Give Me Whiskey Till I Die - The Alice Charmers

Stan Gee - Gospel Ship on Cello Banjo

Looking back at the blog it strikes me just how much of the hosted audio I've posted over the years is no longer available, and it goes to show that digital can be as fragile as analogue recordings. I thought this bit of audio was lost but I've manged to download the original mp3 of Master Stan Gee playing Gospel Ship which was posted to the now defunct Audio Boo. Stan is playing his original 1909 cello banjo pre-Gibson Goldtone. There's more info about Stan's instruments on his website http://www.picknstrum.com/instruments
 Maybe I'll lift a bit of the content form his site and post it here, to preserve a piece of the true cross.

Old Jake Gillie

First go at Old Jake Gillie and just getting into the A and B parts. Its very much about the groove and rhythm with this tune. Still gotta have a go at a few elaborations but give it time.

My Banjo Bible

 The Banjo Player's Songbook: Over 200 great songs arranged for the five-string banjo by Tim Jumper (Author), Peter Pickow (Editor)

In actual fact I've got two banjo bibles and they are both by Tim Jumper. The other is How to Play Banjo which was the first tutor book I got and it covers the basics of both fingerpicking and frailing. The Banjo Players Songbook though is my go to for basic versions of most of the popular banjo songs in a frailing style. It gives you the bare bones of the tune and a bit of background over which you can elaborate as you wish. Recommended.

Soldier's Joy

I picked up the basics of this old fiddle tune from my banjo bible and then trawled Youtube for variations and a sense of the tune. It seems like it's the Cripple Creek of C tuning and once you have the bouncy nature of the fingering its a great and relatively simple tune to relax into and enjoy to play. It follows the AA BB stucture of many banjo tunes derived from fiddle music and I play it capoed at the second fret raising the C tuning (gCGCD) to play in the the key of D (aDADE)

Jesse James

Here's a bit of audio of a post Boxing Day jam that my brother and I managed to squeeze in amidst the festivities. Jesse James was one of the first tunes that I learned on the banjo and recently i'd stopped playing it, but my brother is getting keen on the mandolin and recently we've started playing a few old tunes that suit the two instruments.

2016 and all that...

I've been pretty absent from the blog on the last few years, not because I've not been playing banjo, but mostly because life has gotten in the way recently. 2016 has been a bit of a pig of a year for lots of reasons and as a consequence I've not been playing with the band quite as much as I'd like. Playing with the Charmers has been one of the highlights of the last 12 months, getting together and jamming with a bunch of good friends is one of the best feelings - just waiting for that moment when it all comes together for a few brief bars. After losing a couple of members we decided to use some gig money left in the kitty and book a band weekend in a bunk barn in the Yorkshire dales, and alongside drunken walks back form the pub in the pitch black and un-interupted hours of playing, this little bit of video of us playing an impromptu tune in the open air captures the great time we had. So here's to better times ahead.

Grandpa Jones Mountain Dew

Old Jake Gillie

I've been having a go at this tune from 'Clawhammer Banjo'. Getting the rhythmic sequence is tricky and for me the key to the tune. I've been practicing the the fingering really slowly but its not till you give it a go at full tilt that it starts to resemble some of the versions I've heard on Youtube. After playing in frailing style with a definite pick-strum-pluck type of action, getting the more intricate drop thumb patterns of clawhammer is good discipline for gaining greater control over my playing action.

Miles Krassen: Clawhammer Banjo (Book/CD)

Just started working my way through this book which is full of great clawhammer tunes. The puff says 'Traditional Appalachian banjo tunes in tablature based on the music of Wade Ward, Fred Cockerham, Henry Reed and others. With tunings and all basic right and left hand techniques: drop-thumbing, the Galax lick, pull-offs, slide & plucking.'

Just giving Shortnin Bread a try out - good the practising drop-thumb. The book also gives a lot of context for clawhammer playing style to accompany a fiddle player. Also some interesting tabs for tunes in D tunings.

Morris Minor Hub Cap Slide Guitar

Just had an update from El Gordeaux slide guitars and its nearly ready!!

If you fancy a looks at some sweet looking slide guitars have a trip over to

https://www.facebook.com/ElgordeauxGuitars

www.slideguitar.co.uk

Hub Cap Slide & stuff

Its been a while, and although I've not been blogging the site isn't dead - just resting! The last seven (7!!!) years have been a real journey into making music and some of the mysteries associated with it, but the last 12 months have been about making, playing and having fun and the sounding-off side has taken a bit of a hit. Maybe I'll do a bit more in the near future.

I'm waiting for a new toy to play with, a Morris Minor hub cap slide guitar. I'm getting the four string version that you can see on the left. Open G tuning so its a bit like a banjo without the damned 5th string. It's made by El Gordeaux of http://www.slideguitar.co.uk/

Maybe get some sounds posted later on.

Whitby Pirate Day

Alice Charmer

After trying to get this song to work for ages, all it took was a little fiddle!

Oo-De-Lally

Rowan Tree

I've been working on this simple song for a little while. It's in the Key of C played on the banjo capoed at the 5th fret it's pretty much verse C/C/Am/C/C/G and then the iddle-addles over C/C/G/C/C/G.

Rowan Tree

listen to ‘Rowan Tree’ on Audioboo

Rowan tree 2

listen to ‘Rowan tree 2’ on Audioboo

Rowan tree

listen to ‘Rowan tree’ on Audioboo

The Charmers Live at Volkspower Festival