"Thank you so much Shawn, excellent contribution, as usual !!!
Ian"
Classic-Banjo
A Site Dedicated to all enthusiasts of Classic Style Banjo
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Shawn McSweeny
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- Toronto, ON
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Shawn McSweeny's Discussions
Sid Turner Plays 'Chansonade'
4 Replies
'Chansonade?' Well, not really. That's the title his old friend Tarant…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by thereallyniceman on Monday.
Ossman`s 'Ragtime Medley' Transcribed
11 Replies
The Clifford Essex score for 'Ragtime Medley' doesn't represent Ossman's…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Shawn McSweeny Jun 16.
Van Eps Plays "Hot Foot Sue"
6 Replies
Fred Van Eps never recorded "Hot Foot Sue" . . . . or did he?Late in…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by thereallyniceman Jun 7.
"Happy-Go-Lucky" Transcription
3 Replies
Finding the correct composer was a process, as this is an obscure piece with a popular title.This is not the Grimshaw banjo solo of the same name. Nor is it the HGL galop by Miers, or either of the…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by thereallyniceman May 27, 2021.
Shawn McSweeny's Page
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"It seems likely that while Sr. was keen to share his old pal's earliest recording, he had grown uncomfortable with its title and so came up with his own. It's a good piece and Turner does a fine job.
General audience titles like…"
"Thanks Shawn, this is a nice march. I played through the CE version last night and enjoyed it.
I wonder if the name change was due to the subject matter of the original? While it is unlikely that Sr was concerned about racism, there was…"
"Nothing to do with the music, but Sid Turner was a hairdresser/barber in real life, his shop/salon was in Cheltenham, a very fashionable and 'posh' (upmarket) town in Gloucestershire. The surprising thing to me is that, the last time I…"
Sid Turner Plays 'Chansonade'
'Chansonade?' Well, not really. That's the title his old friend Tarant Bailey Sr. used a few decades ago, when he introduced this piece on the home reel tapes he made for friends.It is correctly titled "Marche Negre". Written by Turner, it is one of several numbers he recorded for Pathe in London, April, 1908. It bears the earliest catalogue number of the group, likely…See More
"Back to your question about the apparently spare response to your jigs and reels : This site has a large membership but few active posters. This discussion isn't yet two full days old and already has 76 views, which is pretty good for…"
"Ian, thanks for placing the score in the site library."
"Oh! In the movie business "studio" and "company" are near synonyms. It hadn't occurred to me you were using the term that way. In the recording world it was different. It can be confusing with other terminology as well.…"
"I think Edison had the only "studio"...and true to form, Edison owned the air the artist breathed. I doubt Ossman had a formal written arrangement, unless he was to be backed by a studio orchestra. The money was in the sheet music...but…"
"Not possessing your clear perspective on the subtleties therein, I presumed the term 'recording studio' as interchangeable with 'recording company' . Clearly my bad."
"Are you sure it was the studio and not the record company that required the written arrangement? Did any record company own their own recording studio in 1898? My impression is that most companies rented available rooms and used portable…"
"Richard, I think you have it exactly right on CE's approach to his published Ossman scores.
As for any Ossman's originals : Recording artists at that time were required to provide the studio with a copy of their arrangement. The…"
"Well done Shawn, Ossman was a phenomenal banjo player and I suppose that Clifford Essex had to trim Ossman's arrangements down to make them accessible to his customers. Does anyone know if any of Ossman's original arrangements of his…"
"First Class, Shawn! Preserved it will be.
Thank you again for all the time and effort put into these works for everyone to share.
Ian"
"Hi Jody, My hope is Ossman's arrangement will get played some, but if not, at least it's been preserved. "
"Well done! And thanks."
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Comment Wall (2 comments)
- At 2:50pm on February 19, 2014, thereallyniceman gave Shawn McSweeny a gift…
- At 4:39 on January 21, 2016,
Peter LaBau said…
Hi Shawn- sorry to be slow to respond, I only check in here once in a while, all the while knowing I need to do it more frequently! Thanks so much for your note, and it's so nice to know that something I did affected you in a such a positive way. In answer to your question- yes, I have the banjo Doug did for me all those years ago- in fact, he did the banjo twice for me. Th original inlay patterns he did on the fingerboard had to be thrown away- the fret scale was off, and it never played in tune. As beautiful as it was, I had to replace the fingerboard, and in so doing I went from a flat board to a radiused one, which is what I have on all my instruments now. The flat inlays couldn't be moved over, so for the longest time, I had just the pear bars that descended from the nut, and the rest of the board was just blank. Two years ago, I sent the banjo neck back to Doug to have him add bars up at the top of the board, and add in some position markers in between. Here's what it looks like now:
The pot is a 1910's Tubaphone- 11-1/2" diameter, and the neck is a 28" scale. I have another pot like this that I'm having Kevin Enoch make a new neck for- I'll use that one for raised "D" bass- I use two banjos when I perform- I find that retuning just one instrument never works out real well- the bass string keeps changing after changing pitches. You're Canandian, right? Toronto? It would be fun to meet up one day- I'll hope that might happen. All the best to you- Peter
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