Banjo Hangout Top 100 Clawhammer and Old-Time Songs

I listened to several versions and used "mmuussiiccaall's" tabs and came up with this version.

It has a few "flub ups". Maybe you will like it anyway.

I am playing my homebuilt 12 inch cherry banjo and recorded this on a zoom H5. Larry

Lloyd Chandler's "A Conversation With Death" played 2 finger thumb lead with some 3 finger Dock Boggs-ish thrown in

Sometimes an event and a new tuning combine to inspire a tune, like in Hillside. It's a tribute to my mother's neighbor, Mrs. Fields, who passed away in her late nineties. Growing up with good neighbors is a blessing, isn't it. Hillside is the final resting place for some of my family members and now for dear Mrs. Fields.

The new tuning for me is f#DGAD, which I found in an Art Rosenbaum resource book. It's a "D variant" and he calls it "Little Black Train" tuning.

This recording is my first effort using three tracks with Garage Band using my Mac Traynham Whyte Laydie and Gold Tone cello banjo.

For the old-time Tune of the Week, 10/7/16, the amazing duo of Spencer and Rains have released this tune on their DVD/CD "The Spotted Pony." Not much is known here about its author, a fiddler from Kansas named Bert Payne born in 1873. I was able to use Ken Torke's tab to learn the tune and added some cello banjo picked accompaniment. If you don't know what a snagboat is check out this TOTW for some info and pictures.

For TOTW. Double C tuning but low.

After reading Lew Stern's new book, Dwight Diller, West Virginia Musician, I became more inspired to keep learning this region's special branch of mountain music. For the old-time Tune of the Week, 9/23/16, Pretty Little Dog is a sawmill tune with kind of funny origins. Lee Triplett wrote it, along with Pretty Little Cat, after having trouble learning his friend Doc White's Pretty Little Shoes. Dwight learned it from Lee in the 70's and still plays it today. Lots of Hangout members have recorded it. Check out the TOTW for more info.

After reading Lew Stern's new book, Dwight Diller, West Virginia Musician, I became more inspired to keep learning this region's special branch of mountain music. For the old-time Tune of the Week, 9/23/16, Pretty Little Dog is a sawmill tune with kind of funny origins. Lee Triplett wrote it, along with Pretty Little Cat, after having trouble learning his friend Doc White's Pretty Little Shoes. Dwight learned it from Lee in the 70's and still plays it today. Lots of Hangout members have recorded it. Check out the TOTW for more info.

Key of D

This version of Liberty is also called Liberty Two-Step, which distinguishes it from another tune called Liberty. (Check out the current Tune of the Week for 9/16/16 for more info.) I learned this one from John Burke's Clawhammer Book for Banjo back in the 70's and it was a popular square dance tune then. I think it's a pretty tune.

When I first learned this piece, 3-finger style, I hadn't checked out the composer's original recording. In this recording I play Canadian composer Frankie Rodgers' Ookpik Owl and then add the first version I'd learned. An Ookpik owl is the same as a Snowy Owl and is a main character in stories and legends, as well as being a popular Canadian stuffed animal. There are Inuit stories about Ookpik, which I think would be fun to collect. As my grandson is currently studying owls, this is a good time to re-visit and share Ookpik Waltz. It was a popular fiddle contest tune for a while and my grandson just began violin lessons. Good connections are made with a banjo!