Collins CB5 Bluegrass Banjo

After waxing lyrical about the Windsor Popular that I had on loan from Stan Gee, I thought I should give some time to my trusty workhorse the Collins CB5. It feels a bit wooly and unresponsive after playing the Windsor but as a starter instrument it hard to beat. I picked mine up on-line from the I-Muso website http://www.imuso.co.uk/ProductDetail.asp?StockCode=AG00019 (see links) and at the time (Jan 08) it was £89.00. I think they are even cheaper now and the deal includes a padded gig bag as well.

I know that everyone says you should always play any instrument before you buy it, but I hadn't played anything before and music shops can be a bit intimidating if you haven't got a clue what you are doing. Anyway the price fit my budget £100 which meant I could afford a tuner as well, so I bought it unseen.I've taken the resonator off as I've been focusing on frailing techniques and it's easy to slip it back on again if I want that harsher bluegrass sound.

It's served me well over the last twelve months and it's a great instrument to learn on, also the price means that if you don't take it up you haven't broke the bank!

Windsor Popular No2

Had the loan of an excellent vintage banjo recently and have taken the opportunity to record back ups for a lot of tunes so that I can practice when I get my old Collins banjo back.

It's a Windsor Popular No2, made in Birmingham UK in the 1930s, and it plays like a dream. It's got a brass covered tone ring and the extra weight means to just sits there waiting to be played.

It's got a nice action, and I now realise what people are on about when they say it plays itself. It's come from the stable of Stan Gee www.stangee.co.uk (see links) who has a number of instruments on his website and if it's still there later in the year...

So before I take it back I recorded a version of Cripple Creek to finish off my practice tunes.

Cripple Creek (melody)

Cripple Creek Back-up

This is the back-up banjo for Cripple Creek in G. It runs verse/chorus 3 times.
There's a version of the melody in an earlier post.

Cripple Creek back-up

back-ups, melodies and tabs

Good practice session last week with Carlos and MC Clawhammer - thanks lads.
Here are audio files for the back-up and melodies to Whiskey in the Jar and Worried Man Blues.

They are taken from Patrick Costello's Outlaws and Scalawags Songbook, which is a great collection of outlaw songs tabbed for banjo. It is available as a creative commons pdf at http://www.archive.org/details/SingAlongBanjoVolumeOneOutlawsScalawags and includes loads of great songs.

Worried Man Blues
Back-up

Melody


Whiskey in the Jar
Back-up

Melody

Froggy Went a Courtin'

MC Clawhammer sent in a version of Froggy Went a Courtin and a clip of Steve Martin and Earl Scruggs to carry on the comedian/banjo player thread we picked up earlier.

Froggy Went a Courtin

Plant and Krauss

2 more tunes

Worried Man Blues


Lil' D

Whiskey in the Jar & Pickin' and Grinnin'

Got my hands on a good digital recorder this weekend and the quality is good - much better than my playing. I'm taking it to my first jam next week, so I'll see what we get.

Here are two tunes I've been working on for a while, one from Patrick Costello's 'Outlaws and Scalawags Songbook' Whiskey in the Jar and one from Tim Jumper's How to Play Banjo Pickin' and Grinnin'.

Whiskey in the Jar


Pickin' and Grinin'


Patrick Costello 'Whiskey in the Jar'

more from the creek

MC Clawhammer sent in a version of Cripple Creek, tryin out a few bluegrass rolls..

Cripple Creek


I know a few people drop in and have a look at the blog, so if anyone has any audio they'd like to send in I'd really appreciate it. I realise we're no great shakes in the banjo stakes, but it's about sharing and learning.

NBB

Bendin those Blues

Been working on the 12 bar blues that I posted earlier, adding in a few of the 7th hammer-ons, pull-offs and bends that Patrick's been posting on Tangier Sounds workshops lately. Gettin there..

MC Clawhammer Strikes Back

Two more tunes from the MC Clawhammer, well they're a bit of a medley. I think there's some duelling Banjos in there with a bit of Pretty Polly, but only the MC could clear it up. Let me know.

Medley1


Medley2

Wabash Cannonball and F - the chord of death!

Working on Wabash Cannonball at the moment with the horrendous four-fingered chord of death 'F'..... ahhhh! nearly there, but here's Patrick Costello making it look easy and fun. He's playing it in G, but i'm trying it out in C as a way of getting the F chord down.



Bit more practice before I can put up any audio for this one.

Jeff Davis, Spa Hotel 10th Feb

Spa Hotel, Saltburn
Tuesday 10th Feb 8pm

Jeff Davis
Old-time songs and music from North America with fiddle, banjo, guitar and mandolin

Jeff Davis is one of those musicians who makes everything look easy. He plays superb old-time fiddle, is a master of clawhammer banjo and just as good on guitar, mandolin or mandocello, without ever striving too hard for showy licks or empty virtuosity. His singing, based on long immersion in the styles of the old singers is truly timeless, conjuring vividly the world of the cowboy or the Civil War soldier.
Jeff Davis - Shortnin Bread


Jeff has an unusual and refreshing repertoire that includes songs and music from New England and the American West, as well as the more common Southern mountain material. His performances range from Appalachian ballads to Long Island fiddle tunes, songs of the civil war to African-American-style banjo-picking.
http://www.harbourtownrecords.com/Jeffdavis.htm

Sent in by Stan Gee
contact http://stangee.co.uk/