Week 2: Electric Boogaloo

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Old-time practice group 1

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a group who encourage and motivate one another to stick to, and get the most out of, our practice time

14 Members, Created 5/7/2014 -

Administrators: skiptomylou (owner)

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From laertes22 on 11/13/2014 6:29:40 AM

I did not have as much time to practice this past week as I would have liked, because I was in Charlotte with my fiancee and stepson for Mace-Con, a tabletop gaming convention(because we are all huge nerds).

Nonetheless, I am still in trying to get back into practice after my short hiatus and shake the rust out of my claw hand and my bowing arm. I mainly spent this week reviewing old songs I had already learned and trying to get them back to where I was before (Cuckoo, Cluck Old Hen, Old Joe Clark, Cripple Creek, Blackest Crow, Colored Aristocracy, Angelina Baker, etc.). I am still rusty, but I am getting better. I had to slow things up a good bit and start slowly adding speed back, or I'd get really sloppy really quickly.

In addition, I am trying to learn Soldier's Joy for banjo. I can play Soldier's Joy on fiddle no problem, but it seems like I could never find an arrangement for banjo that I liked or that was within my playing ability. It seems like a travesty, because Soldier's Joy is just one of those songs that everybody should know, right? I finally said, "Screw it" and sat down with a version which I liked OK and which was (for me) a bit on the more difficult side. I figured I'd stick with it and practice until I could play it. I'm mainly having trouble with this bass strings (4th string) pull offs that go from the 4th fret to the 2nd fret and these 5th string pinky hammer-ons that go from fret 2 to 5. Just can't get a sound that I like out of them. However, I am going to keep on keeping on until I can play it. Also, I will likely tweak the arrangement a bit to make it more to my liking.

Last, special thanks to Jill and Aaron for introducing me to the magic that is Roscoe Holcomb. I wasn't really familiar with his work before, but I've been listening to him all week. And like a gateway drug, Roscoe lead me to also get into Dock Boggs. I was floored by both their playing and their singing. There is a ton of their stuff on Spotify (I generally use Spotify to check out new stuff, and then if I like it, I'll go buy the album, as I know Spotify doesn't pay artists very much in terms of royalties). I am definitely going to have to learn some two finger/up picking stuff, as well as some bluesy stuff. I picked up Mike Seegers Old Time Banjo DVD and his Southern Style Banjo DVD Trilogy. Also, I picked up 3 of Art Rosenbaum's books and busted out my old, relatively unread copy of Pete Seeger's Book.

4 Comments
	Zischkale says: 11/13/2014 9:55:31 AM My DND dwarf plays lute, because WOTC can't manage to add an ekonting or something else banjo-similar. I started with the Mike Iverson intermediate arrangement of Soldier's Joy, it manages the feel of the tune without following the fiddle rendition close and getting too notey. Keep at it -- I think I know the 4th string stuff in the coarse part you're talking about. Iverson dodges it pretty well -- if you're working up your own arrangement you may want to use m-skips to leave out extra notes while keeping a drive on that rhythm. Of course, Josh Turknett's Core Repertoire series starts with Soldier's Joy (banjohangout.org/myhangout/blo...gid=30714). Lately I've been singing along to Soldier's Joy (especially that bit about Kirk and McCoy) playing a real real sparse melody behind it, before launching into an instrumental run through. Been enjoying it. Glad you're listening to some good tunes! Hills of Mexico by Roscoe will undoubtedly hook ya. Also love his Swanno Mountain, he's unstoppable on that one. He basically plays guitar and banjo in the same style, sometimes he'll play some clawhammer but it's mostly that 2-finger style, and he rocks it. Bright Sunny South by Dock is one that stuck to me. I have way too many learning materials as it is, but I really want those Mike Seeger DVDs. I've got the Southern Banjo Style CDs, hopefully the DVD will show the banjo he plays with two short thumb-strings (I think it's a 6-string, then). If it's the new Art Rosenbaum book, time to be excited -- I'm checking my mail every day for that one to show up. Keep up the good work. I'm working on ideas for my Tune of the Week in December. You might consider signing up a few months in advance, it's a good learning experience and there's pretty much zero pressure since there's no gold standard to what's expected.
	laertes22 says: 11/13/2014 10:09:35 AM Aaron, How did I somehow know that you played D&D, too. lol I got to play 5th edition for the first time at Mace, and also got to play a couple of games of the Savage Worlds RPG (one of which was set in a modernized, dark version of the Land of Oz, and the guy who created the setting/core rulebook is from Raleigh and DM'ed the adventure we played) I feel like I have too much instructional material, as well, but I couldn't not own those Mike Seeger DVDs. I got Art Rosenbaum's Old Time Mountain Banjo (the original book) for Kindle, Art of the Mountain Banjo in paperback, and the new book Old TIme Banjo Book just arrived Tuesdays. I will be occupied for a while!
	Zischkale says: 11/13/2014 12:39:00 PM I'm a newbie player, but any nerd deficiency I have there I've more than made up for with other hobbies/interests. One of my best friends, basically a brother, a few years younger than me started DM'ing. He has pushed us into 5th edition, the books look pretty sweet but I haven't played enough to tell if they've improved play over 4e. That Savage Worlds sounds good--I like the idea of being able to adapt the game to out-of-the-box scenarios like that. Throw us into space or something. I think you made a good choice on the Mike Seeger DVDs, a lot to be learned that. It'll also be a good compliment to Art's newest book. Sometimes you just gotta jump into a new learning experience.
	skiptomylou says: 11/17/2014 12:46:03 PM you're going to love those mike seeger DVDs - Etta Baker plays Soldier's Joy on the first one (the Old Time Banjo one) she plays it two finger, index lead style. i think the dvds are better for learning different picking styles and less commonly played old time styles. i feel, and it's only personal opinion, that seeger is brilliant at teaching these styles - very clear and precise - but not so much clawhammer - although he does touch on that too. i really admire the way you work at a tune, and also adapt it to suit you - that's brilliant - keep on keepin' on..... best Jill
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	How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree) Linked by BanjoDino 10 years ago
	Roscoe Holcomb pt 1 Linked by laertes22 11 years ago
MP3: Whiskey Before Breakfast Linked by banjo50 11 years ago
	What Child Is This? Linked by VioletMoon 12 years ago: I worked hard on this one! Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday -- full of lots of time to practice. : )
	The Cuckoo Linked by laertes22 12 years ago: "The Cuckoo" This is my second attempt at recording a vid. Apologies in advance for the wrong notes and the rhythm/tempo issues.
	Cluck Old Hen Linked by laertes22 12 years ago: Kowtowing to peer pressure (after hearing myself play for the first time in my engagement vid), I have decided to bite the bullet and record/post some vids. Be gentle, it's my first time. :)
	banjo engagement Linked by laertes22 12 years ago
MP3: Rambling Hobo Linked by VioletMoon 12 years ago: I'm trying to keep a record of my banjo adventure. This is the latest slice-of-banjo-life recording. Cyndy
Blog Entry: The Project: 55 Tunes for 55 Years, Plus One Linked by VioletMoon 12 years ago: This will be the focus of my practice time at least through the end of the year. Cyndy
Tablature: I'm Gonna Sleep With One Eye Open Linked by Ted Heath 12 years ago