Comment by thereallyniceman on November 10, 2024 at 18:11

Thanks Russ,

 I have had this video recording for many years but never posted it, but now that Chris has put it into the public domain, I am pleased to see it again. Several of the world's greatest classic banjo players !! I find it quite amazing that when I was taught to play by Chris Sands he was very intense and was very young ...  look as us now ;-)

Ahh. Georgia Medley, Keynotes Rag, Grace and Beauty and Maple Leaf Rag played them and loved them all.

Comment by Jody Stecher on November 11, 2024 at 0:28

I noticed that the older banjo players did not have a fixed position for the right hand but rather moved it freely between the bridge and the area where the pot meets the neck according to the desired sound and feel.  The young Tarrant Bailey on TV pretty much has a fixed place but when he's older he moves it about. And when he is an accompanist he plays very near the pot, which gives a warmer sound. Bill Ball moves his right hand to and fro within a single phrase. 

This is in contrast to the advice sometimes  given about playing always near the bridge. I do play very near the bridge for some pieces, as it feels and sounds best to me for a particular repertoire but I don't see any of the 4 featured banjoists playing very near the bridge.  Flexibility wins the day.

I particularly enjoyed Bill Ball accompanied by the TV orchestra. They did an excellent job getting their timing aligned with his.  Some of the first round of Horace Craddy pieces were to my mind extremely well timed. The reliable accompanist surely helped with this.

Comment by Russ Chandler on November 11, 2024 at 9:09

Elias Sibley puts a lot of emphasis on moving the right hand position to get tonal variations in his tuition. I try to do it between sections - to me its a bit like changing the pickup on an electric guitar. I actually find it quite tricky and it can throw my playing out if I'm not careful.

To see Bill Ball do it within a phrase is just astonishing!

Comment by Ethan Schwartz on November 11, 2024 at 14:05

Jody, I think the fixed hand near the bridge was partly a response to the limitations of recording technology. Pretty much everyone in that era (not just banjoists) seemed to play as loud as possible when being filmed. It also didn't help that they wanted to keep the microphone out of the shot. Who knows, maybe young Tarrant Bailey moved his hand around when performing live (meaning, unrecorded). 

Comment by Joel Hooks on November 11, 2024 at 14:16

I believe that TBjr at one point was picking so hard that he ripped off a fingertip which became infected requiring surgery.  I read this in the BMG or in Sand's book, I do not remember. 

But that would cure one of playing too hard syndrome.

Comment by Jody Stecher on November 11, 2024 at 17:41

On page 14 of the Chris Sands book on Tarrant Bailey JR is a section describing the mishap.  TBJ's fingertip was bruised from playing hard enough to be heard over a noisy band who were overpowering the banjo rather than accompanying. The flesh below the bruise died all the way down to the bone. An expensive surgery which replaced the dead tissue with living tissue from TBJ's leg failed. A second operation, performed gratis, was successful. 

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