Banjo Hangout Top 100 Clawhammer and Old-Time Songs

Jim has posted his incredible music again after a time away from BHO. This is one he wrote a while back and I'm inspired to try and learn it now. The notes flow. A poet could describe its beauty better than I!

In learning some tunes in the Cumberland Gap/Sandy River Belle tuning I wrote a little tune. It has a darkish sound so I named it after a neat place where big boulders form a little cave where the grandkids like to climb around. I checked later and realized I wrote it in the Aeolian mode in the key of G, played on a Mac Traynham Whyte Laydie openback.

Kentucky fiddler Owen 'Snake' Chapman learned this from his father, 'Doc.' Played on a Mac Traynham Whyte Laydie.

Learned from Brad Leftwich and Dan Gellert's album "A Moment in Time"

This original song by Owen 'Snake' Chapman is named after a mountain feature close to his home in Letcher County, Kentucky. He wrote many tunes and reminds me of Banjo Hangout's Jim Reed from Pike County, Kentucky who also wrote many tunes and played with Owen.

For the Tune of the Week, 4/19/13. Like many, I learned it from Miles Krassen's Clawhammer Book of the 70's. Hope he knows we're still playing it.

A version that was recorded by Corpse Reviver (Jillian Rae: vocal and fiddle, Mikkel Beckman: percussion, Adam Kiesling: banjo).

From the playing of Buell Kazee

For the Tune of the Week 4/12/13. This is #801 on the Slippery Hill website by Earl Thomas, Jr. of Kentucky.

Ed Britt and I recorded this in my living room back in January, 2009. I had just worked this up after listening to a fine version by West Virginia fiddler Jack Krack. Ed is playing clawhammer stytle on his Ome, in double C tuning, capoed on the 2nd fret, I'm three-finger picking on my semi-fretless Vega Tubaphone, in open D tuning.