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]

Now I get it. And yes, there is a resemblance.  

Trapdoor2 said:

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

[Austin]

Is this in A notation? There aren't any flagged fifths...

Edit: Yes there's an open e marked as well as a low a in the ending. Sorry,

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]

Yes…

[Jody Stecher]

There is a C notation version  in the library here.

Austin said:

Is this in A notation? There aren't any flagged fifths...

Edit: Yes there's an open e marked as well as a low a in the ending. Sorry,

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]

Yes, Jody, but it is a modern setting and lacks all the character of the original. It has no fingerings and uses the dangling 8 clef.  A big part of my enjoyment of banjo music is the overall experience of the document, the typeface style, the font, the page balance, peripheral info like copyright, publisher, dedication, etc., all of that is lost when someone dumps the notation into software and spits out a transposed version.

[Jody Stecher]

I love all that stuff too. I prefer it.  I was reminding Austin (and any other interested parties)  that a C version is easily available. By the way, why do you object to the eight?  

Joel Hooks said:

Yes, Jody, but it is a modern setting and lacks all the character of the original. It has no fingerings and uses the dangling 8 clef.  A big part of my enjoyment of banjo music is the overall experience of the document, the typeface style, the font, the page balance, peripheral info like copyright, publisher, dedication, etc., all of that is lost when someone dumps the notation into software and spits out a transposed version.

[Austin]

I don't like the octave symbol on the clef either. Mostly because it doesn't transfer very well between notation softwares that I use

Jody Stecher said:

I love all that stuff too. I prefer it.  I was reminding Austin (and any other interested parties)  that a C version is easily available. By the way, why do you object to the eight?  

Joel Hooks said:

Yes, Jody, but it is a modern setting and lacks all the character of the original. It has no fingerings and uses the dangling 8 clef.  A big part of my enjoyment of banjo music is the overall experience of the document, the typeface style, the font, the page balance, peripheral info like copyright, publisher, dedication, etc., all of that is lost when someone dumps the notation into software and spits out a transposed version.

[Joel Hooks]

Anyone who has read past the first few pages of a banjo instruction book (and has learned how to tune the banjo) will know that the banjo sounds one octave lower than written (Bradbury covers this on page 7). One does not need to be told that on every single line of music.  It also looks like the clef has testicles.

The "hanging 8" or "dangling 8" clef is recent. It only came about with software.  NO professional publisher will use it, thus it SCREAMS amateur/hobbyist setting.

Somehow we managed with the standard treble clef for thousands and thousands of pieces of music over several generations and now, suddenly, we need the dangling 8 clef to tell us that we sound an octave lower than written?  Did we become stupid? (Don't answer that.)

Just after the turn of the century the Guild of BMG decided to adopt a clef with a dash through it.  This can be seen on some Walter Jacobs publications.  This clef was short lived and not all publishers picked up on it-- because it is unnecessary since banjoists already know the situation of octave notation. 

The transposed version also has "Bj." at every line-- why?  We know it is banjo music, a simple "Banjo", "Banjo Solo", or "1st Banjo" at the first line indent or top left corner is sufficient.

There is no reason for sloppy work.

I also do not like measure numbers.  I can count the measures myself if I need to. 

Jody Stecher said:

I love all that stuff too. I prefer it.  I was reminding Austin (and any other interested parties)  that a C version is easily available. By the way, why do you object to the eight?  

Joel Hooks said:

Yes, Jody, but it is a modern setting and lacks all the character of the original. It has no fingerings and uses the dangling 8 clef.  A big part of my enjoyment of banjo music is the overall experience of the document, the typeface style, the font, the page balance, peripheral info like copyright, publisher, dedication, etc., all of that is lost when someone dumps the notation into software and spits out a transposed version.

[Jody Stecher]

OH! Fair enough.

It bothers me less because when I learn a banjo solo from the page reading is an early step in the process. My intention is to memorize the piece.  This used to be called Learning By Heart.  What's most important to me is what the music sounds like. The dangling 8 and the "bj" cannot be heard. Notation for  me is a storage medium.  That said, I'd rather store my sheet music in a real wooden drawer or on a nice old shelf than in a plastic tub.  Even better than the photo copies of old sheet music or reading on the screen of a digital device  is the original  thing itself with large print, large pages,  lovely font, second banjo parts, piano parts, each on its own page(s).  

[Trapdoor2]

This attitude simply screams elitism. We have secret knowledge!

You might as well go back to hiding your music under a rock so that nobody else can play it.

I want my reader to know instantly which octave I want the music to be played in. I don't give a damn if they're a banjo player or not. I also don't give a damn whether I look like a professional or hobbyist. Without hobbyists, this genre would have died out long ago.

If your eyes offend, pluck them out.

Joel Hooks said:

Anyone who has read past the first few pages of a banjo instruction book (and has learned how to tune the banjo) will know that the banjo sounds one octave lower than written (Bradbury covers this on page 7). One does not need to be told that on every single line of music.  It also looks like the clef has testicles.

The "hanging 8" or "dangling 8" clef is recent. It only came about with software.  NO professional publisher will use it, thus it SCREAMS amateur/hobbyist setting.

------------------------------------------------------------------

[Russ Chandler]

Pluck banjos, not eyes.

[Austin]

Publishers won't let you use regular notation anyway without tab according to Clarke.

Joel Hooks said:

Anyone who has read past the first few pages of a banjo instruction book (and has learned how to tune the banjo) will know that the banjo sounds one octave lower than written (Bradbury covers this on page 7). One does not need to be told that on every single line of music.  It also looks like the clef has testicles.

The "hanging 8" or "dangling 8" clef is recent. It only came about with software.  NO professional publisher will use it, thus it SCREAMS amateur/hobbyist setting.

Somehow we managed with the standard treble clef for thousands and thousands of pieces of music over several generations and now, suddenly, we need the dangling 8 clef to tell us that we sound an octave lower than written?  Did we become stupid? (Don't answer that.)

Just after the turn of the century the Guild of BMG decided to adopt a clef with a dash through it.  This can be seen on some Walter Jacobs publications.  This clef was short lived and not all publishers picked up on it-- because it is unnecessary since banjoists already know the situation of octave notation. 

The transposed version also has "Bj." at every line-- why?  We know it is banjo music, a simple "Banjo", "Banjo Solo", or "1st Banjo" at the first line indent or top left corner is sufficient.

There is no reason for sloppy work.

I also do not like measure numbers.  I can count the measures myself if I need to. 

Jody Stecher said:

I love all that stuff too. I prefer it.  I was reminding Austin (and any other interested parties)  that a C version is easily available. By the way, why do you object to the eight?  

Joel Hooks said:

Yes, Jody, but it is a modern setting and lacks all the character of the original. It has no fingerings and uses the dangling 8 clef.  A big part of my enjoyment of banjo music is the overall experience of the document, the typeface style, the font, the page balance, peripheral info like copyright, publisher, dedication, etc., all of that is lost when someone dumps the notation into software and spits out a transposed version.