New strings/ New transcription

[Jody Stecher]

The 5th peg on my Windsor Grand Solo banjo keeps slipping so I've been playing my Eric Stefanelli banjo more and more. As my classic banjo playing evolved I found Eric's recommended gauges too heavy for this banjo's 28 inch scale. The feel was good but the sound was a bit congested. The LaBella classic set ("17s") were too light in feel and too thin in sound to bring out the best this banjo has in it. I've been experimenting and I've nearly got it right now. At  present the 4 highest strings are rectified nylon  ( a mix of La Bella and Saverez Anciens, chosen according to what was in my string drawer) and the bass is a LaBella wound string like the one in the 17 set.  The gauges are as follows

1 and 5:   . 020

2:   .023

3:  .028

4: .025

I might like the 5th string to be .021.  The bass at C is perfect at .025 but sounds a bit fat and congested at D. Maybe I'll try .024.

Here is a recording  (with the new strings) and transcription of a tune that is called "Smith's Reel" in Texas and "Kitty's Wedding" in Ireland where it is thought to be a hornpipe although it doesn't go Rum Pum Pum at the end of either part.  

I've gotten not much response to the jigs, reels and hornpipes I've been posting. If these are not of interest I will stop posting them. One reason I've been posting these is because in my arrangements I have  applying the techniques I learned from classic banjo repertoire. For instance in Smith/Kitty I am using the fingering of both hands indicated in banjo solos by Joe Morley in "A Banjo Revel" and Parke Hunter in "Pensacola".

Attached are a recording,  staff notation, and tab.

[Shawn McSweeny]

Back to your question about the apparently spare response to your jigs and reels : This site has a large membership but few active posters. This discussion isn't yet two full days old  and already has 76 views, which is pretty good for this site . Many are likely from people who download the files without comment. Sure, it would be nice to hear from more people, even  just to receive the occasional thank-you, but the internet has a long tradition in offering free downloads, so they are taken for granted. Unless the views dwindle to single digits, don't let it bother you.

And thanks for posting these, I'm enjoying them.

[Jody Stecher]

Good question, Joel. I sometimes  invoke other instruments, especially the Irish bagpipes in my banjo playing, In this case however, the slur to B is simply  how I naturally play it on banjo. It reflects years of listening to and playing Irish music which is usually played with a combination of staccato and legato sounds on all instruments. not just violin. When I do it the B is *louder* than the  G notes that precede and follow it. I thump the pad of my third finger down on the wooden fingerboard so there is a percussive sound as well. If I did the slur with the tip of the finger it would not be as effective. When playing this jig on fiddle I would do the slur earlier, from the pickup D to the downbeat G.

Yes, exactly: The 4P in line 3 measure 2 is to let the notes ring. it is an imitation or invocation of the harp where each note is on a separate string,  But the place. I discovered this fingering was not in Irish music, It was in the notation of an early Joe Morley banjo solo; A Banjo Revel.   The ultimate purpose of using this fingering is to break up the potential monotony of timbre and sustain. E on fret 4 of the B string has a slightly different timbre from the same pitch on fret 2 of the high D string. So by using this fingering, the tonal palette is slightly enriched. Same for the slur-thump to B in measure 1.  These are for "color".

How about the appearance of the transcription? Now there are no more dangling 8, no numbered measures, and there are position indications instead of circled numbers. Does the appearance now meet your standards?   Are the chord symbols the right size?

[Jody Stecher]

Thank you for the reminder and encouragement, Shawn. The thundering silence was getting me down. 

Shawn McSweeny said:

Back to your question about the apparently spare response to your jigs and reels : This site has a large membership but few active posters. This discussion isn't yet two full days old  and already has 76 views, which is pretty good for this site . Many are likely from people who download the files without comment. Sure, it would be nice to hear from more people, even  just to receive the occasional thank-you, but the internet has a long tradition in offering free downloads, so they are taken for granted. Unless the views dwindle to single digits, don't let it bother you.

And thanks for posting these, I'm enjoying them.

[Trapdoor2]

Re: the Tab.

I do two things with my Tab: I delete the indention of the first line. This allows your typical 8-bar part to lay evenly on the page (two lines of 4 measures). With notation, I keep to tradition and indent that first line...fiddlers seem to like that. Also, if there are multiple instruments on a grand staff, I keep the first line indent as room for the instrument names.

For Tab only, I delete the redundant clef announcement that this is TAB. For years, Musescore allowed a G clef, which was properly centered about the G string (I liked that). It no longer allows that...and I cannot see why it needs the pronouncement that this stuff is TAB.

It would be OK if the clef could be replaced by the string pitch. One sees that a lot in Tab. Unfortunately, it requires manual placement of the letters at the moment. We've (several people, including me) requested the ability to include string-by-string pitch for Musescore Tab, but evidently it is very, very back-burner.

I also prefer the flags in Tab to be "down" only, the exception being multiple voices. Sometimes you just can't get there from here.

Random notes:

Yes, in the notation, I prefer the dangling 8. This is modern notation, not a replication of the days of yore.

I also prefer separate notation and Tab. Machts nichts which is presented first.

And, of course, I also use my JHB thimbles on nylon. I've never seen anyone else use one in the wild, certainly not on steel strings. Most clawhammer players I have encountered use nothing...but all wish for something. Everybody tries the dozens of available solutions...but nobody I know actually uses any of them for long. Banjo cases must be heavy with failed thimbles/picks. My favorite for steel is a modernization of the mizrab. Wire but with a plastic "fingernail" on top. I use it occasionally...

Don't stop, Jody. On the net, silence = acceptance/agreement. Only disagreement/argument really gets voiced.

[Joel Hooks]

Appearance looks good.  Very readable. 

[Jody Stecher]

Thank you for the encouragement, Marc.

Many jigs and most hornpipes and reels do not begin on the first beat of the first measure. They begin with a "pickup". Notating that requires an indentation as far as I can see. Am I missing something?

Please explain what you mean about flags in tab. What flags?  

Some clawhammer players get their nails hardened at a beauty salon.  I don't. When I play clawhammer on steel strings I usually use the natural nail but if the nail is in bad condition I use a modified plastic fingerpick turned the wrong way 'round.  I dip the pick in boiling water for 3 seconds, remove it and while warm and flexible I bend the blade to reduce the curve. I change the contour to resemble the contour of my fingernail, which is flatter than the contour of the soft side of the finger.  For a while I had one banjo that sounded much better played this way. Most just sound louder.

Trapdoor2 said:

Re: the Tab.

I do two things with my Tab: I delete the indention of the first line. This allows your typical 8-bar part to lay evenly on the page (two lines of 4 measures).

With notation, I keep to tradition and indent that first line...fiddlers seem to like that. Also, if there are multiple instruments on a grand staff, I keep the first line indent as room for the instrument names.

For Tab only, I delete the redundant clef announcement that this is TAB. For years, Musescore allowed a G clef, which was properly centered about the G string (I liked that). It no longer allows that...and I cannot see why it needs the pronouncement that this stuff is TAB.

It would be OK if the clef could be replaced by the string pitch. One sees that a lot in Tab. Unfortunately, it requires manual placement of the letters at the moment. We've (several people, including me) requested the ability to include string-by-string pitch for Musescore Tab, but evidently it is very, very back-burner.

I also prefer the flags in Tab to be "down" only, the exception being multiple voices. Sometimes you just can't get there from here.

Random notes:

Yes, in the notation, I prefer the dangling 8. This is modern notation, not a replication of the days of yore.

I also prefer separate notation and Tab. Machts nichts which is presented first.

And, of course, I also use my JHB thimbles on nylon. I've never seen anyone else use one in the wild, certainly not on steel strings. Most clawhammer players I have encountered use nothing...but all wish for something. Everybody tries the dozens of available solutions...but nobody I know actually uses any of them for long. Banjo cases must be heavy with failed thimbles/picks. My favorite for steel is a modernization of the mizrab. Wire but with a plastic "fingernail" on top. I use it occasionally...

Don't stop, Jody. On the net, silence = acceptance/agreement. Only disagreement/argument really gets voiced.

[Trapdoor2]

In Musescore, go to "Format", "Style", "Score" and uncheck the "enable indentation on first system" box. That will shift the top line to the left, aligned with the rest of the score (regardless of whether the measure is a pickup or not). I just like the alignment (not really worried about measure count per line). I've been told to not count that pickup measure (since it isn't a full measure) but I do it out of spite.

Flags = beams. All I want is the rhythm track (so to speak) on the bottom...but I can deal with the occasional necessary lapse for voices. Always listen to the voices...

Last March, I did a secret poll. How many clawhammer banjoists are using picks/thimbles at the Nashville Old Time String Band Association's annual "Breaking Up Winter" jam? Answer: none. How many had picks in their case: every case I got to look into. I showed folks my "Cling-Pro" mizrab picks...I'll bet most of them ordered one right away. They'll probably just toss 'em in their case...never use 'em. https://clingpropicks.squarespace.com/store/frailing-pick

Jody Stecher said:

Thank you for the encouragement, Marc.

Many jigs and most hornpipes and reels do not begin on the first beat of the first measure. They begin with a "pickup". Notating that requires an indentation as far as I can see. Am I missing something?

Please explain what you mean about flags in tab. What flags?  

Some clawhammer players get their nails hardened at a beauty salon.  I don't. When I play clawhammer on steel strings I usually use the natural nail but if the nail is in bad condition I use a modified plastic fingerpick turned the wrong way 'round.  I dip the pick in boiling water for 3 seconds, remove it and while warm and flexible I bend the blade to reduce the curve. I change the contour to resemble the contour of my fingernail, which is flatter than the contour of the soft side of the finger.  For a while I had one banjo that sounded much better played this way. Most just sound louder.

[Jody Stecher]

Ah, "flagpoles" maybe.  

[Jody Stecher]

Marc, I may have found a method for keeping the stems downward in Musecore tab-s. If I copy and paste the staff notation into tab *before* I enter the 2nd voice to get the 5th string G flag all stems point down. When making a tab of a pre-existing banjo notation that already has the 5th string G flags entered I can sometimes correct the stem direction by removing voice 2. It doesn't always work. A reliable way that takes a bit longer is to delete the offending measure and create a new blank one in its place and manually enter the tab for that measure. Sometimes I can keep the measure and just delete its content. Musescore is temperamental and does what it pleases. As you have pointed out to me several times, there is a Highly Scientific Method of dealing with this:  messing around until somehow the desired result occurs. 

[Richard William Ineson]

Jody. I always read your very welcome contributions to this site with interest but I only comment when I think I can add something to the discussion. I've nothing against jigs and reels, of which I am a great fan, being played on the five string but I just find it easier to play them on my mandolin. I think your project is a good idea and it will make jigs and reels, and perhaps a few slip jigs more available to those wishing to play them on the five string which is a good thing.

Jody Stecher said:

Thank you for the reminder and encouragement, Shawn. The thundering silence was getting me down. 

Shawn McSweeny said:

Back to your question about the apparently spare response to your jigs and reels : This site has a large membership but few active posters. This discussion isn't yet two full days old  and already has 76 views, which is pretty good for this site . Many are likely from people who download the files without comment. Sure, it would be nice to hear from more people, even  just to receive the occasional thank-you, but the internet has a long tradition in offering free downloads, so they are taken for granted. Unless the views dwindle to single digits, don't let it bother you.

And thanks for posting these, I'm enjoying them.

[Jody Stecher]

Thanks, Richard.  I also thought this repertoire was easier on mandolin and that is the case for some of it. But with each transcription I do I am surprised how much simpler it is with strings tuned gCGBD (sometimes gDGBD) than GDAE. Sometimes this involves transposing to other keys but not always. For tunes in A or G that span 2 octaves and which involve all 4 strings of the mandolin I have had to transpose to C because the banjo 4th string has no B. Bb or A.

[Trapdoor2]

I don't consider adding flags for the 5th string as "adding a voice", it is just a Musescore expedient to get that flag into the notation. For music without voiced harmonic structure, getting all the flags/beams down in the Tab is a doddle.

FWIW, when I create notation and tab, I do it independently, ie., not linked. You can create linked staves where one automatically feeds the other (enter notation staff and tab appears in the tab staff) but that's a PITA. I simply key in the notation, get it the way I want it and then create a blank tab staff and cut/paste the notation into it. Musescore automatically switches it to tab...and then I go thru and shove notes around to suit my fingering needs. If you have already entered the 5string flag, Musescore considers it just another G note and will convert it to two separate notes in the tab, usually one on the 1st string and one on the 5th. When that happens, I simply delete the 1st string note in the tab. There are many ways around it in Musescore. I haven't messed with all of them...yet!

When I have to add flags to the notation, I don't mess with the tab part, I segregate the parts (using the "parts" management button) and work on the notation alone, independent of the tab.

Yes, Musescore seems to have a mind of its own. If I remember to do so, I usually complete a part and then export it to .pdf (if I'm happy with it). Sometimes I'll mess around with another part and Musescore decides to change the part I just exported. The .pdf is not changed...so I'm good (or, it is easy to update).

For many scores, I save alternate versions. I have a lot of old scores in A notation and C notation as separate files. Too easy to convert back and forth now, so I don't do that anymore. It is when there is weirdness (errors in the original, inscrutable jumps/repeats, original vs "Marc version", Musescore flukiness, etc.) that I will save multiple versions.

Jody Stecher said:

Marc, I may have found a method for keeping the stems downward in Musecore tab-s. If I copy and paste the staff notation into tab *before* I enter the 2nd voice to get the 5th string G flag all stems point down. When making a tab of a pre-existing banjo notation that already has the 5th string G flags entered I can sometimes correct the stem direction by removing voice 2. It doesn't always work. A reliable way that takes a bit longer is to delete the offending measure and create a new blank one in its place and manually enter the tab for that measure. Sometimes I can keep the measure and just delete its content. Musescore is temperamental and does what it pleases. As you have pointed out to me several times, there is a Highly Scientific Method of dealing with this:  messing around until somehow the desired result occurs.