Banjo Hangout Newest 100 Clawhammer and Old-Time Songs

Double C tuning. Played on new custom made Black Limba open back banjo.

An original tune by Kentucky fiddler "Snake" Chapman. I can see in my mind's eye the wet-pawed cat tracks on the porch, or the soft little tracks on the dusty dirt road where I live...

The Tune of the Week for 11/19/21 is called Geese Honking. When it was recorded by the source fiddler, Clyde Davenport, he called it Wild Goose Chase. Other tunes have this title and perhaps that's why the title changed over time. Anyway, here's what I hear Clyde playing on fiddle in the key of Bb. I tuned down lower than normal in the tuning of fBbFBbD to match his fiddle. This is the tuning Nick Hornbuckle played in and it was his 2-finger version which really inspired me to learn.

I see the geese flying when I drive down to town, as the rice fields filled with water attract many migrating birds. Today being Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for the forthcoming turkey dinner and thankful we have good food to eat this day and family to enjoy it with.

A simple version on a homemade gourd banjo. The strings are loose so slaps around a bit.

A medley of three "New Old Time" tunes by Brad Kolodner from Brad and Ken Kolodner's first album, "Otter Creek." A multitrack recording I made back in 2013 featuring clawhammer banjo (Double D tuning), occasional hammered dulcimer, and bass. Headphones / earbuds help with the sounds.

We don't often get a French Canadian tune on Tune of the Week. This one is a charming dance tune, said to be Quebecois, which must mean that Quebec has its own style of music. The B part is crooked and adds to the charm. The source recording played it much more quickly and it must have made for a happy, lively dance.

Quebecois fiddle tune from the playing of Louis Boudreault. Tune Of The Week 5/11/2021

Based on the version by Jon Wilkes

Calvin Cole, recorded by the Library of Congress in the 1930's, played banjo for Peter Hoover in the 1960's and a CD was released with 37 cuts. It was said that in his 80's, Calvin was still dancing at the local Fancy Gap dances like he was a teenager. And his banjo speed on Western Country was twice mine!

Multitrack recording in 6 tracks: Muted banjo, guitar, bass (Michael Allen marimbula), fiddle, unmuted banjo, "clappers." The open back banjo is a Pisgah Rambler Special "foam-muted" on one track and and unmuted on another, both tuned to G tuning. Fiddle is a cheaper Hermann Luger model cross-tuned to GDGD.