Under The Double Eagle..1893..J.F.Wagner.

[Steve Harrison]

This is my take on this great march. It's one I hadn't heard before until it was mentioned byJoel in his recent post. I resisted the temptation of looking at the Ellis version before I wrote this and I still haven't had a chance to compare. I took it from an original piano score which was written in Eb and G was the obvious Key in which to arrange it. I've mixed and matched the piano LH and RH and arrived at what I think is quite a playable version. The score and midi are in the library...Steve.

[Joel Hooks]

Nice!

This is another of those that has been arranged for banjo many times.

Here is one from E. H. Frey, this is A notation so the pitch would sound in F.

https://archive.org/details/CarlFischerTutor/page/n111/mode/2up

Here is Walter Jacobs in A notation, sounds in G.

https://archive.org/details/JacobsFolioNo1/page/n17/mode/2up

When I fumble through it I play the later Walter Jacobs arrangement that was published in the Jacobs Banjo Collection in C notation. It is similar to the A notation version but cleaned up a bit.

Of course, bluegrass and post WW2 folk got hold of it and dropped the intro and A part.  It is one of the few pieces that they modulate without stopping to use capo-clamps, tuner effects, or change tuning. 

[Trapdoor2]

I tabbed out the Grimshaw version in 2016. Pretty close to the Ellis and the Jacobs. Might be fun to do a comparison study.

[Joel Hooks]

I don't think I have seen Grimshaw's arrangement. 

I like the way Walter Jacobs handles the bass solo.

[Trapdoor2]

Sorry, I misspoke. I tabbed out the Jacobs version back then. I don't know why I thought it was Grimshaw...

Joel Hooks said:

I don't think I have seen Grimshaw's arrangement. 

I like the way Walter Jacobs handles the bass solo.

[Joel Hooks]

Ah, yeah.  I played Jacobs' as that is the one Clarke Buehling uses.  In fact, I was not playing the bass solo correctly and he showed me what I had missed in the notation.

I have to admit that I don't play it often because for some reason I don't like raising the 4th.  There is no real logic why, I just don't.

[Trapdoor2]

My play book is half C and half D. I'll play thru the C tunes one afternoon and the D tunes the next. Since I come from a BG background, D is just a smidge more comfortable...even though I played Scruggs' C tunes from the beginning.

[nick Kelly]

I watched Clarke Buehling in a London pub one night and his bass string was up and down all night, he even kept a tuner clipped to his banjo pot for quick accurate retuning, I too am in the camp of "I am not doing that !" Illogical maybe but I would rather go to the bother of carrying a second banjo everywhere with me as in fact I do !

Trapdoor2 said:

My play book is half C and half D. I'll play thru the C tunes one afternoon and the D tunes the next. Since I come from a BG background, D is just a smidge more comfortable...even though I played Scruggs' C tunes from the beginning.

[Trapdoor2]

LOL. I once brought 4 banjos to a jam. All in different tunings so I would not have to spend so much time finding the correct tuning once the tune was called. It was a local OT jam and they had no qualms about bouncing around the keys. The home owner had fitted her porch out with instrument hangers, so I commandeered 3 near my chair and had a good time.

Most other jams I attend try to stick with one key for a period, then move to another. I have two OT banjos now and with a capo on each, I can cover most of the common keys.

For Classic, I find re-tuning the bass easy...only one tuner to mess with. With OT, it can be all five up and down all night.

nick stephens said:

I watched Clarke Buehling in a London pub one night and his bass string was up and down all night, he even kept a tuner clipped to his banjo pot for quick accurate retuning, I too am in the camp of "I am not doing that !" Illogical maybe but I would rather go to the bother of carrying a second banjo everywhere with me as in fact I do !