This unusual instrument consists of a 1920s Washburn (Lyon & Healy) Style C tenor banjo pot mated to a circa 1970 custom bluegrass neck.
2022-10-28 15:00:07 +0000 UTC
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I learned "Muddy Road" from a 1960s recording of Claude Wolfenbarger of Grainger County, Tennessee. This song is known by various titles, including "County Jail," "Fall On My Knees," and "Lonesome Road."
My instrument is a traditional gourd banjo handmade by myself. My tuning is dADF♯A ~ gDGBD.
2022-10-21 15:00:09 +0000 UTC
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Watch us pick, clean, and start curing our hard shell gourds. We'll leave them on the porch for a few more nights, but will move them indoors before the hard frost sets in. In 8 or 10 months, these heirloom Martin gourds will be ready to turn into banjos, birdhouses, bowls, bottles, and anything else we can think of.
2022-10-14 15:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post
In this video I talk a little about the heirloom gourds we raise every year for banjo building, and how to select a site for planting them. Expect another video on my curing process.
In this video I explain how to play my original banjo arrangement of "Alabama Bound" using traditional two-finger as well as overhand (clawhammer) techniques.
I derived my version from old recordings of "Papa" Charlie Jackson and Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter. My instrument is an 1888 Thompson & Odell 1st model "The Luscomb" banjo tuned fCFAC ~ gDGBD. I'm using La Bella nylon strings and a Joel Hooks bridge.
2022-10-07 15:00:09 +0000 UTC
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My grandfather (Aaron Mayo Moore, 1923-1990) was a migrant farm worker from Alabama. Although I never heard him sing it, I suspect he would've been familiar with this popular folk song.
I learned "Alabama Bound" from recordings of Lead Belly, Papa Charlie Jackson, and two young banjo students who played it for me on their guitars. My instrument is an 1888 Thompson & Odell "The Luscomb" banjo tuned ~ gDGBD.
I'm Alabama bound (x2)
If you want me honey got...
I learned this rare, early ballad from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. Gibson said he learned it from Orgus "Gran" Hudson, also of Knott County, about 1960.
Cassette tape recordings of Hudson do exist; however, they've not yet been published or digitized.
Download 8.5" x 11" tablature 👇
2022-09-16 15:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
I learned "William Hall" from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. Gibson told me he'd learned it from Orgus "Gran" Hudson (also of Knott County) circa 1960.
My instrument is a 1940s Bacon "Belmont" banjo (made by Gretsch) tuned fCFAC ~ gDGBD. I'm using La Bella No. 17 nylon strings and a solid maple bridge by Joel Hooks.
2022-09-09 15:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
My tuning is eAEG#B (actual) ~ gCGBD (relative). This tune first appears in one of Frank Converse's banjo tutors dating to the 1860s. I first heard it played at a Civil War reenactment in Florida, circa 1999. My own version, developed by ear, is similar to Converse's original notation.
Download 8.5" x...
2022-08-26 15:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post
I learned "Coon Hunt Walk Around" from Banjo Without a Master by Frank Converse (1865). My instrument is an 1880s Buckbee banjo with an 1886 Hoseus (or 1903 Farmer?) tone ring. Tuning is ~ 3 frets below gCGBD.
Stay tuned for the lesson video with 2-finger and overhand tab...
I learned "Will the Weaver" from a 1920s recording of Charlie Parker & Mack Woolbright. My instrument is an 1888 Cubley banjo tuned ~ gDGBD.
Details from a copy of "Will the Weaver" printed in Scotland (1790s).
2022-08-12 15:01:02 +0000 UTC
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We learned "Midnight Special" from a recording of Huddie William "Lead Beally" Ledbetter. Aaron Stephens of Monteagle, Tennessee, on 1920s Cincinnatus guitar. My instrument is an 1888 Thompson & odell "The Luscomb" banjo tuned eBEG♯B ~ gDGBD.
Yonder come Miss Rosie
How in the world did you know?
By the way she's walking
And the clothes she wore.
Umbrella on her shoulder
Piece of paper in her hand,
She come to ask the governor
To turn loose her man.<...
Peter Rowan recorded "Ruby Ridge" on his 1996 album, Bluegrass Boy. My instrument is an 1888 Thompson & Odell "The Luscomb" banjo tuned eBEG♯B ~ gDGBD.
Download 8.5" x 11" Tablature 👇
2022-07-22 14:01:04 +0000 UTC View Post
I learned "Will the Weaver" from a 1920s recording of Charlie Parker & Mack Woolbright. My instrument is an 1888 Cubley banjo tuned ~ gDGBD.
"Son O son go home and love her
Do not find no fault above her,
But if she will not do well,
Pick up a stick and beat her well!"
He went home and a friend she met him
Thus she said but just to fret him
"Saw your wife a while ago
Along with Will the Weaver O...
2022-07-15 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
I learned "You Don't Know My Darling" from a recording of John Snipes of Chatham County, North Carolina. Another recording of Snipes performing this tune exists under the title "Hello My Darling." The pattern used here is similar to that used by Dock Boggs in "Banjo Clog."
My instrument is a 1940s (Gretsch) Bacon "Belmont" banjo tuned ~ gCGBD.
2022-07-08 15:01:02 +0000 UTC
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I learned "Ruby Ridge" by Peter Rowan from his 1996 album, Bluegrass Boy.
My instrument is an 1886 Buckbee archtop banjo tuned fCFAC ~ gDGBD. Lesson & tab coming soon!
I'll tell you a story not long ago
High on a mountain in Idaho,
In Idaho I was living free
Until I sold a shotgun to a deputy.
CHORUS
Don't shoot... 2022-07-03 22:31:36 +0000 UTC View Post
^ Single brass wire tone ring by Mark Ralston of Yellowstone Jewelry (second, smaller wire shown in 1903 patent was not reproduced).
2022-06-24 14:00:09 +0000 UTC
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I learned "Don't Go Riding Down That Old Texas Trail" (gDGBD) from a recording of Lawrence Eller (banjo & vocals), Vaughn Eller (guitar), and Ross Brown (fiddle).
Download 8.5" x 11" Tablature 👇
2022-06-17 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
I learned "Don't Go Riding Down That Old Texas Trail" (gDGBD) from a recording of Lawrence Eller (banjo & vocals), Vaughn Eller (guitar), and Ross Brown (fiddle).
Recorded in 1978 near Hiawassee, Towns County, Georgia, by Arthur S. Rosenbaum.
My instrument is a 1880s Cubley banjo tuned fCFAC ~ gDGBD.
These nights are getting mighty long (x2)
These nights are getting long I'm singing you this song
Don't go riding down ...
2022-06-10 15:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post
I learned "You Don't Know My Darling" (You Don't Know My Babe" from a recording of John Snipes of Orange County, North Carolina. My instrument is an 1880s E.J. Cubley banjo tuned eAEG♯B ~ gCGBD.
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You don't know my darling you don't know my babe (x2)
Long summer day it's a long summer day (x2)
Possum up a gum stump coon in the hollow
Rabbit took a back ...
2022-05-27 15:01:03 +0000 UTC View Post
I learned "Sally Brown" from 1980s recording of Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, and Christy Moore. My instrument is a 1940s Bacon "Belmont" banjo tuned ~ gCGCD.
I shipped on board of a Liverpool liner
Way, hey, roll and go!
So we rolled all night and we rolled till the day
But I spent my money on old Sally Brown!
Sally Brown is a fi...
2022-05-20 15:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
I learned "Sally Brown" from 1980s recording of Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, and Christy Moore. My instrument is a 1940s Bacon "Belmont" banjo tuned fA#FA#C ~ gCGCD.
I shipped on board of a Liverpool liner
Way, hey, roll and go!
So we rolled all night and we rolled till the day
But I spent my money on old Sally Brown!
Sally Brown is a fine young lady...
She's tall and she's dark but she's not too sha...
2022-05-13 15:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
E.J. Cubley manufactured banjos in Ravenswood, Illinois (Chicago) between 1881 and 1891. While many Cubleys appear to be copies of Buckbee and Dobson designs, this example borrows heavily from J.F. Luscomb's 1st model banjo, patented in August of 1888.
The metal dowel inside the pot appears to have been an original idea, as this feature was patented by Cubley in December, 1888.
I guess 1888 was a hot year in the banjo business.
2022-05-06 15:00:09 +0000 UTC
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I learned "I'm Dying, Mother" from a recording of Bert Hare. My instrument is a 1940s Bacon "Belmont" banjo (made by Gretsch) tuned ~ fDGCD.
One summer eve as the sun was setting
The wind blew soft and cold,
A young man lay on a bed of fever
And the tears stood in his eyes.
I'm dying mother I'm surely dying
And Hell is my awful doom,
Come take my hand and
Press it tight for my heart is...
2022-04-22 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Played on a 1940s (Gretsch) Bacon "Belmont" banjo tuned eAEAB ~ gCGCD. I learned "Indian Tribes of Tennessee" from recordings of Addie Graham, L.P. Carlock, Dee Hicks, and Bessford Hicks. Alternate titles include "The Cumberland," "Old Cumberland Land," and "Pioneer's Letter." It's mention of indigenous society in eastern Tennessee suggests the song was composed before 1830.
Many versio...
2022-04-15 15:01:03 +0000 UTC View Post
I learned "brother Green" (The Dying Soldier) from a recording of Rev. Buell Kazee of Magoffin County, Kentucky. My instrument is a 1940s Gretsch Bacon "Belmont" banjo tuned fCFAC ~ gDGBD.
Download 8.5" x 11" Tablature 👇
2022-04-08 13:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post
When the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 swept up the east coast it wiped out Fred Bacon's state-of-the-art banjo factory in Groton, Connecticut. By 1939 Gretsch was producing Bacon & Day banjos under license, and by the end of 1940 had bought the Bacon name as well.
This Bacon "Belmont" banjo was produced by Gretsch between 1946 and 1950 for Montgomery Ward, who offered it "with pick and instructions" for $75. Seventy-five U.S. dollars in 1949 was worth about $860 in tod...
2022-03-25 13:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post
I learned this 6-string banjo version of "Wild Bill Jones" from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. My instrument is a 1960s Harmony guitar tuned DADGAD.
Download 8.5" x 11" Tablature 👇
2022-03-18 13:01:02 +0000 UTC View Post
I learned "Brother Green" (The Dying Soldier) from a 1920s recording of Rev. Buell Kazee of Magoffin County, Kentucky. My instrument is an 1888 Thompson & Odell "The Luscomb" banjo tuned eBEG♯B (three frets below gDGBD).
Oh brother Green come kneel by me
For I am shot and bleeding,
Now I must die no more to see
My wife and my dear children.
The southern foe has laid me low
On this cold ground to suffer, ...
2022-03-12 12:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
I learned "Wild Bill Jones" from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. George played it on a 6-string guitar-banjo tuned DADGAD, with a worn-out 4th string in place of his 6th string.
I've attempted to reproduce Gibson's method as closely as possible, including his instrumental run. Note, however, that George uses a three-finger picking style when playing guitar tunes, but I only use two.
I went out on one day just a rambling holiday
When I met u...
2022-03-11 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post