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Drumming on the head 3 Replies
Started by Austin in Classic Banjo. Last reply by Austin 2 hours ago.
Jasper Johnson's Jubilee..1899..Paul Rubens
Started by Steve Harrison in Classic Banjo yesterday.
Why did Frank Bradbury record the Banshee in E major? 8 Replies
Started by Austin in Classic Banjo. Last reply by Jody Stecher on Thursday.
How do you separate the music from the racism? 3 Replies
Started by Austin in Classic Banjo. Last reply by Jody Stecher on Thursday.
Can you identify this banjo? 4 Replies
Started by Steve Denholm in Classic Banjo. Last reply by IAN SALTER Jan 9.
Samuel Swaim Stewart's universal favorite 1 Reply
Started by Austin in Classic Banjo. Last reply by Joel Hooks Jan 7.
Cotton Pickers Rag..1899..William J. Braun 1 Reply
Started by Steve Harrison in Classic Banjo. Last reply by Trapdoor2 Jan 7.
A "New" Vess Ossman recording.. Well, new to me anyway! 21 Replies
Started by thereallyniceman in Classic Banjo. Last reply by nick Kelly Jan 7.
Zach Hoyt 1 Reply
Started by Austin in Classic Banjo. Last reply by Ethan Schwartz Jan 4.
Tone ring 3 Replies
Started by Austin in Classic Banjo. Last reply by Austin Jan 3.
Fred Van Eps birthday December 30th 1878 1 Reply
Started by Richard William Ineson in Classic Banjo. Last reply by thereallyniceman Dec 31, 2024.
Looking to buy a banjo for classic banjo playing. 1 Reply
Started by Adam Tracksler in Classic Banjo. Last reply by Austin Dec 30, 2024.
Old Folks Rag..1914..Wilbur Colman Sweatman
Started by Steve Harrison in Classic Banjo Dec 29, 2024.
Why does no one play the Banshee at a slow tempo? 5 Replies
Started by Austin in Classic Banjo. Last reply by Austin Dec 27, 2024.
The Domino Rag..1908..Richard Grant
Started by Steve Harrison in Classic Banjo Dec 26, 2024.
Blog Posts
"SOMEWHERE IN DIXIE" Banjo 2
Hello, I wrote a Banjo 2 accompaniment for Somewere in Dixie, as there was none. Is it possible to put it in the music library?
Posted by Alexandre Derycke on October 20, 2024 at 20:06 — 2 Comments
Questions about a zyther/banjo
Hi everyone, first a big THANK YOU to this website host for approving my request to becomd a member.
Recently, I bought this zyther/banjo from an estate sale. It is alleged to be from 1900. I do not know the maker and is in a desperate need of repair that I am willing to do. It previous owner did a bad job on it. I would love to share pictures of it before I took it apart and afterwards.
If anyone could help me to upload these picture I would deeply appreciated.
Recently, I bought this zyther/banjo from an estate sale. It is alleged to be from 1900. I do not know the maker and is in a desperate need of repair that I am willing to do. It previous owner did a bad job on it. I would love to share pictures of it before I took it apart and afterwards.
If anyone could help me to upload these picture I would deeply appreciated.
Posted by Jaime riera on August 17, 2023 at 16:06 — 8 Comments
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Latest Activity
"This was handled various ways. A stem with no note head and the word “drum” underneath, a small note with the word “tap” or “tap on head” or “strike head” or some such”, the same with…"
"So far the only thing I can think of is x noteheads"
Drumming on the head
If I wanted someone to beat on the drum over the strings at the bridge, How would I notate that?See More
Jasper Johnson'r Jubilee..1899..Paul Rubens
This is a very tuneful early cakewalk, I've rewritten measures 5,6,8 and 56,57 (plus their repeats) to give the tune some extra bounce. The piano score was in F/Bb, I've arranged it for banjo in C/F. My suggested fingering includes elements of…See More
"Listen to the sound of the closed and open strings and you will also be positive. The mood of the piece is difficult or even impossible to convey in E major fingering. C minor/ E flat is a sort of "sound family". The absolute pitch…"
"Interesting. You're positive he's playing and C Minor E flat major fingering?"
"Actually a bit sharper than that. "
"In the upper right corner of the home page (and other pages ) on this site is a search window. Type in "racism" and then you can read past discussions on the topic."
"I think you have answered your own question. "
"There are a lot of early pieces for banjo and popular American music (1840's to at least the 1910's) that depicted horrible caricatures of various groups of people. When dealing with this music, I just understand that racist material may…"
How do you separate the music from the racism?
There are some really racist titles for pieces. How do you separate the racism associated with them from the actual music? Because they are incredibly fun to play.See More
"The intro to the Banshee is indeed composed and written in E flat major and the fast part starts off in C minor. 3 flats in the key signature in both cases. The Bradbury playback on youtube I listened to is indeed at E maj/ C# minor.…"
"I don't think this one was tampered with, but you could be right. The banshee I believe starts off in e-flat major."
"I believe the Banshee is in C minor.
Regarding recordings-- don't always trust them. Playback speed might be altered and they are often "cleaned up" (which makes them sound like they are under water)."
"My theory regarding the keys of why Emaj and A maj are rarely seen in banjo music is one of practicality. In both keys G is sharp and on the banjo, the 3rd and 5th strings are conventionally tunes to G natural. Unless the strings are tuned up…"
"Never mind, I just put nylguts on my banjo so it tuned itself down a half step when the strings stretched lol"
Why did Frank Bradbury record the Banshee in E major?
I'm curious because I was told the banjo is best at flat keys not so much sharp ones which is why Emile Grimshaw wrote it in Eb. Why would he make this odd choice to shift up from Eb to E?See More
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