Clifton Hicks

"Hand Me Down My Old Suitcase" Lesson

gCGCD (relative), fB♭FB♭C (actual) AKA 'Hook & Line' or 'Double C' tuning.

The album, Banjer Days, on which you can find George Gibson's "Hand Me Down My Old Suitcase,"  is available here: https://juneappalrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/banjer-days

John Harrod on Black Kentucky Fiddlers

I wanted to share this great interview of John Harrod with as many people as possible. Great oral history with plenty of field recordings sampled between talking.

"John Harrod has documented, recorded, and performed traditional music for more than 45 years. Born and raised in Shelby County, Kentucky, he has a B.A. from Centre College (1967) and an M.A. from Oxford University (1969) which he attended as a Rhodes Scholar. Recently retired, he taught history and English at Owen County High...

Three Cheap Banjos

S.S. Stewart '2nd Grade' w/ 10" & 24" scale, c. 1890.

S.S. Stewart '2nd Grade' w/ fancy rosewood, c. 1890.

A.C. Fairbanks 'H.C. Barnes' rare banjo, 1890s.

How to Drop-Thumb

Hand Me Down My Old Suitcase | Performance

 [gCGCD down-tuned considerably] I learned this song from George R. Gibson who learned it from his father, Mal Gibson in Knott County, KY about 1950. 

Hand me down my old suitcase 

And all of my dirty clothes, 

Policeman comes around here tonight 

Tell him I'm sleeping out of doors.  

If I'd listened to what my mother said 

I wouldn't have been here today, 

I wouldn't have been in this old jail house&...

George Gibson | "Darling Cora"

George R. Gibson demonstrates his two-finger approach to the classic Appalachian banjo song, "Darling Cora" at this year's Cowan Creek Mountain Music School. Gibson (b. 1938 in a log house at Bath, Kentucky) learned this and other pieces from his banjo playing father, Mal. The instrument is tuned (relatively) gCGCC. Many thanks to our very own Justin Hoffman for filming this national treasure.

"I was born May 14th, 1938 at Bath, in Knott County, Kentucky. Bath was a rural post office, n...

Overhand Banjo Elements 2

01:03  "Brush"

03:22  "Walking the Fingerboard"

05:16  "Double Shuffle" ("open string pull-off" or "alternate string pull-off")

Bo Wilkey | "Big Bee Suck the Pumpkin Stem" (traditional 3-finger)

I thought I'd share this recent video I took of three-finger picker Bo Wilkey from Athens, GA.

Wilkey learned this piece from a record of Peggy and Mike Seeger. The Seegers learned it from a rare 1944 field recording of Georgia fiddler Jack Mizell: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc9999005.22642

"Big bee suck the pumpkin stem

Little bee makes the honey,

Black man hoed the cotton fiel...

Traditional Overhand Elements 1

01:45  "Bend" (AKA "choke" or "slur")

04:25  "Slow Drag"

06:34  "Galax Lick" and "Double Thumb"

09:07  "Double Note"

11:34  "Slide Reach" and "Short Slide"

"Trouble On My Mind" | Close Up

 fCFAC (actual), gDGBD (relative) 

Fine 1870s Flush-Fret Banjo

Here we have a really lovely old flush fretted banjo probably made in New York around 1870. Early iron hardware, oak rim, mahogany neck, birds eye maple fingerboard.  

Thanks to Gamut Music Inc. for providing the strings used in this video https://www.gamutmus...

"Trouble On My Mind" | Lesson

fCFAC (actual), gDGBD (relative) aka "Standard" or "Banjo" tuning.

1870s Flush-Fret Banjo | Preview

It's been a busy spring here and I've only recently gotten this interesting older banjo set up. The sun was already going down as we started to film this, so I just recorded a two-minute instrumental example. The tune I'm playing is my arrangement of "Old Shoe Boots & Leggings"/"Brogan Boots & Leggings." The banjo is strung with some heavy (and expensive) gut strings from Gamut Music Inc. (https://www.gamutmusic.com/)...

Jerron 'Blind Boy' Paxton at Paste Studio NYC

I wanted to share this short concert with multi-instrumentalist Jerron Paxton. He starts of with an interesting traditional banjo song, then on to a "classic" guitar style banjo piece, then another folk song accompanied on guitar before finishing of with some great harmonica playing.

Stewart "Universal Favorite" No. 1

Here's a fully restored S. S. Stewart "Universal Favorite" banjo made in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the 1890s. This was Stewart's mid range model (made in No.1, No. 2 or No. 3 style) marketed toward the intermediate/advanced player. 

Cherry neck, ebony fingerboard and peg head overlay, maple rim spun over with German silver, a solid walnut bridge by Steven Arms, premium goat skin he...

Goat Skin Banjo Head Update & Discussion

Several people asked me to give an update on how my new goat skin banjo head turned out, so here it is. In this video I'll discuss some more tricks when dealing with natural skin heads and also explain why I prefer Crowe spacing on my banjo bridges as opposed to standard spacing.  

Jeff Menzies: 2019-04-18 14:52:13 +0000 UTC View Post

1867 Dobson Minstrel Banjo Signed "Eddie Fox!"

https://patreon.com/cliftonhicks

This is an original 1867 patent Dobson banjo made in in New York. These were marketed both as stage and "parlor" instruments. The peg head is signed "Eddie Fox," a famous minstrel performer and composer who worked on the stage from the 1840s or '50s into the late 1890s. There's no telling if this banjo was ever actually played by Fox, but it's interesting.

2019-04-15 22:08:58 +0000 UTC View Post

"Trouble on My Mind" | Peformance

"Trouble on My Mind" played on an original 1867 patent Dobson banjo tuned gDGBD, relative (actual: eBEA♭B 432 Hz). I learned this song from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. I'm not sure where Gibson got it from; I think he told me Rufus Crisp but this could also have come from Gran Hudson, his father Mal Gibson or another mentor.

Trouble trouble trouble on my mind

If trouble don't kill me I'll live a long time,

Live a long time boys live a long time

If troubl...

Mounting a Skin Banjo Head

One important detail that I left out: When first putting the flesh hoop on, be sure to push it down at least a few millimeters before mounting the tension hoop over it and pulling your hide through!

Intro music is Cumberland Gap (banjo: Clifton Hicks, guitar: Jake Book) from the album "From the Hills & From the Plains" available here: https://cliftonhicks.bandcamp.com/album/fro...

Brogan Boots & Leggings | Close Up

fCFAC (actual), gDGBD (relative)

Brogan Boots & Leggings | Lesson

fCFAC (actual), gDGBD (relative)

In this video I briefly discuss what we've learned about the history of the song "Old Shoe Boots and Leggins" AKA "Old Shoes and Leggins" AKA "Old Man From Over the Sea" (and other titles). I'll also describe the left hand fingering and demonstrate several different traditional approaches to the piece in this tuning.

Close-Up video coming next. I do apologize for the lower-resolution of this video as I was not able to use my usual camera. 

Brogan Boots & Leggins | Performance

gDGBD (relative) AKA Standard or Cripple Creek tuning.

I learned this song from a recording of prolific folk singer and labor union activist Aunt Molly Jackson available here: https://lomaxky.omeka.net/items/show/1363

Jackson called the song "Old Shoe Boots and Leggins." Alan Lomax collected another version in Kentucky titled "Old Gum Boots and Leggins." 

This is a somewhat dark, comical s...

Undone in Sorrow | Close-Up (gDGBD)

 gDGBD (relative), fCFAC (actual) A.K.A. "Standard" or "Cripple Creek" tuning. 

This video demonstrates how I play Ola Belle Reed's "Undone in Sorrow" out of standard tuning. First using a two-finger approach, then the typical overhand (or clawhammer) approach and, finally, a couple of different variations on the upstroke, up-picking or  "Seeger" style. 

"Undone in Sorrow" (by Ola Belle Reed) Lesson/Discussion

Gourd banjo is tuned gDGBD (relative), fCFAC (actual). Resonator banjo is tuned fDGCD (relative).

#18: Early Gourd Banjo

Here's my second attempt at an early (18th century style) gourd banjo. Unlike the last gourd banjo I built, this one has five strings and an easily playable action. 

Red oak neck, walnut bridge, walnut pegs, homegrown hard shell gourd, whitetail deer hide, iron tacks, hemp oil and beeswax. This in...

Banjo #18 Progress

Howdy everyone. Just wanted to share a couple of quick shots of my latest build. I'm doing this for an 18th century historical interpreter who requested a "playable, five-string gourd banjo" that would fit the period as closely as possible. 

Five-string banjos are really not solidly apparent in the historical record until the middle 1800s, however, a tuning peg and bridge (which may have b...

Black Velvet Band | Performance

Thanks to Daniel Hester for inspiring me to record this song, which I learned from Irish banjoist Luke Kelly. You can see Hester's performance here: https://youtu.be/513ZdWa2g8Y and Kelly's here: https://youtu.be/CBRQM0vErH8  

gDGBD (relative) fCFAC (actual) AKA "Standard" or "Cripple Creek" tuning. 

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Banjo Heritage: 1-Year Anniversary!

One of our esteemed members recently reminded me that it's been exactly twelve months since we started this thing! I struggled for a while to come up with something special to say or do; in the end I decided to just upload a short "fireside chat" reflecting on the past year's banjo activities. 

(Since I'm on the road at the moment and not able to kindle an actual fire, I made do with a chimney for a backdrop.)

Prodigal Son | Close-Up

f#DGAD relative (eCFGC actual) AKA "Dock Boggs" or "Southern Texas" tuning. https://patreon.com/cliftonhicks  

Prodigal Son | Lesson

 f#DGAD relative (eCFGC actual) AKA "Dock Boggs" or "Southern Texas" tuning. https://patreon.com/cliftonhicks