Jigs, Reels, and Hornpipes

[Jody Stecher]

I was inspired by Walter Kaye Bauer's book "Jigs and Reels for 5 String Banjo" and have started making some transcriptions of banjo-friendly versions of some good tunes not in that book (which also contains hornpipes).   His versions, unlike most banjo transcriptions of this repertoire, are musically sound and not dumbed-down. He applies classic banjo technique, sometimes transposes the key from the usual, and provides chords, most of which I agree with.

Here's a sample of what I've been trying out. It's a banjoized arrangement  of a little-heard (and better) version of a well-known simple jig called "The Ship In Full Sail".  I haven't added chord symbols yet.

I've kept fingering suggestions/indications  to a minimum and have avoided repeating them where the measures repeat. I've included them when certain fingerings maximize flow and "feel". I went with the flag symbol for the open 5th string. This can be changed of course.  I got the hang of doing this with Musescore and all was well until I tried entering tab and the score went berserk. But I think it's all lining up ok now.  

I've aimed for a relatively  uncluttered page. More info about strings and fingers could be given but I'd rather give the player some leeway and also Too Much Information gets hard to read.

Here is a staff version and another with staff plus tab. Do the members of this forum find this readable? Please let me know if  more such repertoire is appealing. THANKS.

[Trapdoor2]

You don't have to enter tab once you have the notation. Just add a tab staff and copy/paste the notation into it. Then, you can move tab notes from one string to another with the mouse. It will adjust the number on the fly.

Also, I prefer the look of "full" tab...which beams like notation. Easy to change it.

You can also link the tab staff to your notation staff and it will automatically create tab as you input notation. I find that cumbersome to deal with, esp since I prefer my tab to stand alone.

Jigs and reels, etc., are fast to enter and I'll often have tab staffs for banjo, tenor banjo and mandolin all populating via copy/paste. 

[Jody Stecher]

Thanks. Yes I did the linked tab. But a simpler kind.  I'll look into full tab.

Trapdoor2 said:

You don't have to enter tab once you have the notation. Just add a tab staff and copy/paste the notation into it. Then, you can move tab notes from one string to another with the mouse. It will adjust the number on the fly.

Also, I prefer the look of "full" tab...which beams like notation. Easy to change it.

You can also link the tab staff to your notation staff and it will automatically create tab as you input notation. I find that cumbersome to deal with, esp since I prefer my tab to stand alone.

Jigs and reels, etc., are fast to enter and I'll often have tab staffs for banjo, tenor banjo and mandolin all populating via copy/paste. 

[Shawn McSweeny]

My start on the banjo around 1970 was learning clawhammer fiddle tune arrangements from the John Burke book. Later, as a bluegrass picker I gravitated toward fiddle tunes in melodic style. As a classic finger style player now I still enjoy fiddle tunes, so yes, this repertoire is appealing.

Both notation and tab are quite readable. The uncluttered approach works for me.

[Jody Stecher]

Just changed to full tab. Yes much better.  

Jody Stecher said:

Thanks. Yes I did the linked tab. But a simpler kind.  I'll look into full tab.

Trapdoor2 said:

You don't have to enter tab once you have the notation. Just add a tab staff and copy/paste the notation into it. Then, you can move tab notes from one string to another with the mouse. It will adjust the number on the fly.

Also, I prefer the look of "full" tab...which beams like notation. Easy to change it.

You can also link the tab staff to your notation staff and it will automatically create tab as you input notation. I find that cumbersome to deal with, esp since I prefer my tab to stand alone.

Jigs and reels, etc., are fast to enter and I'll often have tab staffs for banjo, tenor banjo and mandolin all populating via copy/paste. 

[Jody Stecher]

Thanks, Shawn. This is what I was hoping to hear.

Shawn McSweeny said:

My start on the banjo around 1970 was learning clawhammer fiddle tune arrangements from the John Burke book. Later, as a bluegrass picker I gravitated toward fiddle tunes in melodic style. As a classic finger style player now I still enjoy fiddle tunes, so yes, this repertoire is appealing.

Both notation and tab are quite readable. The uncluttered approach works for me.

[Jody Stecher]

Whoops I just noticed that when I linked tab to the staff notation the flags from the staff notation vanished but the tab did show the open 5th string.  I replaced the flags and.... yikes... look what resulted in the tab!

[Trapdoor2]

Yah. Unintended consequences.

Another reason I don't link tab to the notation. You can hide the extra notes, if you want. When the tab isn't linked, you can remove/alter any note on one staff without affecting the other staff.

No matter what, there is usually some "cleanup" required to get everything looking good.

[Jody Stecher]

Got it. thanks. 

Trapdoor2 said:

Yah. Unintended consequences.

Another reason I don't link tab to the notation. You can hide the extra notes, if you want. When the tab isn't linked, you can remove/alter any note on one staff without affecting the other staff.

No matter what, there is usually some "cleanup" required to get everything looking good.

[Trapdoor2]

If I may...

I have this process down to "I'm lazy". :-) I was tasked to provide a book of "Common Irish tunes" for our local jam...I did about 60 for Tenor banjo (plus chords) but the process works for any tab.

I usually go thru Jigs, reels, etc., tunes on "The Session". The sheer quantity is amazing. Quality...it varies. Still, it is a great source of such music and, BIG BENEFIT, the tunes are available as both notation and ABC format. It is the ABC format that I'm after.

I found a freeware ABC translator online called "Easy ABC" which outputs a variety of formats...including .XML, which Musescore reads very nicely.

Method:

Find a tune on The Session. Open the ABC tab for the version you want. Highlight the ABC text and copy it to your clipboard.

Open Easy ABC. Paste the ABC into Easy ABC. Pull down the file tab and select "export all"...choose .xml. Export it to your desktop (or wherever you want it).

Open Musescore. Open the new .xml file in Musescore as a new file. BAM! It is there and ready to massage any way you want it.

I just did this for "The Ship in Full Sail"...took less than 2 min.

Massage: Musescore imports it in treble clef with a basic piano soundfile. If you don't care, do nothing. I like to hear the banjo, so I drag the 8va bassa clef over and transpose it an octave lower, then setting it for banjo. I open a separate banjo tab staff and go thru the copy/paste to get tab. Then I push notes around to get the fingering I want...often with a banjo in my lap.

I can usually do it in under 15min. Most of my time is spent getting the fingering the way I want it and then getting the piece to sit properly on the page.

[Jody Stecher]

Thanks for the technique. I will be sure to use it in some way. My new project is to create 5-string banjo arrangements of very special versions of jigs, reels and hornpipes that I have gathered over the decades, mostly from great musicians who have now passed away, and occasionally with my own musical touches. These are not to be found on The Session. As you say "quality varies".   The version you got from the session, whichever it was, is so different it is nearly a different tune.

I got my version of The Ship IFS from 2 row button accordion player Joe Cooley who used to live here in San Francisco, There are many versions of The Ship In Full Sail on that website. All the first parts are similar to Joe's but not quite as good. The second and occasionally occurring third parts on the Session are entirely different.   Just an example. 

There is no shortage of repertoire in my memory bank and that is my source for this project.  My idea is to create a small collection of banjo arrangements of tunes I like which are not in the Bauer book.

Trapdoor2 said:

If I may...

I have this process down to "I'm lazy". :-) I was tasked to provide a book of "Common Irish tunes" for our local jam...I did about 60 for Tenor banjo (plus chords) but the process works for any tab.

I usually go thru Jigs, reels, etc., tunes on "The Session". The sheer quantity is amazing. Quality...it varies. Still, it is a great source of such music and, BIG BENEFIT, the tunes are available as both notation and ABC format. It is the ABC format that I'm after.

I found a freeware ABC translator online called "Easy ABC" which outputs a variety of formats...including .XML, which Musescore reads very nicely.

Method:

Find a tune on The Session. Open the ABC tab for the version you want. Highlight the ABC text and copy it to your clipboard.

Open Easy ABC. Paste the ABC into Easy ABC. Pull down the file tab and select "export all"...choose .xml. Export it to your desktop (or wherever you want it).

Open Musescore. Open the new .xml file in Musescore as a new file. BAM! It is there and ready to massage any way you want it.

I just did this for "The Ship in Full Sail"...took less than 2 min.

Massage: Musescore imports it in treble clef with a basic piano soundfile. If you don't care, do nothing. I like to hear the banjo, so I drag the 8va bassa clef over and transpose it an octave lower, then setting it for banjo. I open a separate banjo tab staff and go thru the copy/paste to get tab. Then I push notes around to get the fingering I want...often with a banjo in my lap.

I can usually do it in under 15min. Most of my time is spent getting the fingering the way I want it and then getting the piece to sit properly on the page.

[Trapdoor2]

I think that's great, Jody. What I often do is use a Session tune as a basis...and then poke the notes around till it matches what's in my head. Musescore is great for that.

[Jody Stecher]

That's just what I was thinking. When there's a tune on The Session in a similar version as mine.. maybe 80%... I could save a lot of time importing it to Musescore and making a few changes. 

Trapdoor2 said:

I think that's great, Jody. What I often do is use a Session tune as a basis...and then poke the notes around till it matches what's in my head. Musescore is great for that.