Zarh Bickford's Unplayable Chords?

[Joel Hooks]

Here is a nice piece that has me scratching my head.

The bits circled in red are, as far as I can determine, unplayable.  In the third measure (and throughout the piece) he has you playing two notes on the 4th string at the same time.  This is followed by a slur from F to G.  Sliding my 4th for this slur works but is a bit sloppy when trying to complete the triplet smoothly. 

Checking the period violin score (which is in D but I can read off the page as if it is A notation), there is just an F.  Playing just the F sounds good, but I can also add in an A, then snap the A for a slur into the G for the triplet.  This gives a more filled in sound but does not seem necessary. 

Then we get to the chord in the 7th measure (which shows up several more times) which, in theory, is playable.  But even with my decent ability to stretch my fingers I can barely grab the F with my little finger.  I was able to play this chord on a Banjeaurine, but my usual players run in the 27+" scale range (the Weaver I've been playing is 27.5) and I can't grab it. Then there is the chord in the second to last measure-- not going to happen with my hand. 

The green circled chord I believe to be a typo based on it just not being right (and being correct the first time you play this phrase in the piece). 

WTF Bickford?  Please explain yourself?  Do I need to get out my Quija board for this?

[Jody Stecher]

The chord in the penultimate measure FACF is not playable by normal hands if the 4th string is tuned to C. But if the 4th string is tuned to D we have a garden variety F chord that every bluegrass banjo player knows and plays often.   This got me to thinking that, except for FAC,  the red circled places cease to be a problem if C is removed.  This suggests that gDGBD may be the intended tuning. Another possibility is that this is an idealized arrangement, unattainable in our mere material world but vivid  in the world of imagination.   As for the green circle I think you are right that the first measure contains the intended chord.  To inform myself how the green circled chord sounded (in the mere material world) I played A, Bb C by tuning the 2nd string to Bb. It's a  traffic jam-ish sound that could be used to good effect as part of a film score at an appropriate place but in the context of Simple Confession it is Simply Wrong.

[Joel Hooks]

Thanks Jody.  I do not believe that this was intended for bass elevated.  He makes it clear when that is used.

In an earlier lesson (58) the piece is an arrangement of "Hail Columbia" (but different than what is found in his Banjo Players Favorite book).  In the explanation he writes this (note that his use of "pulling the string" means plucking or striking with the right hand fingers):

"The first chord is different from the average chord, because there are two notes for the bass string.

The E is played with the left hand only. The little finger strikes the string vigorously and immediately after the string has been pulled.(see note about "pulled")

The other notes are also played in rapid succession, pulling the strings in the ordinary manner or gliding over them with the fingernails."

Now, I get this, though it is a bit clumsy, it works with a rolled or arpeggiated chord.  I am not really sure the effect is worth the effort.   

I initially tried to apply this concept of pluck then vibration/hammer slur to that unplayable C/F in Simple Confessions but it was weird and I did not like the way it sounds.  Actually, I struck the C, slurred into the F then glissed into the G.  It was a whole lot for not a lot of payoff. 

[Joel Hooks]

I'm starting to think that the slur from F to G in Simple Confessions is actually a phrasing mark. 

[Jody Stecher]

What is it indicating about the phrasing?   

Joel Hooks said:

I'm starting to think that the slur from F to G in Simple Confessions is actually a phrasing mark. 

[Jody Stecher]

He also indicates the notes he actually means.... except for when he doesn't.  The publisher/printer may have made an omission and neglected to print Bickford's tuning declaration. I dunno. I'm guessing.   

Joel Hooks said:

Thanks Jody.  I do not believe that this was intended for bass elevated.  He makes it clear when that is used.

[Joel Hooks]

RE Phrasing-- not a clue, just trying to figure out based on other pieces in the course.

In Lesson 83 he writes "Watch the phrasing marks—the long curved lines or slurs, and remember that there should be a slight break at the end of each of these, just as you would pause for a quick breath if you were singing the selection."

The other Cs work fine throughout the piece.  I rather like the piece, I just think it needs help.  I know what I would do but I like to try and figure out what Bickford would do first (before I ignore it).

For my own amusement I'll mark up a copy and post it with corrections, my positions and such.  Depending on how much effort I put in I might eventually record it and add it to my Bickford playlist on Youtube.

[Jody Stecher]

I like the piece as well.  Maybe the movement from F to the G that starts the triplet is meant to indicate one stroke of the thumb, starting on F on the bass string and then "falling" to the open G string. His mandolin instruction is full of this sort of thing. He calls it a "glide" (from the Italian glissando) and it is an effective device. 

Joel Hooks said:

RE Phrasing-- not a clue, just trying to figure out based on other pieces in the course.

In Lesson 83 he writes "Watch the phrasing marks—the long curved lines or slurs, and remember that there should be a slight break at the end of each of these, just as you would pause for a quick breath if you were singing the selection."

The other Cs work fine throughout the piece.  I rather like the piece, I just think it needs help.  I know what I would do but I like to try and figure out what Bickford would do first (before I ignore it).

For my own amusement I'll mark up a copy and post it with corrections, my positions and such.  Depending on how much effort I put in I might eventually record it and add it to my Bickford playlist on Youtube.

[Joel Hooks]

That would work, though in the rest of the work (and his other stuff) he uses X--X  or +--+ to show that. 

It is interesting (to me anyway) that a lot of this work is pretty sparse with fingerings.  The Banjo Players Favorite is very well fingered and some of it is really cool the way he works them out.  And there are pieces like his arrangement of Spring Song which seems to be fingered about perfect.  At least I've not been able to make any way to play it that is better than the way he has it. 

I presume that this lack of fingering might be covered in the half I don't have. 

[IAN SALTER]

I'm a bit pushed for time to do more than a quick play through, so I could be mistaken, but the entire tune does appear to work fairly comfortably on a 7 string banjo tuned gGCDGBD. I don't know anything about Bickford, or the tune, but suspect that he didn't write for the 7 string banjo, so I only mention it because it seems to provide a solution to all of the questionable chords, when played on a 5 string banjo. I will try to look at it again tomorrow.

[Joel Hooks]

He was a banjoist, guitarist and mandolinist, very active in the 1900s- till death (in 1961).  He studied banjo under Fred Bacon.  He played 5 string regular banjo, which is what this piece was for.  This piece is part of the correspondence course I posted earlier, of which I only have half of. 

I am 100% certain that there is a 0% chance of this being for 7 string banjo. 

Myron (later Zarh Myron) was also the Vice President of the American Banjo Fraternity.  He was married to Ethel Lucretia Olcott (later Vahdah Olcott-Bickford) who was a well renowned guitarist and started the American Guitar Society which is still going. 

They both contributed to various publications interesting articles.  

Zarh even ran a series of articles in the BMG.  Together they were a BMG power couple. 

They were members of the Theosophical Society which was the reason for the name changes. 

Until Segovia came along in the US, Vahdah and William Foden were THE names in Spanish guitar in the US. 

[Joel Hooks]

Zarh was living in NYC when this correspondence course was published.  The rest of it is very good, I think the engraver just goofed up on this one, perhaps it was Saturday evening the week of payday and he was ready to get out of there?

He can be seen playing a pretty high end Bacon in this spoof western from 1931.  The link should start the scene.  A little while into it you get a better view of him restarting the song.  He is the only one playing fingerstyle (on a 5 string) and has a mustache, sitting in the front. 

https://youtu.be/cG7XRyUp0QI?si=ILUQE-rjMMFGgxAb&t=164

If you are a fan of westerns (and can get past the nasty blackface racism) then this western spoof has its moments, but I would not recommend watching past the Bickford scene. 

[IAN SALTER]

Yes, I didn't think it was for a 7 string banjo, but do find it interesting that all of the chords can be played as written. 

I do like a spoof western, so thanks for the link.