Ragtime video

[carrie horgan]

Hi folks - I came across this entertaining video series about ragtime music on Youtube and thought I'd share the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39EbnD1bBFw

Part 2 features 'The Ectetera String Band' with Bob Ault on banjo. Unfortunately, their albums are out-of-print but my googling has revealed that the band members now perform in 'The Rhythmia' and 'The Ragtime Skedaddlers'.  Sadly, Bob Ault is no longer with us.

[Trapdoor2]

I think that Witmark (the publisher) was one of the few that chose to publish both tunings on a grand staff. Completely bonkers, if you ask me. Most of the other publishers went with two separate inserts, one in "American" and one in "English".

I have trouble reading when they put 1st and 2nd banjo on the same grand staff. Much prefer to have individual sheets for each.

[Jody Stecher]

I should clarify that what I mean is that it's inconvenient and slightly befuddling for me to read American  notation and play —what to my mind is — C (English) fingering. Playing in E major and reading in E Major in English notation is no problem. It's reading in American notation's E major  and fingering in what I think of as G fingering (no matter how high or low my banjo strings are tuned) that is a nuisance. 

Jody Stecher said:

I'm imagining the sonic chaos that would ensue from two banjoists reading and playing together each according to their respective tuning.

BTW, the English notation puts the tune in G major. In American tuning E major is a convenient key to play in, and  —for me at least —  a relatively inconvenient key to read in.

[Patrick Garner]

Perhaps if we were all 25 yrs old and this was 1915, we'd have no complaints about notation. :-)

[Steve Harrison]

Hi Chris, many thanks for your kind comments. I haven't counted recently but I must be approaching the 200 mark for ragtime arrangements. Finding new 'old' tunes to arrange is always a challenge and a great pleasure, especially so if they haven't seen the light of day since they were first written. There must still be many thousands languishing in libraries and collections waiting to be discovered. If you have any in mind at any time that might be suitable for banjo then let me know....Steve.

 Chris Ware said:

Steve, this is great; I’ve always wanted a banjo solo version of this piece, which is generally considered among the earliest published ragtime compositions ever, depending on shifting criteria. Thank you for all your arranging efforts in these regards; the library of banjo literature is expanding exponentially via your seemingly tireless work.

To Joel, whose posts I always greatly enjoy: I’m attaching here the complete string arrangement of the piece by, of all people, Charles L. Johnson, composer of “Dill Pickles.” This comes from Dennis Pash’s collection, is the arrangement that both the EtCetera String Band and I’m assuming Nick and Dennis play in the Ragtime Skedaddlers and which originally accompanied an article Dennis wrote for the first issue of my aforementioned periodical way back in 1997. (I’d attach that biographical article as well, but I don’t want to do so without Dennis’ approval.) Note that the banjo part is by Mrs. Clarence Partee, wife of the publisher of the Cadenza and well known composer/performer of the day, as well.

I almost posted Dennis’ article about the Stark arrangements yesterday (along with the music) but again, want to be sure he’s okay with it before I do; if he prefers his article not be posted then I’ll simply post the sheet music. (The arrangements are only for 2 mandolins and guitar, however; no banjo. Still, certainly of interest, given the provenance, and the fact that I think there’s only one known copy; the late Trebor Tichenor loaned it to Dennis. It includes Maple Leaf, The Entertainer and Sunflower Slow Drag.)

[Trapdoor2]

Yah. We'd be reading about the sinking of the Lusitania (100 yrs ago today) in the papers and headed for the local recruiting offices...
 
Patrick Garner said:

Perhaps if we were all 25 yrs old and this was 1915, we'd have no complaints about notation. :-)