Blog – Page 27

Clawhammer Tune of the Week: “Washington’s March”

Click on the button below to get the PDF download for this tab delivered to you, and get 2 new tunes and tabs sent to you every week!

Click Here To Get The Tab

Credit goes to Edden Hammons for this week’s tune. “Washington’s March” is another gem from the Hammons family repertoire, one that reportedly won Edden the 1939 Greenbrier Vally fiddle championship.

It’s original composer is unknown, said to have been written or simply collected by someone further down the Hammons family tree.

It’s one of my favorites for playing on the fiddle, in part because it utilizes the lush D-tune dronefest DDAD tuning. You may hear similarities to the tune “Bonaparte’s Retreat,” a musical cousin that also utilizes the same fiddle tuning.

And while not technically a “march” in its rhythm, it is nonetheless an effective number for compelling nearby humans to move their feet.

[NOTE: The Clawhammer Song of the Week “March Madness” tournament has been narrowed down to the final 8. Click here to see the 8 finalists and cast your vote (click the “thumbs up” icon under the video to tag your favorites).

Washington’s March

aDADE tuning, Brainjo level 3-4

Notes on the Tab

Notes in parentheses are “skip” notes. To learn more about these, check out my video lesson on the subject.

For more on reading tabs in general, check out this complete guide to reading banjo tabs.

Level 2 arrangements and video demos for the Tune (and Song!) of the Week tunes are now available as part of the Breakthrough Banjo course. Learn more about it here.

Click here for a current list of all the clawhammer songs and tunes currently available inside of The Vault

Learn More About Breakthrough Banjo

About the AuthorJosh Turknett is founder and lead brain hacker at Brainjo Productions

View the Brainjo Course Catalog

Song of the Week March Madness – 2017 EDITION!

Bring On The Madness!

Time again for what’s become one of my favorite annual traditions!

Those of you who’ve been with the tune and song of the week series know that it’s become tradition around here to conduct our own version of “March Madness,” our NCAA-basketball-tournament-inspired event to crown a winning tune from the past year.

For the first two tournaments, we crowned a winner from the “Tune of the Week” series. Our first winner was Snowdrop, and our second Wandering boy.

[RELATED: The “10 Greatest Hits of Clawhammer Banjo” book of tabs was based on those results. Click here if you haven’t grabbed your copy of it yet.]

2015 Winner: “Snowdrop”

2016 Winner: “Wandering Boy”

This year, we’ll turn our attention to the more recently launched “Song of the Week” series to crown one clawhammer song (i.e. – a tune with words to be sung.) victorious.

Based on the “thumbs up” votes they’ve already received thus far this year, the field has already been whittled down to 16 finalists.

Now it’s your turn to vote for you favorite one! To cast your vote, simply click the “thumbs up” icon on your favorite video or videos (feel free to vote as many times as you’d like!).

Based on the votes received over the next several days, we’ll narrow things down to 8 remaining contestants for the final round. Sheer madness! 🙂

HOW TO CAST YOUR VOTE(S)

STEP 1: Click on the link below to get to the 2017 Song of the Week March Madness playlist.

STEP 2: Cast your vote for your favorite songs (it’s ok to vote for more than one) by clicking on the “thumbs up” icon underneath the videos.

You can use the fast forward button or the playlist menu on the right of the page to toggle between the tunes.

STEP 3: Anxiously await to see if your favorite makes it to the next round!

CLICK HERE to View the 16 8 FINALISTS and Cast Your VOTE

Let the madness begin!

Level 2 arrangements and video demos for the Tune (and Song!) of the Week tunes are now available as part of the Breakthrough Banjo course. Learn more about it here.

Click here for a current list of all the clawhammer songs and tunes currently available inside of The Vault

Learn More About Breakthrough Banjo

About the AuthorJosh Turknett is founder and lead brain hacker at Brainjo Productions

View the Brainjo Course Catalog

Clawhammer Tune of the Week: “Georgia Railroad”

Click on the button below to get the PDF download for this tab delivered to you, and get 2 new tunes and tabs sent to you every week!

Click Here To Get The Tab

As a native Georgian, I had no choice but to do this one. In fact, one might wonder why it took me so long!

Georgia Railroad was first recorded in the 1920s by fellow Georgians and icons of early country and stringband music, the Skillet Lickers.

Rowdy and raucous, the Skillet Lickers didn’t just perform, they celebrated. Though gifted musicians (fiddlers Clayton Mcmichen and Lowe Stokes both won more than their fair share of fiddle contests), energy and enthusiasm were never sacrificed in the name of technical precision.

Their recordings are a stark contrast to the more buttoned up and meticulous old-time music often released these days, and a welcome reminder to always have a rip-roaring good time when we play (Justin and I did our level best to impart a healthy dose of wild abandon in our freshman effort, and perhaps will take things up a level in our next album, where we’ll be diving into the tunes of our home state).

The only drawback? Fate Norris’s banjo picking is nearly inaudible on their recordings, so banjo enthusiasts can only imagine them sounding even better with the addition of the five.

Georgia Railroad

gDGBD tuning, Brainjo level 3-4

georgia railroad clawhammer banjo tab part 1

georgia railroad clawhammer banjo tab part 2

Notes on the Tab

Notes in parentheses are “skip” notes. To learn more about these, check out my video lesson on the subject.

For more on reading tabs in general, check out this complete guide to reading banjo tabs.

Level 2 arrangements and video demos for the Tune (and Song!) of the Week tunes are now available as part of the Breakthrough Banjo course. Learn more about it here.

Click here for a current list of all the clawhammer songs and tunes currently available inside of The Vault

Learn More About Breakthrough Banjo

About the AuthorJosh Turknett is founder and lead brain hacker at Brainjo Productions

View the Brainjo Course Catalog

Clawhammer Song of the Week: “Long Journey Home”

Click on the button below to get the PDF download for this tab delivered to you, and get 2 new tunes and tabs sent to you every week!

Click Here To Get The Tab

It’s a Song of the Week 2-for-1! 🙂

I’ve spoken before about the odd separation that exists between the worlds of bluegrass and old-time banjos. Each has its own jamming traditions, and it’s uncommon for banjoists to crossover from one to the other.

In my opinion, this has almost everything to do with tradition and little to do with a lack of musical alignment. I say this as someone who began his banjo life in the world of bluegrass.

In some ways, this has become a self perpetuating cycle. The lack of clawhammerists in bluegrass jams may be taken to mean your presence would be unwelcome.

With rare exception, I don’t find that to be the case. In fact, most bluegrass enthusiasts appreciate the change of pace, and in my experience are intrigued by the clawhammer sound.

So, if you find yourself with an interest in attending a bluegrass jam (or maybe that’s all that’s available around you), by all means go for it. If you’re totally new to that “scene,” here or some tips for an optimal experience:

1. Understand the bluegrass jam structure. Unlike old time jams where folks play in unison, musicians in a bluegrass jam take turns playing lead “breaks,” or solos. And while one person solos, the others play backup (since the guitar and/or bass tends to form the backbone of bluegrass backup, banjoists can also just stay quiet during other solos).

2. Learn some popular bluegrass jam songs, like today’s selection. In the coming weeks, I’ll be covering some more good crossover songs.

3. Practice playing “backup.” Since traditional backup isn’t a standard part of old time jamming, it’s something clawhammerists may or may not have spent much time on. Although it’s pretty easy to get up to speed knowing just a few chord shapes and understanding typical chord progressions (this material is covered extensively inside the Breakthrough Banjo course)

I’ve even created some backup jam tracks for this week’s tune if you’d like to get some practice jamming in a bluegrass setting. Read below for details…

Long Journey Home

gDGBD tuning, Brainjo level 3

long journey home clawhammer banjo tab part 1

long journey home clawhammer banjo tab part 2

Bonus Tune! “Long Journey Home,” Fingerstyle Version (plus a new Fingerstyle course!)

As mentioned, this is a “2 for 1” tune of the week.

On March 21, I’ll be launching the long awaited Breakthrough Banjo course for fingerstyle banjo (based again on the Brainjo Method). The course will cover all the up-picking styles (3-finger bluegrass, old-time 2 and 3 finger, etc.).

(RELATED: I have a special opportunity for Founding Members who register before the launch date. Click here to learn more about becoming a Founding Member of the Fingerstyle Banjo course.)

Like the Breakthrough Banjo course for clawhammer, it will include “The Vault,” an expanding library of songs with tabs, tune tutorials, and jam tracks. You can see a sample of these by clicking the link below, and you can use the jam track to practice this week’s song:

Click here to preview the Fingerstyle Tune Tutorials and practice along with the Jam Tracks for “Long Journey Home.”

Notes on the Tab

In this arrangement, I’ve tabbed out the part I play in the banjo “solo,” as well as the vocal backup I play on the banjo while singing.

Notes in parentheses are “skip” notes – to learn more about skips and syncopated skips, check out my video lesson on the subject.

For more on reading tabs in general, check out this complete guide to reading banjo tabs.

PRIOR SONG OF THE WEEK EPISODES

Level 2 arrangements and video demos for the Tune (and Song!) of the Week tunes are now available as part of the Breakthrough Banjo course.

Click here for a current list of all the clawhammer songs and tunes currently available inside of The Vault

Learn More About Breakthrough Banjo

About the AuthorJosh Turknett is founder and lead brain hacker at Brainjo Productions

View the Brainjo Course Catalog

Clawhammer Tune of the Week: “Peter Francisco”

Click Here To Get The Tab

The story of Peter Francisco reads like a tall tale.

Hard to know where the truth ends and the embellishments begin.

Born in Portugal on the island of Terceira. Found on a dock in Virginia at the age of 5. Speaking no English at the time, he identified himself as “Pedro Francisco.”

He’d later become one of the heroes of the Revolutionary War. A larger than life character, rumored to have carried an 1100 pound cannon on his shoulder to keep it out of enemy hands. Singlehandedly defeated a band of Tarleton’s Raiders, then made off with their horses.

In the US, he’s known as the “Virginia Giant of the Revolutionary War.” In Portugal, there’s an award still being given in his name.

And somewhere along the way, a delightful little fiddle tune was composed in his honor.

Peter Francisco

aDADE tuning, Brainjo level 3-4

Notes on the Tab

Notes in parentheses are “skip” notes. To learn more about these, check out my video lesson on the subject.

For more on reading tabs in general, check out this complete guide to reading banjo tabs.

Level 2 arrangements and video demos for the Tune (and Song!) of the Week tunes are now available as part of the Breakthrough Banjo course. Learn more about it here.

Click here for a current list of all the clawhammer songs and tunes currently available inside of The Vault

Learn More About Breakthrough Banjo

About the AuthorJosh Turknett is founder and lead brain hacker at Brainjo Productions

View the Brainjo Course Catalog