Classic-Banjo

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Rag Pickings, arr. by Fred Van Eps (classic fingerstyle banjo)

Played by Greg Adams on his Chuck Devinne Banjo

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Comment by Mike Moss on July 3, 2012 at 19:56: Great tone -- really snappy, and you make it look easy! A great performance as usual Greg, keep 'em coming!

Comment by Trapdoor2 on July 3, 2012 at 20:03: Excellent! Bravo!

Of course, you could always head over (up?) to the ABF Rally in October. It is in Utica, NY this time. Oct. 25-27. I expect Mr. Hooks to be there...he's only a hop, skip and jump away now. If I could talk Miz Diane into helping with the drive, I'd make the attempt. October is usually a good time for me to spend vacation hrs.

Comment by Rob MacKillop on July 4, 2012 at 12:12: Well done, Greg. I know how tricky this piece can be. Eric Stefanelli informed me about a couple of wrong notes in the score compared to the recording, and I think he is right. I'm not deliberatley raining on your parade, Greg! Like me, you will want to consider these changes.

Bar 9 the F at fret 3, string 1, should be F# - this is repeated at Bar 27

Bar 80 - another f# instead of an f

These changes might sound odd if you are used to playing them as f naturals, but now they seem so right to me as sharps, it's difficult to hear them as otherwise.

Comment by Greg Adams on July 4, 2012 at 12:37: Thank you for the positive comments everyone. Rob, no rain felt on this parade! Thanks for pointing out the F/F# disconnect--the perils of playing alone. That F# now screams out at me (ha!) as it is definitely there. I'll incorporate that change into my playing immediately and if I can make the time to rerecord the tune, I will.

I'm really enjoying these tunes!

Comment by Trapdoor2 on July 4, 2012 at 13:04: I had to go back and check my TAB for that, I had corrected the F in bar 9 but did not do so in Bar 80. The interval in bar 9 (C to F) sounds jagged...whereas the C-F# does not. In Bar 80, there is no chord...I cannot decide which I prefer.

OTOH, having just looked at the piano acc., all are F-naturals. Now I wonder if they are indeed "mistakes". Would be nice to see a Lansing original score rather than the Van Eps arrangement...

Comment by Rob MacKillop on July 4, 2012 at 13:21: Ah, I just wrote to Greg saying I would remove my post, as it is something I should have mentioned to him privately in the first instance. But here it is!

The piano accompaniment has f# in Bar 80. It forms part of a D7 chord heading towards Gm in the next bar. In other words, the f# makes more sense, harmonically speaking.

Marc, you must have a different piano accompaniment if you say there are no f#s in Bar 80 - or did you mean Bar 9? I have no sharps in Bar 9.

Comment by Rob MacKillop on July 4, 2012 at 13:30: Bar 80...Hmm...it's a classic VI/II/V/I cadence - chord vi is often changed to major, forming a secondary dominant to the II chord. It could be a Dminor chord, but I think it sounds better as a secondary dominant, a D7. I don't think it makes a huge difference which one you choose.

Bar 9 definitely feels like it should be f#.

Odd then, that the accompaniment to Bar 9 has an f natural, while the accompaniment to Bar 80 has a an f#...

Comment by Trapdoor2 on July 4, 2012 at 13:37: Nope, same piano acc. My mistake! I miscounted the bars when I looked at it. I've corrected my TAB... Thanks for the harmony lesson, that's the kind of info I need so that I can better understand what is happening.

So, the mistake in bar 9 (banjo score) is also a mistake in the piano score... Now I'm wondering again!

Comment by Rob MacKillop on July 4, 2012 at 13:42: Well, can we use the word "mistake"? It matches up, but it's not what the man plays...

Comment by Greg Adams on July 4, 2012 at 13:42: That's the beauty of the aural record, the paper trail, and our ability to make comparisons. We can make informed decisions about how we want to interpret the content. I'm sitting here now practicing to fully incorporate the F# in measure 9. It makes the piece make a lot more sense musically. As far as measure 80, I do hear that cadence leading to an F major chord. I will, however, with the repeat think about playing beat 1 with the F major and then a D7 chord to lead back to the diminished progression of the opening of the piece.

This is really fun stuff!