Trapdoor2's Posts - Classic-Banjo2024-03-28T20:59:44ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/65198439?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profiles/blog/feed?user=32zuvtmwgfs56&xn_auth=noSylvester L. Ossman infotag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2015-12-06:2667446:BlogPost:1081062015-12-06T18:44:53.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>Somehow, I cannot post a .pdf file to the ongoing discussion, so I'll post it here.</p>
<p>This is the US Census record for Sylvester Ossman, Musician, for 1910. It shows the full family at the time, including Sylvester Jr.</p>
<p>They were living in Palisades Park, New Jersey.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73441098?profile=original" target="_self">Ossman Census record 1910</a></p>
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<p></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p>Somehow, I cannot post a .pdf file to the ongoing discussion, so I'll post it here.</p>
<p>This is the US Census record for Sylvester Ossman, Musician, for 1910. It shows the full family at the time, including Sylvester Jr.</p>
<p>They were living in Palisades Park, New Jersey.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73441098?profile=original" target="_self">Ossman Census record 1910</a></p>
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<p></p>"Carry On" by Alfred Kirby, MIDI and TABtag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2012-09-03:2667446:BlogPost:607002012-09-03T22:41:28.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>Here's the MIDI and TAB for "Carry On", complete with Mike's "Intro".</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73441027?profile=original" target="_self">"Carry On" MIDI</a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73441070?profile=original" target="_self">"Carry On" TAB</a></p>
<p>Ian, please put these in their proper place...should you be inclined to do so.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>===Marc</p>
<p>Here's the MIDI and TAB for "Carry On", complete with Mike's "Intro".</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73441027?profile=original" target="_self">"Carry On" MIDI</a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73441070?profile=original" target="_self">"Carry On" TAB</a></p>
<p>Ian, please put these in their proper place...should you be inclined to do so.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>===Marc</p>1880's/1890's banjo sheet music "in da house"tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2012-08-08:2667446:BlogPost:600462012-08-08T01:54:19.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>I nicked a box full of crumbly old sheet music offa ebay a week or so ago. Paid about $0.80 ea with shipping. See attached list for the titles, etc.</p>
<p>All of this stuff is American, pre 1900 and in A notation. Amazingly, not many duplicates (whew!) for me. Sure, some obvious ones like Darkey's Awakening, On The Mill Dam, Queen of the Forest, etc. However, there are a couple of previously unknown publishers (two female!) and nearly the entire output of a previously unknown (to me) New…</p>
<p>I nicked a box full of crumbly old sheet music offa ebay a week or so ago. Paid about $0.80 ea with shipping. See attached list for the titles, etc.</p>
<p>All of this stuff is American, pre 1900 and in A notation. Amazingly, not many duplicates (whew!) for me. Sure, some obvious ones like Darkey's Awakening, On The Mill Dam, Queen of the Forest, etc. However, there are a couple of previously unknown publishers (two female!) and nearly the entire output of a previously unknown (to me) New Orleans publisher. Some great cover artwork too.</p>
<p>There are several copies of "Gatcomb's Banjo & Guitar Gazette" in there as well, oddly there are 3 copies of Volume 1, No. 1 (Sept. 1887) and a couple of copies of another issue, four or five complete gazettes. Standard lightweight stuff there, 8 pages, some advertisements, 3 or 4 tunes and some letters from the gang. Much like Stewart's Journal except much shorter.</p>
<p>Standard drill on this stuff. It goes into the que for pix when I get around to it. If you see any title you'd like me to pull out and take a pic for you, let me know. Some I've already pulled out, I know Joel will want the Dobson thimble piece "Fantasia", for instance.</p>
<p>Cheers,</p>
<p>===Marc</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73440996?profile=original" target="_self">New Sheet Music List</a></p>TAB for Jumbo Rag...tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2012-04-28:2667446:BlogPost:565742012-04-28T05:00:00.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73441115?profile=original" target="_self">Jumbo Rag TAB.pdf</a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73441115?profile=original" target="_self">Jumbo Rag TAB.pdf</a></p>A shot rang out...!tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2012-03-04:2667446:BlogPost:546972012-03-04T16:04:27.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>Yesterday, I drove 2.5 hrs up to the Nashville, TN area for BUW (Breaking Up Winter). BUW is an Old-Time festival that has been held the first weekend in March for the past 15 or so years at a small State Park in Lebanon, TN (Cedars Of Lebanon State Park, no less).</p>
<p>This "festival" (it is really just an excuse to gather OT players and have an extended jam) is one of those places where you meet old friends, play a lot of music and unwind. I usually take a pile of banjos and spend a bit…</p>
<p>Yesterday, I drove 2.5 hrs up to the Nashville, TN area for BUW (Breaking Up Winter). BUW is an Old-Time festival that has been held the first weekend in March for the past 15 or so years at a small State Park in Lebanon, TN (Cedars Of Lebanon State Park, no less).</p>
<p>This "festival" (it is really just an excuse to gather OT players and have an extended jam) is one of those places where you meet old friends, play a lot of music and unwind. I usually take a pile of banjos and spend a bit of time playing each...they don't mind different styles of play, last year I taught some classic pieces to a luthier friend of mine.</p>
<p>So, yesterday I had supper in the lodge with my luthier friend and his wife. After supper, he wanted to play "Sunflower Dance" for me. He picked up one of his banjos (a tubaphone style, strung with nylgut) and trotted it out...nicely done too. Then he hands me the banjo and asks for a tune or two.</p>
<p>I played "Whistling Rufus" and a couple of people walk up to listen. We're sitting next to the hearth in the cafeteria and one large man puts a boot up on the hearth and just seems facinated with my playing. When I finish (round of applause), "Play another!" is the general concensus...so I crank up with "A Banjo Oddity."</p>
<p>At the first "head tap", I hit it perfectly, sharp and loud. The man with one boot on the hearth literally jumped like he'd been shot, shouted "holy sh*t!!" and staggered around with his hands on his chest, feigning a heart attack. Everybody in the crowd had jumped...and then started laughing. I had to stop playing and laugh too.</p>
<p>Fun with the banjo! (I did restart the piece and finish it).</p>The Scorcher...tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2012-01-16:2667446:BlogPost:527852012-01-16T01:00:00.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>I saw this title in the random view in the new Music Library here...and knew exactly what it referenced...and knew I had to hear it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here's the cover art from the original piano score:</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73441049?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73441049?profile=original" width="567"></img></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Scorchers" were bicyclists of the 1880-1900 period who rode as fast as possible and without regard to either personal or public safety. They were…</p>
<p>I saw this title in the random view in the new Music Library here...and knew exactly what it referenced...and knew I had to hear it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Here's the cover art from the original piano score:</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73441049?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73441049?profile=original" width="567"/></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p>"Scorchers" were bicyclists of the 1880-1900 period who rode as fast as possible and without regard to either personal or public safety. They were so prevalent in many population centers that special police squads (often on bicycles too) were used to bring them to justice. In Denver, CO, they even deputised the local bicycle club to help with the problem. Unfortunately, most of the club riders were the very people they wanted off the streets...</p>
<p>Here's the TAB:</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73441091?profile=original" target="_self">The Scorcher, 1st Banjo</a> </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73441100?profile=original" target="_self">The Scorcher 2nd Banjo</a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73441205?profile=original" target="_self">The Scorcher MIDI</a></p>
<p>PS. The "L. A. W." as referenced on the sheet means: "League of American Wheelmen"</p>Cleaning house...tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2011-12-19:2667446:BlogPost:516632011-12-19T00:30:00.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>Well, I had a few moments today to sit down and clean out my binder of tunes. This is a three-ring binder that carries all the Classic Banjo tunes I either routinely practice, play thru or wish to work on. It has gotten to where it is overstuffed and hard to carry without dropping out loose pages or whatever.</p>
<p>So, I took it all apart and cleaned out all the junk I never play and then decided to arrange it by tuning, that is, all the gCGBD tunes and then all the 'raised bass' tunes. I…</p>
<p>Well, I had a few moments today to sit down and clean out my binder of tunes. This is a three-ring binder that carries all the Classic Banjo tunes I either routinely practice, play thru or wish to work on. It has gotten to where it is overstuffed and hard to carry without dropping out loose pages or whatever.</p>
<p>So, I took it all apart and cleaned out all the junk I never play and then decided to arrange it by tuning, that is, all the gCGBD tunes and then all the 'raised bass' tunes. I find that I tend to simply plop it open and start from the beginning (when I have that kind of time), bouncing around from one tuning to the other is tiresome.</p>
<p>Here's a list of what is now in it:</p>
<table style="width: 491px; height: 1258px;" border="0" cellspacing="0" width="491">
<colgroup><col width="164"></col><col width="126"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr><td height="20" width="164">Kissing Cup Waltz</td>
<td width="126">Joe George</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Berkeley March</td>
<td>Brooks and Denton</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Kaloola</td>
<td>A. J. Weidt</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">The Ladbrooke March</td>
<td>C. Skinner</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Cupid's Victory</td>
<td>A. J. Weidt</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Fun On The Wabash</td>
<td>Parke Hunter</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">A Banjo Oddity</td>
<td>Joe Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Whistling Rufus</td>
<td>Kerry Mills</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Honolulu Cake Walk</td>
<td>Lerman/Ossman</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Pensacola</td>
<td>Parke Hunter</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Skeleton Dance</td>
<td>Norton Greenop</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">A Joy Ride</td>
<td>Joe Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Banjoland</td>
<td>Joe Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Canon Jig</td>
<td>Joe Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">In the Moonlight</td>
<td>Joe Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Glitter of Steel</td>
<td>Thos. Dorward</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Desert Trail</td>
<td>Joe Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Man The Guns</td>
<td>Sanders Papworth</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">The Dusky Minstrel</td>
<td>Felix Burns</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Rose Leaves Gavotte</td>
<td>Joe Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Royal Rag</td>
<td>Thomas Armstrong</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Smokey Mokes</td>
<td>Abe Holtzmann</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Donkey Laugh</td>
<td>Joe Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Kingdom Comin'</td>
<td>Joe Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">The Whistler and His Dog</td>
<td>Joe Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Mister Jollyboy</td>
<td>Emile Grimshaw</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Popinjay Polka</td>
<td>Joe Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Eli Green's Cakewalk</td>
<td>Sadie Koninsky/J. Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Rag Pickings</td>
<td>George Lansing</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Favorite Waltz</td>
<td>Joe Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">A Darkey's Romance</td>
<td>Emile Grimshaw</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Banjoliers</td>
<td>Emile Grimshaw</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">A Plantation Episode</td>
<td>Emile Grimshaw</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Corn Cob Parade</td>
<td>Joe Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Kalamazoo Kapers</td>
<td>Thomas Armstrong</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Nuts and Wine</td>
<td>Joe Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Royal Tourist</td>
<td>Percy Jacques</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Circus Parade</td>
<td>Joe Morley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">The Red Rover March</td>
<td>A. J. Weidt</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Gypsy Love</td>
<td>Bernard Sheaff</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Lillies of the Valley</td>
<td>A. J. Weidt</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Pink Lemonade</td>
<td>A. J. Weidt</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Onion Rag</td>
<td>A. J. Weidt</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Dat Yam Rag</td>
<td>A. J. Weidt</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">That Banjo Rag</td>
<td>A. J. Weidt</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Yankee Dandy</td>
<td>A. J. Weidt</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Dashwood Quickstep</td>
<td>Olly Oakley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Fernbank Quickstep</td>
<td>Olly Oakley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Rugby Parade</td>
<td>Olly Oakley</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Somewhere in Dixie</td>
<td>George Lansing</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">Plantation Symphony</td>
<td>Paul Eno</td>
</tr>
<tr><td height="20">A Footlight Favorite</td>
<td><p>Emile Grimshaw</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>Cannon Jig, J. Morley...tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2010-11-14:2667446:BlogPost:153882010-11-14T03:23:15.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>Here's a tune I brought back from the Nashville Gathering. Eli Kaufman played it for me and I actually remembered the title. This is an early Morley piece, probably from when he was still playing fretless. Easy and fun!</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/51751715?profile=original">Cannon Jig all.pdf</a></p>
<p>Here's a tune I brought back from the Nashville Gathering. Eli Kaufman played it for me and I actually remembered the title. This is an early Morley piece, probably from when he was still playing fretless. Easy and fun!</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/51751715?profile=original">Cannon Jig all.pdf</a></p>Nashville Banjo Collector's Gathering...11/4 thru 11/6tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2010-11-07:2667446:BlogPost:152952010-11-07T20:51:16.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>Well...<br></br><br></br>I had a ball at the gathering. Got to visit with old friends meet new friends and see (and pick) a helluva lot of great banjos, teach, learn, yak (lots of that!) and generally eat-breathe-sleep collector banjo stuff for two days.<br></br></p>
<p>So much fun to hang out with Joel and Carl. Those guys went non-stop the entire time...every time I walked past their room, there was banjo music ringing thru the door. I'm amazed that hotel security didn't put 'em both in chains.…</p>
<p>Well...<br/><br/>I had a ball at the gathering. Got to visit with old friends meet new friends and see (and pick) a helluva lot of great banjos, teach, learn, yak (lots of that!) and generally eat-breathe-sleep collector banjo stuff for two days.<br/></p>
<p>So much fun to hang out with Joel and Carl. Those guys went non-stop the entire time...every time I walked past their room, there was banjo music ringing thru the door. I'm amazed that hotel security didn't put 'em both in chains. :-)</p>
<p><br/>I had brought a number of banjos to display but really didn't expect them to get much attention as they are almost all "inexpensive" (read: cheap) grade banjos. I also brought two U-Haul boxes full of fingerstyle sheet music, which I figured would be of the most interest. I didn't keep strict watch but it seemed that every time I turned around, someone was playing either my Hartel Ashborn (a repro, ie, non-collectible) or my Stewart Orchestra #3 (which, although a collector's item, it is not a wart on some of the great banjos that were there). Even better, while I was looking at some other banjos, I heard the strains of "Sweet Sue, Just You"...and turned around to find John (Beezaboy) playing my Paramount Style A (one of the few Tenor banjos in attendance). Just that brief moment meant a lot to me...the tenors were a last-second addition to the carload and I expected them to be totally ignored.<br/><br/>One of the highlights was getting to watch Bela Fleck's movie, "Throw Down Your Heart" with Bela himself introducing it and then fielding questions afterwards. Another was Jim Bollman's review/presentation of Cole Banjos (which left me wanting to acquire one). Jamming with Clarke Buehling or having Eli Kaufman play thru a half-dozen Morley tunes for me...also high on the list.<br/></p>
<p>On the other hand, the one man play, "The Banjo Lesson" by Paul Sedgewick fell pretty flat. Tough audience, for sure. Imagine trying to do a one-act "Banjo History" play in front of of a group of serious banjo historians. Paul used historical characters but sadly gave them anachronistic music to demonstrate and fictionalized much of their stories. For instance, his Horace Weston character played a snippet of Morley's "Zarana" (which was written about 30 yrs after Weston's death). Thank god Joel wasn't there for that! =:-O To give Paul credit, he did play "Horace Westons Minor Jig" too. Ah well!</p>
<p></p>
<p>I also felt that this gathering was very heavily structured around "exploring African roots". While this is a very important aspect of the banjo's history (and one that is evolving rapidly) far too much of the agenda was devoted to it for me. I do want to learn about it...but much of it is like sitting thru Aunt Minnie's slideshow.</p>
<p><br/>The jamming was, of course, a heckuva lot of fun. Though somehow, for me, this show could have been titled "How many times can you play "Sunflower Dance, Marc?". <img title="" alt="" align="middle" src="http://www.banjohangout.org/global/img/icons/icon_smile_big.gif"/> I played it, I taught it, I played 2nd, I taught it some more, I played it some more. I played 1st for people who wanted to play 2nd and played 2nd for people who wanted to play 1st. Amazing...I loved every minute of it.<br/><br/>And...I got to pick Eli Kaufman's brain. Eli, of course, is the editor of the ABF (American Banjo Fraternity) newsletter and one of the great collectors of "stuff du banjo". In a crowd of this sort, it is sometimes tough to get a minute with Eli as he is 1) GURU and 2) Very Happy to Expound on Anything Banjo...at length. I finally got my "minute" with Eli Friday night at around 10pm. At 2am, I was still standing there...on the edge of information overload, mouth agape, drool wetting my t-shirt... I believe the security guard finally intervened: "Mr Kaufman? Mr. Smith hasn't blinked in the last hour, I think he might collapse and we haven't enough people to pick him up. Please let him go to bed." <img title="" alt="" align="middle" src="http://www.banjohangout.org/global/img/icons/icon_smile_tongue.gif"/> The information that man has in his head...whew! I laid in bed for another 2 hrs...staring at the ceiling, trying to get my brain to stop whirling. Next time (and I hope there are many "next times" to converse with Eli), I shall make sure I have a chair and a drink! <br/><br/>I guess what I take away from this whole experience is that the collectors group are uniformly nice, friendly people who happen to love old banjos. They are very giving, easy to talk to and chock full of history. I enjoyed myself immensely. I hope I get to go to another gathering!<br/><br/>===Marc<br/><br/></p>Darkey's Dream Dots...for SAMtag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2010-10-17:2667446:BlogPost:150232010-10-17T04:30:00.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>By request:</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73440529?profile=original">The Darkey's Dream dots.pdf</a></p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73440662?profile=original">Somewhere In Dixie dots.pdf</a></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p><strike>I'll try and get "Somewhere In Dixie" scanned tomorrow night.</strike> Done!</p>
<p></p>
<p>===Marc</p>
<p>By request:</p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73440529?profile=original">The Darkey's Dream dots.pdf</a></p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73440662?profile=original">Somewhere In Dixie dots.pdf</a></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p><strike>I'll try and get "Somewhere In Dixie" scanned tomorrow night.</strike> Done!</p>
<p></p>
<p>===Marc</p>Bare finger experimenttag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2010-09-16:2667446:BlogPost:143042010-09-16T20:45:39.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"><font color="#000000" face="Calibri" size="3">Well, I decided today to do a little experiment. I was cutting my nails and simply cut my usual picking nails back to the quick. I generally leave about 1/16” to 3/32” nail exposed on both index and middle finger (a bit more on the thumb, maybe 1/8”) and rarely cut those, rather filing them back occasionally.…</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt"></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">Well, I decided today to do a little experiment. I was cutting my nails and simply cut my usual picking nails back to the quick. I generally leave about 1/16” to 3/32” nail exposed on both index and middle finger (a bit more on the thumb, maybe 1/8”) and rarely cut those, rather filing them back occasionally.</font></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">I dunno why, maybe it is the Ball videos, maybe Rob’s exploration of the ZB or Ian’s tutorial on getting those finger-grooves set in. Maybe I’m still getting over last Sunday’s head-cold or perhaps it is sunspot activity. In any case, it’ll be flesh only for the next week or so.</font></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">Wish me luck, I’m going to need it. Thankfully, if I cannot make it work, I have Joel’s thimbles to save the day (or I could simply put on my old BG picks…or drag out a Tenor).</font></p>
<p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class="MsoNormal"><font color="#000000" size="3" face="Calibri">BTW, I have acquired a Gold Tone OT-6 banjo (it is a monster…14” pot with a special 6-string neck rigged as 5+chanterelle). I cannot seem to find any use for the extra bass string whilst fingerpicking (tuned gGDGBD at the moment) but it is a hoot playing clawhammer. However, I intend to convert it to a 5-string Cello-Banjo ASAP.</font></p>My 4-Day weekend adventure at SMBA...tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2010-05-10:2667446:BlogPost:121072010-05-10T21:10:50.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">Hi y'all!</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font color="#000000" face="Times New Roman" size="3">I was selected to be on the faculty this year for the Smoky Mountain Banjo Academy (SMBA), acting as "Banjo Historian" and teacher of just about everything other than Bluegrass. The Academy ran from Thursday evening thru Sunday afternoon and although the size was low (less than 30 students for the full 4 days, though there were more 'walk ins' for…</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">Hi y'all!</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">I was selected to be on the faculty this year for the Smoky Mountain Banjo Academy (SMBA), acting as "Banjo Historian" and teacher of just about everything other than Bluegrass. The Academy ran from Thursday evening thru Sunday afternoon and although the size was low (less than 30 students for the full 4 days, though there were more 'walk ins' for individual days) I was busy the entire time. Turns out that the old time styles are getting some interest so I was kept hopping.</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">I basically got to "open the show" Friday morning with a 45-minute "Banjo History" lecture, including demo tunes. The students are free to ask questions throughout and they were interested enough that we got into following a few side tracks off into history. I really enjoyed that.</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">Friday afternoon I taught an "Introduction To Classic Style" and played "A Banjo Oddity", "Sunflower Dance" and "Whistling Rufus" for the students...both of them. They thought it was simply the coolest thing they ever heard (or so they said) but word must have gotten out because I spent a lot of my free time demoing the style for other people. "A Banjo Oddity" always gets a smile...and they want to hear that "Pop Goes The Weasel" tune again!</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">Tom Nechville (banjo inventor, maker, etc.) always has a room there to sell banjos, work on banjos and to simply hang out. This year he has gotten into exploring his "basser instincts" and has created his own take on the Cello-Banjo. Basically, this is a large-pot openback with a 26" scale and very heavy nylon strings...tuned an octave below standard. Tom is a bluegrass guy but since hearing some of the stroke-style stuff on low-tuned banjos, he wanted to explore it. I believe the pot is 13" but I think he has done a more successful job of getting good sound out of the banjo than Gold Tone has done with their CB. I played it a good bit and really enjoyed it.</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">Friday evening after supper, I was tagged to be a judge for the student banjo contest. It was a very interesting experience for me. All of the other judges were professional musicians, including Jack Hicks (former Bill Monroe banjo player), James McKinney (former national champ and current Winfield judge), John Lawless (owner of Accutab), Tom Nechville and Leroy Troy (an entire entertainment committee in himself). We were instructed on "how to be a banjo contest judge" by James McKinney and I found out that the process is excruciating...next time I meet a music judge, I'm buying him/her a beer!</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">Satuday's highlight was talking to Dave Ball. Dave is a Knoxville area banjo maker/collector with a tendency to collect the strange and weird. He makes some of the most beautiful oldtime banjos and his collection is primarily centered around the 1870-1920 period. I've met Dave before but never really had time to sit and talk with him. We really hit it off well and I spent a very enjoyable hour or so during lunch (and another during dinner) talking about many of the things we both enjoy. Dave has done a lot of primary research on old banjo patents and tries to find manufactured examples of them. He brought in one on Sunday that is simply a marvel of, "what was the inventor thinking?"</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">I also spent a good bit of time talking with James McKinney about Classic banjo technique. James is kind of hard to describe. Imagine if (name a classical prodigy…Mozart will do) were to have been born into a banjo-picking family... James' mother was a banjo player and actually broke her ankle during her pregnancy with him and thus was forced to sit and play the banjo...a lot. So, James always claims he was playing the banjo before he was born. ;-) He started winning banjo contests at 14 and has been onstage playing professionally for 40 yrs. If he were a kid today, he'd be diagnosed with ADHD...his playing style is incredible and his knowledge of music encyclopedic. He sat with me at breakfast on Saturday and said, "Marc, one of my hero's has always been Fred Van Eps..." I don't think I ever got to eat those eggs on my plate and I nearly missed my first class. ;-)</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">I had brought some original period sheet music in as examples and one of the sheets was A.A. Farland’s transcription of the William Tell Overture…which is, of course, simply black with notes. I think that if James didn’t have classes to teach, he would have started working on it right then and there!</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">On Sunday, Dave Ball brought in two crazy vintage banjos, a “Gordon” and a “Middlebrook”. The Gordon is unique in that the tension hoop is screwed onto the body of the banjo much like the top on a Mason Jar. The banjo is quite heavy, I assume to have sufficient material in it to create screw threads. There are a number of odd machine-made features which we sat around and discussed, including a set of bicycle spokes mounted in the back of the banjo (much like a bicycle, there is a circular “hub” and the spokes run out radially to the bottom edge of the banjo pot. We think it was probably done to help keep the banjo perfectly round so that the screw threads for the tension hoop wouldn’t bind if the head pulled the body of the banjo out-of-round. This banjo features the tiniest tailpiece I’ve ever seen. I didn’t measure it but it cannot be more than ½” at its widest. It looks sort of like a “no-knot” but crazily small. It actually has an upside-down J-hook that bears on the underside of the tension hoop…which is around ¾” tall, so the whole tailpiece (J-hook and all) looks like a piece of jewelry (albeit brass).</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">The Middlebrook banjo looks just as goofy (is there a word for “elegantly goofy”?). Middlebrook produced banjos for only one year, 1893. They were sold out of southern California and production numbers are unknown. Dave Ball has quite a few of them and in sizes from piccolo to cello. They have two claims to fame, one being that Middlebrook held the US patent on the scalloped fingerboard (such that Fred Van Eps couldn’t get his fingerboard patented) and the other being a very interesting neck angle adjuster. The neck angle adjuster is both beautifully made and completely whacko. Picture a banjo head floating in a half-gimbaled mount, that is, the neck has a half-circle set of arms (lovingly cast in smooth, graceful curves) that run out from the heel and encompass the banjo pot out to the east/west poles, only touching the pot at the east/west poles. A screw in a slotted knob on each end of the gimbaled mount allows controls the angle of the neck, which pivots on two leveling screws (top and bottom) between the heel of the neck and the outer pot surface. There is no dowelstick (and no need for one). I found a picture of one here: <a href="http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Museum/Banjo/Antique/Cantilever/cantilever.html">http://www.frets.com/FRETSPages/Museum/Banjo/Antique/Cantilever/cantilever.html</a></font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">The scalloped fingerboard is a true delight to play on. Slides are just like butter and you get that fretless glissando quite easily. Crazily, the scallops are not pure radii. Viewed from the edge, the scoops are like sawteeth, that is, the scoop drops sharply from the fret and climbs gently to the next. Dave said that Middlebrook craftily knew that most banjo players performed slides from low-pitch-to-high, so he created his fingerboards to be most comfortable in that direction. Conversely, Van Eps scallops are symmetrical or true radii.</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">Dave had to go teach a class, so I had an hour or so to mess about with the Middlebrook. The one he brought was a monster, 28” scale and 13” (maybe 14” pot). It had a huge bass voice and as I said, the neck was simply a joy to work with. I want one!!!</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">Saturday night, I was required to play in the faculty concert. I chose tunes I knew by heart (smart move) and tried to not be nervous…but it was my first time to play in a formal concert. Since the bulk of the faculty is professional musicians, the stage was set up just like a concert, lighting, PA system, etc., we even sat in a ‘green room’ to be called onstage. Long-time Nashville MC, Russ Jeffers introduced everyone before they came onstage…and I heard him describing me in glowing words as my heart started to overclock…</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">I played two Stroke style tunes (Beegum Reel and Rumsey’s Jig) on the Ashborn before picking up Tom Nechville’s new Cello Banjo. I had been playing it a lot over the past day or so and thought a slow, romantic, MacKillop-rubato-enhanced waltz might sound really neat…so I trotted out Weidt’s “Cupid’s Victory” (kindly given to me by Ray Jones some years ago) for them. Wow! They loved it! Thank you Ray for the gift of the music and thank you Rob for the rubato lessons!</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">Sunday I spent teaching and simply enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Smoky Mountains. I was tickled to have two students ask to be taught one of the tunes I’d played in the concert (Rumsey’s Jig, an excellent and simple stroke style tune) and I received a gift (a small box of chocolates and a nice card) from a woman who had travelled all the way from Alaska to learn to play the banjo. She had been gifted an S.S. Stewart Special Thoroughbred (from a friend who had suffered a hand injury and could no longer play). She had gone online and done some minor research but basically knew nothing else about it. Between myself and Dave Ball, she now has a head full of information, a set of Aquila Nylgut strings (my backup set) and Dave made her a copy of the Stewart Catalog page showing her banjo. She was in tears with joy!</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">After this weekend, my heart & brains are full and my fingers are worn right thru. Hard to beat that!</font></p>
<p></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman" color="#000000" size="3">===Marc</font></p>Recent acquisitions...tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2010-04-08:2667446:BlogPost:115562010-04-08T20:32:21.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>Just thought I'd let y'all know what I got in the mail today from the estate of Z.M.Bickford. The seller seems to either enjoy classifying by publisher or perhaps Mr. Bickford simply had them filed that way. Anyway, the first set are published by Stephen Shepard, Patterson NJ (I had never heard of him). The first is 2 collections of "choice" banjo solos, all of which are 'single page' and all from ~1904-1914:</p>
<p></p>
<p>Book 1</p>
<p>Mazie Waltz (Shepard)</p>
<p>Three Star Schottische…</p>
<p>Just thought I'd let y'all know what I got in the mail today from the estate of Z.M.Bickford. The seller seems to either enjoy classifying by publisher or perhaps Mr. Bickford simply had them filed that way. Anyway, the first set are published by Stephen Shepard, Patterson NJ (I had never heard of him). The first is 2 collections of "choice" banjo solos, all of which are 'single page' and all from ~1904-1914:</p>
<p></p>
<p>Book 1</p>
<p>Mazie Waltz (Shepard)</p>
<p>Three Star Schottische (Wilsey)</p>
<p>Ideal Polka (Shepard)</p>
<p>Victor Parade March (Shepard)</p>
<p>Magnetic Schottische (Shepard)</p>
<p>Victoria Cross March (Sage)</p>
<p></p>
<p>Book 2</p>
<p>Venita Waltz (Shepard)</p>
<p>Verona Schottische (Shepard)</p>
<p>Hawthorne Polka (Shepard)</p>
<p>Mae Belle Schottische (Golby)</p>
<p>Morrison Banjo March (Shepard)</p>
<p>Ivy Leaf Schottische (Brown)</p>
<p></p>
<p>Then some singles by the same publisher:</p>
<p></p>
<p>Chief "Big Jaw", An Indian Rag (Warren Dean)</p>
<p>Dainty Dorothy (F.L.Keates)</p>
<p>Yankee Tango (F.L.Keates)</p>
<p>Faithful Friends (D. Acker)</p>
<p>The Irving Two Step (D. Acker)</p>
<p>The Dancing Dwarf (Chittenden)</p>
<p>"Jazz" A La Carte (Chittenden)</p>
<p></p>
<p>And then...</p>
<p></p>
<p>Three different publiser's versions of "Alice, Where Art Thou?", one by Albert Lyles (transcribed by Lyles for A.A. Farland), one by J.E. Dallas (arr by Plumbridge) and the third by E. Ascherberg & Co., London., arr by J.Ascher.</p>
<p></p>
<p>And then...</p>
<p></p>
<p>A couple of pieces ca 1896 by Claud C. Rowden, Chicago...who looks to have been about 15 (on the cover of "Dance Of The Cherubs, playing a Stewart Thoroughbred).</p>
<p></p>
<p>A good haul!</p>Happy Birthday...+ Zarh Myron Bickfordtag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2010-03-19:2667446:BlogPost:112832010-03-19T01:30:40.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>I just wanted to thank everybody for the nice e-birthday gifts, etc. I don't usually celebrate such things any more (I get a card from my wife and one from my favorite niece) but it was nice of y'all to think of me!</p>
<p></p>
<p>On another note...I have been buying some sheet music from a peculiar seller on ebay. This seller seems to have a wide variety of unusual Classic Banjo sheets including songbooks and tutors I've never heard of. He keeps saying he's got a large storage unit filled…</p>
<p>I just wanted to thank everybody for the nice e-birthday gifts, etc. I don't usually celebrate such things any more (I get a card from my wife and one from my favorite niece) but it was nice of y'all to think of me!</p>
<p></p>
<p>On another note...I have been buying some sheet music from a peculiar seller on ebay. This seller seems to have a wide variety of unusual Classic Banjo sheets including songbooks and tutors I've never heard of. He keeps saying he's got a large storage unit filled with stock and every time I think he's run out...he shows up with more.</p>
<p></p>
<p>So...now I find that he is selling these items from the estate of Zarh Myron Bickford! Bickford was primarily a mandolinst but did a large amount of arranging for the 5-string banjo from about 1915-1930's. I have a number of the early "Remick" popular song/tune books from just post WWI that he edited/arranged.</p>
<p></p>
<p>So...he has hinted that there is a large quantity of vintage mandolin music in his storage unit but cannot seem to find buyers. Anyone interested? I'm hoping that if I find some buyers for his mandolin stuff, maybe he'll cut me a better deal on the banjo stuff.</p>
<p></p>
<p>===Marc</p>Handy Jacktag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2009-10-24:2667446:BlogPost:88452009-10-24T05:00:00.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
Just in case you thought I'd disappeared...here's TAB for Cammeyer's "Handy Jack". Easy to do the TAB, not so easy to play well!<br />
<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73440526?profile=original">Handy Jack all.pdf</a><br />
<br />
Here's a link to David Wade's Zither Banjo site...where you can hear good Ol' Olly Oakley running thru "Handy Jack".<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zither-banjo.org/pages/Handy%20Jack.mp3">http://www.zither-banjo.org/pages/Handy%20Jack.mp3</a><br />
<br />
Y'all have fun. We…
Just in case you thought I'd disappeared...here's TAB for Cammeyer's "Handy Jack". Easy to do the TAB, not so easy to play well!<br />
<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73440526?profile=original">Handy Jack all.pdf</a><br />
<br />
Here's a link to David Wade's Zither Banjo site...where you can hear good Ol' Olly Oakley running thru "Handy Jack".<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.zither-banjo.org/pages/Handy%20Jack.mp3">http://www.zither-banjo.org/pages/Handy%20Jack.mp3</a><br />
<br />
Y'all have fun. We finally closed the deal on the new house...busy cleaning and painting, etc. Hope to be moved in around mid-November and then start prepping the old one to sell.A Mexican Ride, Emile Grimshaw...tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2009-08-05:2667446:BlogPost:71032009-08-05T04:30:00.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
Hi Gang,<br />
<br />
Ok, I've done my thing on "A Mexican Ride", I hope you like it. Notched the dots off of ebay the other day and thought I'd give 'em a go.<br />
<br />
Notes:<br />
<br />
As the first four measures were left to the piano player, I xferred them to the 1st banjoist. Sounds OK on this end but if you want, you can make up your own. I'm sure I'll come up with some kind of messy intro...<br />
<br />
In the TAB, m34 contains a quick set of 1/32 notes...this is a grace note ornament that I had to 'fake in' to get it to output…
Hi Gang,<br />
<br />
Ok, I've done my thing on "A Mexican Ride", I hope you like it. Notched the dots off of ebay the other day and thought I'd give 'em a go.<br />
<br />
Notes:<br />
<br />
As the first four measures were left to the piano player, I xferred them to the 1st banjoist. Sounds OK on this end but if you want, you can make up your own. I'm sure I'll come up with some kind of messy intro...<br />
<br />
In the TAB, m34 contains a quick set of 1/32 notes...this is a grace note ornament that I had to 'fake in' to get it to output properly to the MIDI...and to print out without screwing up the TAB software's sense of time (since it doesn't recognize such things as triplet grace notes). Pay no attention to it, go look at the dots to get the proper feel for it.<br />
<br />
In m55, 59 and 65 I cannot figure out how to get the bass note to ring its full value...I haven't actually played this with a banjo in my lap, so maybe there is an obvious method to get it right and proper. Let me know if you get it figured out.<br />
<br />
The 2nd banjo part is a hoot...and almost stands by itself. If anyone wants the MIDI (to hear the tune with both parts going, albeit in a tinny/crappy way), let me know and I'll post it.<br />
<br />
Yes, the dots are dark. I took the pictures quickly and I still haven't taken the time to learn how to 'white balance' properly.<br />
<br />
So, here ya go. Let me know if there are problems, errors, etc. Have fun!<br />
<br />
===Marc<br />
<br />
<a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/73440536?profile=original">A Mexican Ride all.pdf</a>Sweet!tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2009-07-03:2667446:BlogPost:63472009-07-03T03:12:01.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
A week or so ago, I bid on a Stewart pot assembly evidently off of an early Banjeurine...and won! Today it showed up on my doorstep and it is indeed a 12-1/2" Banjeurine pot. Serial number is 5169, so it is probably ca. 1890. It has the heavy neck brace and is pretty complete, really lacking only hooks and nuts. Came with the "Common Sense" tailpiece and the complete dowelstick too.<br />
<br />
The dowelstick gave me a bit of a turn though. I have a complete Banjeurine from this period (S/N 7xxx) in…
A week or so ago, I bid on a Stewart pot assembly evidently off of an early Banjeurine...and won! Today it showed up on my doorstep and it is indeed a 12-1/2" Banjeurine pot. Serial number is 5169, so it is probably ca. 1890. It has the heavy neck brace and is pretty complete, really lacking only hooks and nuts. Came with the "Common Sense" tailpiece and the complete dowelstick too.<br />
<br />
The dowelstick gave me a bit of a turn though. I have a complete Banjeurine from this period (S/N 7xxx) in excellent condition (same size, etc.). As this pot assy. has no neck, I expected the dowelstick to look like any other (thru the pot, glued into the neck).<br />
<br />
Surprise! The dowelstick isn't connected to the neck at all. It is screwed to the pot from either end by a countersunk woodscrew. The neck is held to the pot by two small round-head woodscrews (run in from the inside of the pot and into the heel) and supported by the heavy iron neck brace. No wedges...no nothing.<br />
<br />
Of course, I had to compare it to my existing Banjeurine...yup, same set-up. I always assumed the dowelstick was glued into the heel...I guess ol' S.S.S. had other ideas!<br />
<br />
So, this one will go into the 'to be resurrected' box. I may attempt to put a regular size neck on it (Stewart pattern, of course, 28" scale) and I have been thinking it might do well as a fretless. We'll see.Ahhhhhh...tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2009-06-26:2667446:BlogPost:61812009-06-26T16:01:40.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
Parcel #1 has arrived!<br />
<br />
As you may recall, I received #2 first, back on May 21. Parcel #1 finally hit my doorstep June 25...a full month later. That's 6 days delivery for parcel #2 and 45 days to deliver parcel #1 (both shipped the same day). Ain't the mail system a wonderful thing!! :-/<br />
<br />
To recap, Parcel #1 contains:<br />
<br />
Carl Fischer’s New And Revised Edition of Celebrated Tutors (1890)<br />
Sherwood’s Imperial Diagram Method for the Banjo (1892)<br />
Van Eps Banjo Solos (1923)<br />
Whitney-Warner Mandolin and…
Parcel #1 has arrived!<br />
<br />
As you may recall, I received #2 first, back on May 21. Parcel #1 finally hit my doorstep June 25...a full month later. That's 6 days delivery for parcel #2 and 45 days to deliver parcel #1 (both shipped the same day). Ain't the mail system a wonderful thing!! :-/<br />
<br />
To recap, Parcel #1 contains:<br />
<br />
Carl Fischer’s New And Revised Edition of Celebrated Tutors (1890)<br />
Sherwood’s Imperial Diagram Method for the Banjo (1892)<br />
Van Eps Banjo Solos (1923)<br />
Whitney-Warner Mandolin and Guitar Collection #11 (1912)<br />
The Remick Mandolin and Guitar Collection #12 (1913)<br />
The Remick Mandolin and Guitar Collection #17b (1916)<br />
The Remick Mandolin and Guitar Collection #18b (1917)<br />
The Remick Mandolin and Guitar Collection #19b (1918)<br />
Turner’s Banjo Journal #7<br />
Turner’s Banjo Monthly #11<br />
Brooks and Denton Gems #1 (1892)<br />
<br />
I have pretty much gotten the new 'hotrod' PC sorted, all my files have been recovered (except for email) and I'm back on the verge of getting these things properly digitized. I need to build a working platform for the camera/sheet music setup (so I can comfortably sit whilst shooting, turn pages, handle fragile books, etc.). My lovely wife has offered to clear out space in her hobby room (plus the use of her desk) that I might be able to work in a "cat-free" environment. The cats tend to be very interested in whatever one does...sitting comfortably right in the middle of your work being one of their favorite occupations. Being able to close the door...big help!<br />
<br />
I also received my copy of Adobe Acrobat 9.0 yesterday, so I'll be 'officially' .pdf capable. The previous computer had an, um, 'escaped from the office' version on it. ;-)<br />
<br />
I've been exploring things like Smartscore and Finale as well and may end up with a multi-tiered system for this stuff: photograph, OCR via Smartscore, TAB via MIDI from Smartscore to TablEdit and then either Acrobat or Finale to clean everything up and add in markings not available in TablEdit. Yeah, it sounds complicated but I believe once I have everything in place it should reduce my "hands on" time to produce TAB from Notation by a significant amount.<br />
<br />
Yes...I'm still working on the Grimshaw stuff, teaching myself to sightread notation. However, I still have it in my head to make all this lovely music available to the TAB reading public.Continuing issues with PC...comments on OCR for music, etc.tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2009-06-13:2667446:BlogPost:58022009-06-13T16:00:30.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
Well, still having problems. The new Laptop is very nice, very fast. I was able to get my old data off of the previous computer's hard drives (a big relief) so nothing was lost...<br />
<br />
Except email. It is still there but I've been unable to migrate it over onto the new computer. So, for the time being, I have only the addresses of people who've sent me mail since the new laptop went online...and no access to archived mail.<br />
<br />
Also missing is TablEdit, my TAB creating program. The program itself came…
Well, still having problems. The new Laptop is very nice, very fast. I was able to get my old data off of the previous computer's hard drives (a big relief) so nothing was lost...<br />
<br />
Except email. It is still there but I've been unable to migrate it over onto the new computer. So, for the time being, I have only the addresses of people who've sent me mail since the new laptop went online...and no access to archived mail.<br />
<br />
Also missing is TablEdit, my TAB creating program. The program itself came over fine (or I could just download it from the TablEdit website), problem is, my Serial Number...the one that unlocks the program for 'full' (rather than 'demo') usage was saved as an email...on the old computer. :-( I've sent a query to Keith @ Tabledit but haven't gotten a response as yet.<br />
<br />
So, I can't create any TAB until I get the program back running.<br />
<br />
Otherwise, the new laptop has some great features that I've been playing with. The built-in video camera is excellent and if I can ever lay down a decent performance, I'll have some new videos up. The microphone isn't so great, it really sounds 'tinny'. However, using the USB mic works quite well.<br />
<br />
I've been exploring some additional options for getting the sheet music photographed, post processing, etc. There's an OCR-Sheet Music program out there called "SmartScore" that I demo'd several years ago...well the latest version does a much nicer job and it will even scan photos. The cool thing is that it plays the music back to you and allows it to be saved as (don't look, Rob!) a MIDI file.<br />
<br />
That MIDI file is very important to my ongoing Classic TAB project...TablEdit can import MIDI and automatically generate Tablature. Of course, it requires quite a bit of 'cleanup', but it is far faster than doing it the old fashioned way, note-for-note.<br />
<br />
Another "plus" for SmartScore is that it is designed to interface directly with "Finale", an industry-standard music publishing software...and does both standard notation and TAB. Pretty cool!How to Excel...Grimshaw.tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2009-05-28:2667446:BlogPost:54222009-05-28T16:24:24.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
Well, here I am...starting at #1 and working my way thru. So far, so good! I was able to play numbers 1-5 last night without breaking anything (except minor ego losses).<br />
<br />
Sure, lots of stumbling around, mistakes, rhythm errors, etc. I'm trying desperately not to do much "pencil marking" on the pages. There are a few finger-twisters such as the Dmaj in m14 (Exercise #4) where one holds a D on the 4th (second fret) whilst making an A on the third (second fret), a D on the second (third fret) and…
Well, here I am...starting at #1 and working my way thru. So far, so good! I was able to play numbers 1-5 last night without breaking anything (except minor ego losses).<br />
<br />
Sure, lots of stumbling around, mistakes, rhythm errors, etc. I'm trying desperately not to do much "pencil marking" on the pages. There are a few finger-twisters such as the Dmaj in m14 (Exercise #4) where one holds a D on the 4th (second fret) whilst making an A on the third (second fret), a D on the second (third fret) and an F# on the first (4th fret). My fingers don't like that position much at all. ;-)<br />
<br />
I think I shall keep working on these exercises in weekly 'blocks'. That is, I intend to work on #1-5 this week and then move to #6-? for next week. I figure if I can devote an hour of concentration to this task at least 5 days a week, I should make decent progress.<br />
<br />
Let's see...there are 87 exercises. If I do just three per week, I should be through "excelling" around December. ;-)<br />
<br />
I wonder, should I post videos of each exercise as I go? Would that be of any use to anyone?New 'hotrod' PC ordered...reading the dots...tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2009-05-26:2667446:BlogPost:53432009-05-26T14:28:05.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
OK, preliminary diagnosis on my old PC is that both hard drives are spinning up and appear to be in good health. I should be able to access them and transfer all files to the new computer. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that this all works out!<br />
<br />
The new PC has been ordered and is a Dell 17" "studio" laptop with most of the 'bells and whistles'. 4g memory, a 320g hard drive, CD/DVD read/write, HD screen, upgraded video, etc, etc. It should be delivered before mid-June. Until then, I'm…
OK, preliminary diagnosis on my old PC is that both hard drives are spinning up and appear to be in good health. I should be able to access them and transfer all files to the new computer. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that this all works out!<br />
<br />
The new PC has been ordered and is a Dell 17" "studio" laptop with most of the 'bells and whistles'. 4g memory, a 320g hard drive, CD/DVD read/write, HD screen, upgraded video, etc, etc. It should be delivered before mid-June. Until then, I'm limited to access from the PC here at work.<br />
<br />
Of course, this has resulted in a bit of "computer withdrawl" while at home. The results are primarily that I have been practicing more. And...for the first time, I have actually learnt a bit of music directly from the dots. Lansing's "A Darkey's Dream" is pretty much a 'first position' bit of basic stuff and I was able to trot it out pretty quickly. It helps a lot when you have the tune running in your head. ;-) I could have probably worked it out by ear. Still, I very little trouble with it...<br />
<br />
Then I attempted an unfamiliar piece. Ooooh...much more difficult! Ihad the devil's own time with the rhythms...counting time, etc. It also doesn't help when the dots have no fingering suggestions. I think I'll find another piece that at least has LH indications and try again!<br />
<br />
I figure if I keep at it, I should be sight-reading from notation in a decade or so. ;-)1st Blog post...Good News/Bad News...tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2009-05-21:2667446:BlogPost:52212009-05-21T18:16:21.000ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
Well...<br />
<br />
Bad News: my computer would not boot up last night. Not a 'bluescreen' error but a 'blackscreen' error that would not even let me get into 'safe mode' to try to resusitate it. This means I shall be taking the box down to our local "Computer ER" (that is actually the name of the place) to see if it can be raised from the dead. This particular error often indicates a hardware crash (at least that's what a 'net search said)...which may mean that about 10 yrs of music files could be…
Well...<br />
<br />
Bad News: my computer would not boot up last night. Not a 'bluescreen' error but a 'blackscreen' error that would not even let me get into 'safe mode' to try to resusitate it. This means I shall be taking the box down to our local "Computer ER" (that is actually the name of the place) to see if it can be raised from the dead. This particular error often indicates a hardware crash (at least that's what a 'net search said)...which may mean that about 10 yrs of music files could be effectively gone. Most of my 'Classic Banjo' efforts are actually out on the old Yahoo classic banjo site, so I can retrieve those with no problem. However, I have no backups for the rest (other than hardcopies). I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the affected HD is not completely kaput. If it is, I may resort to sending it off for data recovery. All is (hopefully) not lost.<br />
<br />
Still, it is disheartening.<br />
<br />
Good news: this will force the "get a new computer" issue. "Da Boss" has authorized the procurement of a hot-rod laptop for the home. She always gets what she wants! ;-) This will help my photo-documentation effort considerably, as I will be able to better manage the tools required to do the job.<br />
<br />
Other Good News: I went home @ lunch today and the postman delivered a package from the UK. Doug Rogers has returned 1/2 of the music I sent him back in 2003 (parcel 2 delivered...hopefully parcel 1 shall be home soon!). This is a great relief for me and a boon, eventually, for us all. This parcel (#2) contained the following banjo music books/tutors:<br />
<br />
Songs For The Banjo (1919)<br />
C Notation Excelsior Method For The Banjo (1918)<br />
Jacobs’ Easy Mandolin & Banjo Folio #1 (1899)<br />
Jacobs’ #1 Amateur Folio (1914)<br />
Smith’s Tuneful Solos For Banjo (1923)<br />
Hamilton’s Banjo Folio (1890)<br />
The Witmark Progressive Banjo Method (1914)<br />
S.S. Stewart’s Banjo And Guitar Music Album (1885)<br />
The Beaver Mandolin And Guitara Folio (mandolin only, 1900)<br />
The Banjoist’s Budget (1883)<br />
Winner’s Eureka Method for the Banjo (1890)<br />
<br />
Parcel #1 should contain:<br />
<br />
Carl Fischer’s New And Revised Edition of Celebrated Tutors (1890)<br />
Sherwood’s Imperial Diagram Method for the Banjo (1892)<br />
Van Eps Banjo Solos (1923)<br />
Whitney-Warner Mandolin and Guitar Collection #11 (1912)<br />
The Remick Mandolin and Guitar Collection #12 (1913)<br />
The Remick Mandolin and Guitar Collection #17b (1916)<br />
The Remick Mandolin and Guitar Collection #18b (1917)<br />
The Remick Mandolin and Guitar Collection #19b (1918)<br />
Turner’s Banjo Journal #7<br />
Turner’s Banjo Monthly #11<br />
Brooks and Denton Gems #1 (1892)<br />
<br />
These books represent literally hundreds of tunes written/arranged for 5-string banjo, the Hamilton Folio is nearly 1/2" thick of nothing but solos and duets (no tutor/method) from the 1880's.<br />
<br />
So, a door closes (hopefully it is still ajar) and one opens up!<br />
<br />
===Marc