Bradbury Book 2

[Jody Stecher]

Having played through the entire first volume I now have turned my attention to volume 2. I found the first book to be excellent instructional material sequenced in such a way as to give the student a gentle prod to improve at the same time as building confidence in using what was learned on earlier pages. The downside was occasionally vague instructions and a few badly constructed sentences.  

Will volume 1 be similar?  I expect the music will get harder to play. 

The Norwegian Folk Dance and its preparatory exercise introduces new rhythms and fingerings. The piece is fun to play and  relentlessly jolly and therefore does not remind me of Norwegians. 

The second page of The Sailor's Refrain is  Darling Nellie Gray. Once again the title is a bad fit to the music. The musical arrangement is excellent and not as hard to play as it is to read. There are some tricky position changes. The arrangement and fingering instructions provide the means to play these changes with confidence.

[Jody Stecher]

Pages 60 through 64. The last pages.

The final pages of Book 2 present two banjo solos derived from "classical music" with more useful exercises placed between them. 

On pages 60 and  61 is " In Old Vienna" which is marked as being derived from a "Mozant Theme".  I don't know who Mo is or "Mo's aunt" –   or uncle either -- so I guess this is a typo for Mozart.  This banjo solo consists almost entirely of arpeggios and scales. It didn't appeal to me. It was placed here I'm sure because it modulates from C to A Flat and it follows studies in A flat on the previous pages.

The next two pages are about including the 3rd finger of the right hand in picking the strings for various good reasons and how to play "8va" notation (an octave above what is written). Bradbury does not miss one last chance to confuse the student. He tells us that an arpeggio should be played on the impulse of the beat. This could be useful information had he told us what that means. I think he means that the start of an ornamental arpeggio should begin at the very start of a beat in order to preserve the time sense. I don't agree. Playing the ornamented note right on the beat with the arpeggio played rapidly just before the beat does not lose the time sense.  It's two different sense of aesthetics. 

The last page of the book presents "Brahms Waltz". It's Opus 39, No 15.  I listened to the original played on piano. Ironically on piano it is in A flat, which had just been studied a few pages earlier. But on the banjo it has been transposed to C major where it sits well.  This was a workout! Mostly in reading. There are some huge jumps from one end of the fingerboard to the other but really once the music is understood it is no so very challenging to play. But reading it right off the page and playing it in rhythm was more than I could do as the notation is choc-a-bloc with expressive devices (none of which was gratuitious in my opinion). I enjoyed working through it slowly. It sounds, to my ear at least, just as good on banjo as on piano. Or if I may so, *better* on banjo. 

Bradbury vs Grimshaw Summary 

Bradbury has a better sense of what it is to be a beginner. He gives the same information as Grimshaw, although in a different order, and presents it in digestible portions. One thing at a time. And then he builds on this. Throughout the two books there is a steady progression. At the end the student is at the top of the hill without having struggled *too much*  to climb there because new skills have been presented in advance of needing them.  

On the other hand Bradbury has a better sense of what the student needs than he has the verbal skills to say what he really means. For the most part playing the written music will illustrate the actual meaning of some opaque sentences. 

The book is printed in a way that there enough space on each page. not just as much ink as possible.

Emile Grimshaw, by contrast,  has a good command of plain English. No sentence needs to be re-read to make sense of it. He is generous with his knowledge  but sometimes he gives too much at once. The look and feel of the book is warm and inviting and Old School. There is an elegance to the print. But some pages are cramped. More pages with bigger print and more space would have been better.  There is less sense of progression in learning here. The student has to be self-motivated and dedicated. The book (The Banjo And How To Play It) has everything the student needs but it's all in heap on the floor, so to speak. 

I suspect that the first edition of Grimshaw's book was published a bit earlier than the first edition of Bradbury's but the book has the feel of being from 50 or even 100 years earlier.  The look and feel and the language used all contribute to this. 

I should say that I very much agree with Joel Hooks that the way to use the Bradbury book(s) is by starting at the very beginning and going through to the end, skipping nothing.  This is a COURSE in learning to play banjo.

The Grimshaw book is dip-able. It's a compendium of necessary information for learning to play banjo. It is well written and looks great. All the exercises are good or great. It also has a different slant on some aspects of banjo playing not found in Bradbury.  

One more thing: having used both books randomly in the past I began this exercise and review with the opinion that the Grimshaw book was better.  I have changed my mind.  I think I was put off by some of Bradbury's silly tune titles and by the awful cover of the newer version.   Memo to Jody: don't judge a book by its cover!

 I recommend both books.

[Banjowaif]

Thank you for doing this Jody, I enjoyed your commentary.

[Jody Stecher]

Thanks for telling me. I'm glad you enjoyed it.  

Banjowaif said:

Thank you for doing this Jody, I enjoyed your commentary.

[IAN SALTER]

I will continue to use only the nineteenth century publications, but have nonetheless, very much enjoyed your writings. 

Do you feel that your playing will be in any way altered by this venture?

[Jody Stecher]

Thank you, Ian. Good question and the answer is yes.

I started playing banjo at age 12. My 79th birthday arrives in less than a week. As one might expect the way I use my fingers has been pretty much automatic for a good number of years, I have made these moves so many times.

But I discovered as I went through the book (and Grimshaw's as well) that these ways are not brittle or unchangeable.  I was instructed to use fingering patterns that were different than my habitual ways. Some were uncomfortable at first, as they would be for a beginner, but I adjusted. By the time I got to the second book I found that I anticipated which fingers (of both hands) I would be asked to use and that my brain and body were just as happy to do it using Bradbury patterns.  I can still play my old way.  So my way of playing has become more flexible. I think this is good for mental health!  

There are a few right hand "rules" given in the book, that are endemic in classic banjo technique that I find to be arbitrary and not conducive to better results than other ways. For instance in playing a 4 note passage on which the 4 long strings are played in succession, x x .  ..  (TTIM) is not necessarily better than x . x . (TITI) or x . .. x (TIMT). Keeping the thumb off the first string does not always produce the best sound.  However as I worked through the books I noticed that my middle right finger was getting stronger and producing a fuller sound. So I have new options.

IAN SALTER said:

I will continue to use only the nineteenth century publications, but have nonetheless, very much enjoyed your writings. 

Do you feel that your playing will be in any way altered by this venture?

[Joel Hooks]

In one of the late BMGs there is a write up about an ABF rally where Bradbury is giving a workshop and he recommends “How to Excel” t0 go along with his book.

[Jody Stecher]

Yes indeed. That's a better book than the one I was going through in tandem with the Bradbury book(s).  For people reading this here on this forum who are new to the field of Classic Banjo I should clarify the matter:

I have been comparing the Bradbury book with Grimshaw's "The Banjo and How To Play It", not with "How To Excel On The Banjo". The latter is subtitled "114 Melodious Exercises" and that is what it is. It's not a tutor for beginners. So I was comparing two books with similar purposes.

Joel Hooks said:

In one of the late BMGs there is a write up about an ABF rally where Bradbury is giving a workshop and he recommends “How to Excel” t0 go along with his book.