Comment by thereallyniceman on April 29, 2014 at 15:38

Hi Pertti,

You certainly find some unusual tunes to play. It is quite haunting, but what have you done to the banjo to stop it "ringing" ? It has more of a guitar sound to it. Is it damped in some way?

What a great and diverse style Classic Banjo is... that is why I love it :-)

I believe that the Jacobs tutor shown in the video is available on our TUTOR BOOKS page, is that correct?

Comment by marc dalmasso on April 29, 2014 at 17:20

damped or compressed ?

interesting tune , Ian 's right

Comment by Pertti Vuori on April 29, 2014 at 19:49

1) When I practise I have two towels inside my banjo, but all my videos are recorded with one towel close to the neck - "the bridge towel" is removed.

2) Jacobs is not on Tutor Books page. I downloaded it on December 13th 2012 from Classicbanjo.com - see the Links page. There are a lot of tutor books and some midi files. There's even a whole page for Fred Van Eps tunes.

3) From 1872 to 1874 Wieniawski toured the United States with his friend Anton Rubinstein. His music was still remembered years later. There are some concert programs in Stewart's Banjo and Guitar Journals, where you can see that A.A. Farland played Wieniawski's Kujawiak (= 2nd Mazurka) and Second Polonaise. Vess L. Ossman was the soloist in a concert where 2nd Mazurka was in in the program ("The Second Mazourka" Kiuwuak Wieniawski). I think I have seen somewhere that Ossman played also Wieniawski's "Obertas" which is a very fast virtuosic mazurka. If there are any virtuosos, you can download piano & violin sheet music from IMSLP.

Comment by thereallyniceman on April 30, 2014 at 8:01

Thank you Pertti for the very interesting information. I was mistaken about the Jacobs, as you correctly point out.

I decided not to include songbooks on this site as they often don't have piano/ second banjo parts. Lots of the solos found in these compilations are in the MUSIC LIBRARY, but not this one. That also explains the Van Eps tunes on Hal's site too, ie. They are all in our LIBRARY already.

Hal has lots of good stuff on there. Check out his Podcasts and support his site my purchasing music CD downloads!

So you are a two towel banjo stuffer? I used to stuff my banjo too, but found that I really could not tell what tone I was able to produce from the instrument.

Now it is no stuffing, or occasionally just a small piece of foam rubber under vellum at the bridge. The banjo sounds a 1000 times better too.. mind you, the neighbours have moved away ;-)

Comment by Pertti Vuori on May 1, 2014 at 8:50

When I practise I like to "keep the volume low". When I make videos, my mediocre webcam distorts the sound, so it's not important how many towels I use.

In December 2012 I downloaded over 70 tutor books, but I don't remember how many from www.Classicbanjo.com. It's difficult/impossible to find good stuff for a slow beginner - interesting stuff like "Caprice de Salon" or "Kujawiak", tunes which are possible to learn, tunes which still have that "something" after weeks and months of practising and playing. I don't know how many tunes I have suspended/rejected because a) my fingers don't like them - they are too fast for me or b) my ears don't like them - anything from one note to several measurements. I found "Harvest Home Hornpipe" in a Clawhammer Book by Ken Perlman. There's one triplet I didn't like, but I found a different version in a fiddle tune book from ~1880's, and that's the version I play. My version of "Kujawiak" is based on the version in Jacobs' book. Arrangements can be changed, but if the original composition is rubish...

I think it's time to go back to Clawhammer & Cripple Creek and play "Lively Twins Reel" and "African Polka" as up-picking finger exercises - "African Polka" is a very good tune to practise my ring finger.

Comment by thereallyniceman on May 1, 2014 at 9:52

You say that you are a beginner! ???  You are exceptionally good for a beginner! Your musicality simply shines through. Stick with Classic Style as your choices are always impressive and of interest. The style is very diverse, with me preferring fast and brash and you, obviously,the more studied and melodic. That is the joy of CB !!

Comment by Ginny Matheson on May 1, 2014 at 17:55

Hi, Pertti,

It was an interesting discussion between you and Ian.  I sure appreciated your dilligence in playing Kujawiak.   I'm new at classic banjo, so I don't have much experience in it.  I enjoyed several "classical " pieces on the banjo so far in the videos I've seen.

I attended Ken Perlman's American Banjo Camp in Washington state two years ago, and have his books, too.  I was interested in the tunes he has amazingly played, especially the Cape Breton tunes.  I hope to learn more French Canadian tunes.  The first one I have learned is "La Bastrange," which is quite easy (easier than on the fiddle, too).

This discussion let me think about whether I like fast and brash or more quiet and melodic.  I think I am more into loud and fast.  I seem to pick up on blusey tunes on the fiddle with slides and slurrs, too.  I don't like the towel mute. (Maybe I'm going deaf?)

Comment by Pertti Vuori on May 2, 2014 at 10:19

Ladies first:

Hi Ginny,

Thank You.

Bill Evans writes in his book "Banjo for Dummies" that people like banjo music because it is fast and loud. Your taste is normal, mine isn't: it's Saturday evening, the sun is setting in Mississippi Delta, I'm sitting on the steps of my shack, and I'm playing very soft and very slow blues.

****

Thank you Sir,

I quit bird-watching after a couple of decades as a beginner. Maybe after thirty years...

****

Why choose only fast, brash and loud or quiet and melodic - choose the best from both worlds. I have a couple of Andres Segovia CDs - between my Rolling Stones and Sex Pistols CDs. I have one John Williams CD and next to it are my Weather Report and Uriah Heep CDs. Bach's Goldberg Variations by Eva Nordenfelt (Cembalo) was in the wrong place - it was between two Jeff Beck CDs. Jeff Beck is a guitarist who can be fast and brash and loud and quiet and melodic - in one tune.

Comment by thereallyniceman on May 2, 2014 at 10:56

I am still a novice on BHO and always will be  :-)

Perhaps it is due to upbringing? Your sun is setting in Mississippi Delta...lovely!... but mine has already sunk into the sea to be replaced by Brash Blackpool !

Loud, fast, furious and brash :-)

Comment by Trapdoor2 on May 2, 2014 at 12:34

Pertti, I really like this piece. Well done! I'm a fan of both soft 'n' delicate and fast 'n' loud. Each in its place.

I'm also very happy to hear that somebody is downloading all that stuff from Classicbanjo.com. Most of it came from my collection (including the Jacobs, Turner and Van Eps stuff). Hal did the scanning, I simply sent him a box of tutors!

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