Melancholy tunes...

[Russ Chandler]

What are some examples of melancholic or just outright sad tunes from the classic repertoire? 

All Alone springs to mind.

What others? 

[Jody Stecher]

The intro to Sweet Jasmine. Down Devon Way.  The Tantalizer. All are in a major key but are beyond wistful. 

[Joel Hooks]

Hey Jody. Do you have the original setting for Tantalizer? All that is in the library is a modern setting with the dangling 8.

[Jody Stecher]

I  have just now looked for it and it's not where it should be; I have my printed banjo music arranged alphabetically. Both "the" and "tantalizer" start with T but  it's not with the other T pieces. The Tantalizer was the first banjo solo I learned from sheet music.  I remember photocopying what I had so that I could make some annotations in ink to remind me in certain places about chord formations etc.  I'm pretty sure it looked different from what is in the library here. I remember the page as having  older visual atmosphere.

It's nice when the look of the page corresponds to the mood of the piece.  If I find it I will let you know.

Joel Hooks said:

Hey Jody. Do you have the original setting for Tantalizer? All that is in the library is a modern setting with the dangling 8.

[Trapdoor2]

Go modern! Up the 8s! ;-)

[Joel Hooks]

Alright, here is the Tantalizer, fresh from the ABF Library.

I read through it last night and while a good piece, I don't find anything about it "melancholy".

[Joel Hooks]

But circling back to the OP, I can think of a few that fit.  In the Frank Converse Analytical Method there is "Funeral March", "Minor March" and several others.  One could also play any of the hundreds of "minor jigs" slowly with that same effect. 

The whole "funeral march" genre is very much melancholy.  In the 1865 Converse "green book" he has a easy Funeral March, which he revisits and dresses out in "The Banjo Made Easy" as "Minor March." 

[Jody Stecher]

Ah!  My (still missing) copy was in the key of C. I didn't realize it was originally composed in A tuning. Maybe it's older than I thought it was.

 I am not alone in perceiving and responding to a melancholy/wistful feeling  in some ragtime music.  The response is physical and while subjective, it is common.  Those for whom I have played The Tantalizer have told me it evokes feelings of longing.    

Joel Hooks said:

Alright, here is the Tantalizer, fresh from the ABF Library.

I read through it last night and while a good piece, I don't find anything about it "melancholy".

[Joel Hooks]

Oh, nostalgia... now that is a whole different thing IMO.   And that covers a large amount of classic banjo material. 

[Jody Stecher]

Indeed it does.  

Joel Hooks said:

Oh, nostalgia... now that is a whole different thing IMO.   And that covers a large amount of classic banjo material. 

[Trapdoor2]

Yah, I hear "Old School Song" in "The Tantalizer". Kinda Alma Mater...ish. Nice tune.

For melancholy, etc., I would look to soft and slow stuff like "At Sunset", "Twilight Reverie", etc. Some of the Joplin rags, such as "A Solace" are very introspective. "Bethena", "Breeze From Alabama", "Weeping Willow", etc.

One day I'm going to arrange David Thomas Roberts' "Roberto Clemente" for banjo.

https://youtu.be/XXON6k593MQ?si=eZFc-rbIuS8eayvd

[Jody Stecher]

What is "Old School Song"? If it's a title I can't find it anywhere.  I suppose if it was played jauntily  The Tantalizer  could be kinda rah-rah. But when I first heard it played it wasn't played that way.   Weeping Willow has the same kind of melancholy at The Tantalizer but more of it. 

[Trapdoor2]

Old school song is not a title, its a genre. Schools used to have fight songs and nostalgia songs. "Alma Mater" is the example I used for a nostalgic old school song.

https://youtu.be/3GvMawbo138?feature=shared