Opinions on how to play this measure.

[IAN SALTER]

This request is just out of curiosity, but if anyone has a moment to comment, I would appreciate it. 

The first bar of the B part of Frolic Jig.

I'm not working up the tune, but whenever I'm playing through the book and get to this tune, I always wonder how others would tackle that particular measure. I think there are four possible fingerings and having practiced all of them, there is one that is now starting to flow at an increased tempo. It would be interesting to see what advanced players think.

Thanks,

Ian.

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[IAN SALTER]

I must stress that I don't have an academic background and only use the term in the most basic sense. As far as I'm concerned for the banjo, it started with an original instrument, gut and silk wound strings, original texts and some imagination. Within the documented history of the genre, I just wish I could find accounts of vernacular use of the instrument, which considering how many were supposed to have been produced and purchased, appear to be scarce, to say the least. And because it was mentioned, this also applies to the harmonica, but to a greater extent, as there were millions of them purchased by ordinary people. 

[Austin]

If you want a good way to practice this particular movement,from the fourth to the F shape, Grimshaw's first exercise in how to excel on the banjo practices it.

[Jody Stecher]

Yes, at 88 bpm which is slow.  At that metronome setting the Frolic Jig would be viable if a bit sedate.. The chord in the Grimshaw exercise would occur at the same time as the C in the first half of the measure in question in the Frolic Jig. The player would have to get to the A in half that time.  In the second half of the measure the notes FCA are a triplet. The player needs to get to the A even sooner. The high F at the end of that measure occurs at the same time as the F chord in the Grimshaw exercise. Basically the measure in the Grimshaw exercise  is played at one half and one quarter the speed of the Frolic Jig measure. 

Austin said:

If you want a good way to practice this particular movement,from the fourth to the F shape, Grimshaw's first exercise in how to excel on the banjo practices it.

[IAN SALTER]

Hi Austin,

Thank you for that suggestion. I haven't looked at any of that particular method book, although I do know it is highly recommended by a number of members here. Moving from the low F to the F shape often occurs in tunes and particularly in the accompaniment parts for Second Banjo and through much practice, I have no problems with it. However, as Jody has just highlighted, it is the addition of the triplet and how to execute it precisely at an increased tempo, that was the problem for me, as I hadn't encountered that particular phrase before.