++++NEW.. All you ever need to know about Classic Banjo on our F.A.Q Page +++++

[thereallyniceman]

I am pleased to announce that we have now added a NEW page to our website. With the help of our friend Mike Moss I have added a whole host information and "Frequently Asked Questions" about the Classic Style of banjo playing.

 I hope that you all enjoy the page and the information!

 

[Michael Neverisky]

You are tireless, Ian!  Thanks (again) for your work.

To refine what you wrote, I observe this statement:

• Classic Banjo is played on a five-string banjo (either old or modern) strung
  with nylon, nylgut or gut strings with the bare fingers; no fingerpicks are used.

And then see a photo of Sydney Ball with his zither banjo.  Aren't the top two strings on that instrument steel?

Pedantically yours,

  Michael

[thereallyniceman]

Ooooh  so  it's "Pedantic Michael"  eh?  I thought that I was the only pedantic one on here Mike ;-)

I take your point. Perhaps we should have put E&O.E at the bottom of the page.

Of course our Mr. Moss deliberately included that statement to provoke discussion  ;-)

Despite the "tireless Ian" tag I really do have to thank Mike for 99% of the effort on the FAQ page. I suggested it would be good to create a page to explain all about the Classic Style and, faster than a speeding bluegrass player, he had written, edited and uploaded it. All I had to do was put all the software wheels in motion.

So it's a big THANK YOU to Mike.

[Mike Moss]

Cheers Ian; now re: Sydney -- for the sake of discussion -- we could assume that, considering that ever since the Windsor factory was bombed during the war zither-banjo production has been on an indefinite hiatus, the ordinary banjo has become the primary Classic Banjo instrument?

[Michael Neverisky]

...E&O.E...

Yes that, or, go revisionist and deny the existence of the zb.  But then that photo of S. Ball must be deleted!  ;-)

+1 to you Mr. Moss.

[Mike Moss]

Either that or the men who bombed it were zither-hating banjoists dressed up as nazis... "Gut afternoon mein host, 16 shandies mit der ginger beer!"

[Trevor Boyd]

The FAQs are great - well done to all concerned.  This site really is a great resource.  As Homer Simpson didn't say:  "It just gets better and better!" :-)

Trevor

[Jody Stecher]

The FAQ is excellent. Thanks to all involved for going to the trouble of anticipating and answering all the possible "objections" to classic banjo and correcting misperceptions in an even handed friendly yet firm manner. Great job!

[Sylvia]

Loved reading the FAQ page.

[marc dalmasso]

Tip top work ; bravo

; the photo of sydney Ball is fantastic

[Trapdoor2]

Excellent work, y'all!

However, I have two gripes:

1.) If I play "Blaze Away" on my steel string Stelling...am I not playing Classic Banjo? While we do indeed have one foot in the "historical re-creation" bucket, I personally do not want to promote us as some sort of elitist group. IOW, I care not whether you play this stuff with your fingertips, nails or picks; on wire, gut, nylon, nylgut, binders-twine, fishing-line or fluorocarbon strings. My opinion, naturally.

 

2.) Why would there be a picture of a "plectrum solo" in a FAQ about fingerstyle? =^0

[Mike Moss]

Re: Chop Suey, it was published both in finger and plectrum style (as was Desert Trail, which I recorded earlier) -- in fact it was primarily a fingerstyle solo (one of Joe Morley's most successful numbers when he was playing for the troops during the war) and presumably would have had the same cover artwork on the fingerstyle version.

[Trapdoor2]

Yes Mike, I have many examples of tunes published in both styles...but I'm wearing the pedant hat at the moment. Seems silly to post an example of sheet music glaringly from another style. Easy enough to change, Ian can do it with a flick of his finger!