Master Classic Banjo Without Notes... In only a few Minutes! - Classic-Banjo2024-03-29T11:28:00Zhttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/forum/topics/master-classic-banjo-without-notes-in-only-a-few-minutes?commentId=2667446%3AComment%3A143681&xg_source=activity&feed=yes&xn_auth=noOl' Henry advertised his "sim…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2020-07-01:2667446:Comment:1438612020-07-01T00:15:06.432ZJoel Hookshttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/deuceswilde
<p>Ol' Henry advertised his "simple method" relentlessly, going so far as to promise "a tune a day".</p>
<p>I think there was a bit of a different angle other than deniability. I think they were dancing on the line of sales ethics and up-selling scams.<br></br><br></br>The idea is that you buy into the bait-- learn the banjo with no effort whatsoever in minutes. You buy a book and a banjo from a pawn shop. You set to work but you don't get anywhere with it. So you call on the Dobson School and ask…</p>
<p>Ol' Henry advertised his "simple method" relentlessly, going so far as to promise "a tune a day".</p>
<p>I think there was a bit of a different angle other than deniability. I think they were dancing on the line of sales ethics and up-selling scams.<br/><br/>The idea is that you buy into the bait-- learn the banjo with no effort whatsoever in minutes. You buy a book and a banjo from a pawn shop. You set to work but you don't get anywhere with it. So you call on the Dobson School and ask about lessons, and the simple method.</p>
<p>"Oh, yes, that is fine if all you want to do is play around a little-- but you will never be any good. The only way to get good is to learn by music." (up sell).</p>
<p>You show up for the first lesson...</p>
<p>"Oh, that banjo is no good, you need frets, you best leave it with me and I'll fret it for $__."</p>
<p>(I find it strange that they have instructions for how to fret a banjo in pretty much all their books.)</p>
<p>Second lesson...</p>
<p>"If you want good tone you need a silver spun rim, best leave it with me."</p>
<p>Third lesson...</p>
<p>"You are going to need more brackets and hooks."</p>
<p>Fourth lesson...</p>
<p>"That head is no good, you best let me change it."</p>
<p>Fifth lesson...</p>
<p>"This banjo is just not going to work, you should have bought one of my Genuine Patent banjos to begin with, here buy this one."</p>
<p>I think the entire thing was a money squeeze. A long con to extract money out of the fish. The "simple method" was just one piece of that.</p>
<p>Henry bounced back and forth between England and New York. I guess he would wear out his welcome and skip town. Con artists are anything but lazy. I can see him establishing this whole "system" as a come on. Part of the long game.</p> Yes, "without notes or a teac…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2020-06-30:2667446:Comment:1437792020-06-30T20:25:29.358ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>Yes, "without notes or a teacher" is on page 7. I don't think he wanted to advertise that on the cover. Those were the days of mobs and pitchforks, etc. Hiding it on page 7 is giving yourself plausible deniability. "No, no, the publisher copied that from my earlier treatise, this was never <em>meant</em> to be masterless..."</p>
<p>"Do you wish to sit on the rail while we pour the tar, sir? The feathers are on their way. Yes, all the pitchforks are freshly tuned to a perfect A..."</p>
<p>The…</p>
<p>Yes, "without notes or a teacher" is on page 7. I don't think he wanted to advertise that on the cover. Those were the days of mobs and pitchforks, etc. Hiding it on page 7 is giving yourself plausible deniability. "No, no, the publisher copied that from my earlier treatise, this was never <em>meant</em> to be masterless..."</p>
<p>"Do you wish to sit on the rail while we pour the tar, sir? The feathers are on their way. Yes, all the pitchforks are freshly tuned to a perfect A..."</p>
<p>The preface is simply hyperbolic advertising. "If you really want to learn, buy my other book too..."<br/> <br/> <cite>Joel Hooks said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="https://classic-banjo.ning.com/forum/topics/master-classic-banjo-without-notes-in-only-a-few-minutes?xg_source=activity#2667446Comment143695"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Thanks Marc, my experience was similar.</p>
<p>As far as needing a teacher...</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6447343099?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6447343099?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="600" class="align-full"/></a></p>
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</div>
</div>
</blockquote> Thanks Marc, my experience wa…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2020-06-30:2667446:Comment:1436952020-06-30T00:47:51.283ZJoel Hookshttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/deuceswilde
<p>Thanks Marc, my experience was similar.</p>
<p>As far as needing a teacher...…</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6447343099?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-full" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6447343099?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="600"></img></a></p>
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<p>Thanks Marc, my experience was similar.</p>
<p>As far as needing a teacher...</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6447343099?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6447343099?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="600" class="align-full"/></a></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6447356086?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6447356086?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="600" class="align-full"/></a></p> Ok, I just spent an hour or t…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2020-06-29:2667446:Comment:1438512020-06-29T20:10:57.888ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>Ok, I just spent an hour or two playing out of this book...per the instructions.</p>
<p>Please note that nowhere does this volume state that it is designed to be used "without a master". I wouldn't want to foist this off on someone with no musical background at all...and I don't think it was designed for that purpose.</p>
<p>It isn't all that bad. Like many of the tab books from the 60s and 70s (1960s...), the rhythm is rudimentary at best. Better, actually than one famous clawhammer…</p>
<p>Ok, I just spent an hour or two playing out of this book...per the instructions.</p>
<p>Please note that nowhere does this volume state that it is designed to be used "without a master". I wouldn't want to foist this off on someone with no musical background at all...and I don't think it was designed for that purpose.</p>
<p>It isn't all that bad. Like many of the tab books from the 60s and 70s (1960s...), the rhythm is rudimentary at best. Better, actually than one famous clawhammer book.</p>
<p>IOW, you really need to know the tunes first. The usage of slurs to indicate rhythm (ie, as a designator of note value) is very confusing. Notes on the same line look like they're tied rather than of some shorter rhythmic value. You can't tell if the faux tie indicates two quavers or a triplet or a dotted pair...unless you know the tune.</p>
<p>So...I stumbled around on the first time thru. Didn't remember the explanation for the "S" (for snap), etc. Then I re-read the instructions, gave myself a forehead slap...and had a better time the next time thru.</p>
<p>Issues: the unmarked "closed" note on the 3rd string is always the 2nd fret. Never mentioned but it works fine. Also the unmarked "closed" note on the 4th string is the 2nd fret...same problem but it works.</p>
<p>I ran across a couple of tunes where tuning the 4th to B isn't mentioned. Pretty obvious when you start playing though.</p>
<p>Rhythms must be guessed at. "Waltz" in the name is pretty obvious but you have to suss out others (like some of the jigs) based on the number of notes in a measure. Then there's that goofy tie/slur thing that means you play those notes faster...sheesh.</p>
<p>I cannot play "Tit-Willow" without hearing John Wayne singing it (from "The Shootist") in my head.</p> I have the earlier version (1…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2020-06-29:2667446:Comment:1437732020-06-29T17:46:08.132ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>I have the earlier version (1877 Simplified Method?) and it is similarly inscrutable.</p>
<p>I haven't played thru this one, but IIRC (and looking at the tunes in this one). There are a lot of "closed" notes without numbers. I understand that one is supposed to 'assume' that un-numbered closed notes on the 1st and 2nd string are always the same two notes...unless there's an X, which is the pinky on the 3rd fret. However, these "assumed positions" are never discussed for the 3rd string (I…</p>
<p>I have the earlier version (1877 Simplified Method?) and it is similarly inscrutable.</p>
<p>I haven't played thru this one, but IIRC (and looking at the tunes in this one). There are a lot of "closed" notes without numbers. I understand that one is supposed to 'assume' that un-numbered closed notes on the 1st and 2nd string are always the same two notes...unless there's an X, which is the pinky on the 3rd fret. However, these "assumed positions" are never discussed for the 3rd string (I think it is for the 3rd string on the 2nd fret).</p>
<p>The whole thing reads like somebody with a notational background wrote it and never really gave it to anyone to actually try to use it. You go 'blind' editing your own stuff.</p>
<p>I'll play thru it...and then re-comment.</p> I was having some fun with th…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2020-06-29:2667446:Comment:1436282020-06-29T13:27:04.709ZJoel Hookshttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/deuceswilde
<p>I was having some fun with this but the instructions are not exactly clear-- all that I wrote was included in the book. I can see why this was made fun of.</p>
<p>As far as the content-- it is usable but leaves out just enough information to make it hard to figure out. </p>
<p>Has anyone other than myself spent a few minutes to master this book? I'd like to hear how you made out.</p>
<p>I have seen excerpts of a tab book that Frank Converse (hand) wrote for one of his students and we know…</p>
<p>I was having some fun with this but the instructions are not exactly clear-- all that I wrote was included in the book. I can see why this was made fun of.</p>
<p>As far as the content-- it is usable but leaves out just enough information to make it hard to figure out. </p>
<p>Has anyone other than myself spent a few minutes to master this book? I'd like to hear how you made out.</p>
<p>I have seen excerpts of a tab book that Frank Converse (hand) wrote for one of his students and we know of at least two copies. That one is more 'traditional" (what we are used to seeing) in format. I'd love to get my hands on that one.</p> tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2020-06-28:2667446:Comment:1436222020-06-28T17:20:23.865Zthereallynicemanhttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/thereallyniceman
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6408396484?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6408396484?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6408396484?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6408396484?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a></p> "Play in rotation"? Dear Dog,…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2020-06-27:2667446:Comment:1436852020-06-27T19:26:58.816ZTrapdoor2https://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/Trapdoor2
<p>"Play in rotation"? Dear Dog, had I known to rotate, I should have become famous much, much earlier!</p>
<p>"Play in rotation"? Dear Dog, had I known to rotate, I should have become famous much, much earlier!</p> I have found it to be true, s…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2020-06-27:2667446:Comment:1436842020-06-27T18:14:41.298Znick stephenshttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/nickstephens
<p>I have found it to be true, several dollars annually , and the ladies love it, they just dont care for me !</p>
<p>I have found it to be true, several dollars annually , and the ladies love it, they just dont care for me !</p> The method has been around a…tag:classic-banjo.ning.com,2020-06-27:2667446:Comment:1436812020-06-27T18:10:35.854Zthereallynicemanhttps://classic-banjo.ning.com/profile/thereallyniceman
<p>The method has been around a long time, but still how most Classic Banjo players learn ;-)</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6381566469?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6381566469?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p>The method has been around a long time, but still how most Classic Banjo players learn ;-)</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6381566469?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6381566469?profile=RESIZE_710x" class="align-center"/></a></p>