> Hi Dave, have you had a look…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2018-07-21:2667446:Comment:1312762018-07-21T20:55:26.748ZSteve Harrisonhttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/SteveHarrison
<p>Hi Dave, have you had a look at any of my arrangements? At last count I've reached number 482, all written in standard notation. For the past three years or so, I've used a sort of 'pseudo tab' by adding position indicators and fret numbers to many of the notes on my scores. For example if you see an F with a 3 by it in IP, it's played 1st string 3rd fret. If it's indicated by a 6 in 5P, it's played 2nd. string 6th fret and if indicated by a 10 in 10P it's played 3rd string 10th fret and…</p>
<p>Hi Dave, have you had a look at any of my arrangements? At last count I've reached number 482, all written in standard notation. For the past three years or so, I've used a sort of 'pseudo tab' by adding position indicators and fret numbers to many of the notes on my scores. For example if you see an F with a 3 by it in IP, it's played 1st string 3rd fret. If it's indicated by a 6 in 5P, it's played 2nd. string 6th fret and if indicated by a 10 in 10P it's played 3rd string 10th fret and so on for other notes. If you look at my most recent posting, The American Rag, you'll see examples of this.</p>
<p>The principle reason I do this is that having reached the age of 70, I've lost the will, and don't have the time, to spend hours of practice committing tunes to memory and with 482 arrangements, it would be an impossible task to remember them all anyway. As well as that, I don't play out these days so have no real reason to memorise too many tunes.</p>
<p>Most of what I play tends to be sight read and my system is a helpful aide memoir for me when playing something I haven't played for some time. I suppose it could also be of some use for someone learning to read notation.</p>
<p>I also concur with Ian that learning to read and play standard notation is probably the advisable way forward....Steve.</p>
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<p></p> 1) Yes, and put your left han…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2018-07-21:2667446:Comment:1315882018-07-21T20:30:27.931ZJody Stecherhttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/JodyStecher
<p>1) Yes, and put your left hand fingers down in the indicated chord position all at once. Don't wait for each note to appear on the page. It makes all the difference in the world for coherent and flowing playing.</p>
<p>2) Ian, "broken chords" has another meaning. Generally a broken chord is one where only 2 of the expected notes are fingered and played or when 2 are played along with a note or two that are not part of the chord. I think what you mean is that the notes of the chord are…</p>
<p>1) Yes, and put your left hand fingers down in the indicated chord position all at once. Don't wait for each note to appear on the page. It makes all the difference in the world for coherent and flowing playing.</p>
<p>2) Ian, "broken chords" has another meaning. Generally a broken chord is one where only 2 of the expected notes are fingered and played or when 2 are played along with a note or two that are not part of the chord. I think what you mean is that the notes of the chord are played as an arpeggio ("in the manner of a harp") 1 note after another in sequence, and in the case of banjo, it would be one string after another, which is indeed the manner of a harp.</p>
<p>3) I also prefer Grimshaw's book to Bradbury's. I find the musical pieces and exercises more engaging and satisfying to play and hear.</p> Have a go at the Grimshaw "Th…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2018-07-21:2667446:Comment:1312752018-07-21T19:30:51.823Zthereallynicemanhttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/thereallyniceman
<p>Have a go at the Grimshaw "The Banjo and how to Play it" on the Tutor books page. I prefer it to Bradbury's and it has the great advantage that it is FREE.</p>
<p>Learn my NUMBERED chord shapes as available for download below, and you will see that these numbers are used as clues on original banjo scores.…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/51756485?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/51756485?profile=original" width="557"></img></a></p>
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<p>Have a go at the Grimshaw "The Banjo and how to Play it" on the Tutor books page. I prefer it to Bradbury's and it has the great advantage that it is FREE.</p>
<p>Learn my NUMBERED chord shapes as available for download below, and you will see that these numbers are used as clues on original banjo scores.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/51756485?profile=original" target="_self"><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/51756485?profile=original" width="557" class="align-center"/></a></p>
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<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/51756495?profile=original" target="_self">CHORD SHAPES DOWNLOAD</a></p>
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<p>You will also find that most of the time the notes within the chords shapes are played as "broken chords" for either the melody or accompaniment. </p>
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<p>Look at this Morley Score for example:</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/51756492?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="721" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/51756492?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="721" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>You can see that the notes I have coloured with dots are the same as those in the chord.... this also applies to most of the other bars too... check them!</p>
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<p>As seen in Sports Parade, the Chord Position Markers eg 3P, means the LH FIRST finger rests behind the 3RD fret in the chord,</p>
<p>6PB means that the chord with the LH FIRST finger at the 6th fret is also a barre. </p>
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<p>These notation markers are specific to CLASSIC STYLE scores and have been used on the published music since the year dot ! Don't ignore them, they really help with reading notation.</p>