THIS is how to hold a banjo!

[thereallyniceman]

It appears that I have been doing it incorrectly!

... as I do not wear a winged collar with my bow-tie and tuxedo.

[Joel Hooks]

Works for Ossman!

[thereallyniceman]

Yep, you nailed it there Joel. That certainly is a winged collar!

;-)

[3iv8pyyhxxoiv]

George Morris is playing a Jedson banjo.  I once borrowed an identical model.....nice instrument.  Is George playing with a plectrum or fingers?? Either way he was the epitome of the smart banjoist...and a great player by all accounts.

[Jody Stecher]

And here I thought *this* was the proper way to hold a banjo:

[3iv8pyyhxxoiv]

In my copy of "BMG" for March 1957,  George Morris wrote an article entitled "50 years of Banjo-a Retrospective Review". In that article he stated that he had a few lessons from Vess Ossman when V.O. visited the UK sometime before the autumn of 1907.....

[thereallyniceman]

George Morris is another of those great Classic Style players that few have heard of!  He has done many arrangements for banjo and was a regular BMG contributor.

I received a parcel of scores that had been purchased here in the UK, but were kindly re-directed to me for copying for the MUSIC LIBRARY and TUTOR BOOKS pages, before heading off to the USA.

Amongst these was a banjo tutor by George Morris. The tutor book is a little like "Play the banjo in five minutes", but has a few interesting snippets. I have added the book to the TUTOR BOOKS page and will add the other scores to the LIBRARY soon.

Thank you so much to Chris Cioffi for going to the trouble of sending the score to me first to share his purchases with us on our website!

[Trapdoor2]

Very cool. I have seen "Morris" as an arranger on many, many pieces of sheet-music!

[3iv8pyyhxxoiv]

George Morris was still advertising as a banjo teacher in "BMG" in the early 1960's...based in Muswell Hill in N.London.   Sometime around 1962/3 I wrote to him to ask about lessons and he very kindly replied right away with details....but with the stupidity of youth, I didn't take this any further.  My one chance in life to have been taught by a man with a direct link to Ossman.......

[3iv8pyyhxxoiv]

In George Morris' 1957 BMG article, he also confirmed that he took six months tuition every year (starting in 1907), for three years from none other than Joe Morley.

[thereallyniceman]

For those who don't have the March 1957 BMG to hand...  (I know, I know we all have a pile of old BMGs at our bedside.)

Here it is:  (Double click to make biggerify the text)

[Shawn McSweeny]

Hi Ian

Thanks for that. Here's George Morris playing the opening strains of Morley's "Popinjay Polka", several years after the BMG article was published.

This was a home recording made by Cliff Spaulding while visiting the UK in March, 1966. It has been digitally restored.

 

Popinjay Polka played by George Morris

[3iv8pyyhxxoiv]

Ian...thanks for uploading that 1957 article and Shawn...thanks for the Geo. Morris home recording.   Sounds like excellent playing to me.