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One of the questions I receive on a recurring basis from folks has to do with “alternate” tunings (the alternate in parentheses since the term implies there’s a primary tuning that you’re deviating from, which is a matter of debate).

Specifically, why do I use them? The subtext here is can you please stick to one tuning to make things a little easier? 🙂

Those who’ve been around old-time banjo for any length of time surely recognize the tunings used in the Tune of the Week tunes as familiar friends.

But for those somewhat new to clawhammer style, the use of multiple tunings on the banjo may seem a bit confusing, and perhaps intimidating. This is especially true if you played guitar prior to learning banjo.

With the guitar, there is a “standard” tuning out of which most everything is played, and most guitarists seem to view alternate tunings as an esoteric consideration (even though they can sound incredible on that instrument as well).

Not so for the banjo.

I’ll be covering this subject a bit more in depth in the near future, but now let me say this: please do not be intimidated by alternate tunings. They make you sound better, and they make playing easier.

What’s more, you’ll find that I really just use two primary tunings for the majority of my tunes:

1) gDGBD, aka “standard” G, for G tunes. For A tunes, I raise this up two half steps to aEAC#E (since the pitch relationship between strings is the same in each of these, they aren’t viewed as separate tunings; merely, the same tuning adjusted for different keys), and

2) gCGCD, aka “double C”, for C tunes. For D tunes, I raise this up two half steps to aDADE, aka “double D”.

There are other tunings I use occasionally as well, but the above two are the mainstays.

And if I were forced to choose just one tuning to use for the rest of my days, it’d probably be the 2nd (double C/D), the tuning of choice for today’s tune: “Over the Waterfall.”

Learn From My Folly

When I first started playing clawhammer style banjo, I too was skeptical and apprehensive about alternate tunings. I had two strikes against me: I’d learned guitar before the banjo, AND I’d learned 3-finger bluegrass style before trying my hand at clawhammer (pun partially intended).

In 3-finger bluegrass banjo, gDGBD is considered the standard, thanks to the towering influence of Earl Scruggs on the genre.

But when I first got the nerve to move by banjo to “double C” tuning, it took me all of about 1.5 seconds to realize the folly of my prior apprehension. My banjo sounded amazing, as if it had just awoken for the first time. In fact, I was so worried I would lose that glorious sound that I didn’t re-tune for about 6 months!

So, once again, don’t be afraid of the alternate tunings. They exist for very good reason.

And today’s tune, “Over the Waterfall”, wouldn’t sound half as good without them.

Over the Waterfall

aDADE tuning, Brainjo Level 3

Notes on the tab:

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

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

Click here to subscribe to the tune of the week (if you’re not already a subscriber) and get a new tune every Friday, plus tabs to all the ones to date.

A few weeks ago, with the release of Big Liza as a tune of the week, I mentioned that my daughter Jules and I were busy rehearsing for our first full public performance.

That performance of The Unicorn Mountaineers took place late yesterday afternoon(the band logo below was Jules’s brilliant design – my mustache is a bit of artistic license on her part). Jules’s first show was almost literally a trial by fire, as the temperature was in the solid mid-90s at start time.

But I’m pleased to report that the event was a success. No tears were shed. No limbs were lost. The audience appeared to be enjoying themselves. And we were invited back to do it again.

This week’s tune, Say Darlin’ Say, is another song from that set, and it has bit of special significance for us.

You may recognize the lyrics from the classic lullaby “Hush Little Baby”, one my wife and I have sung many a time to both our kids when tucking them in at night (albeit to a different melody). Say Darlin’ Say was also the first song Jules and I ever played in front of an audience (back in 2011).

I tend to vary what I do a bit each time through on this tune, but have tried to tab out a few of the variations I typically play (the melody itself covers 6 measures, so below you have 3 variations).

Say Darlin’s Say

aDADE tuning, Brainjo level 3 

 

Notes on the tab:

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

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

Click here to subscribe to the tune of the week (if you’re not already a subscriber) and get a new tune every Friday, plus tabs to all the ones to date.

Despite popular culture’s attempts to pigeonhole it, I think the banjo is one of the most versatile instruments around. With the number of playing styles, tunings, setup possibilities, etc. you’d be hard pressed to find an instrument capable of a fitting in so well with such a variety of styles and moods.

This week’s tune, played out of the “A modal” tuning (aEADE, or gDGCD (“G modal) with a capo at the 2nd fret)) provides us with another opportunity to showcase that versatility. Raise one string from standard A tuning – a tuning that’s very well suited for bringing out the bright and joyful qualities of the banjo – and you’re instantly transported into a completely different world. A world where the sounds are ancient, mysterious, and brooding.

According to my research, Kitchen Girl was first “collected” by folklorist Alan Jabbour from fiddler Henry Reed of Galax, Virginia. It was then recorded by Jabbour’s “Hollow Rock String Band”, and it seems the rest was history. Many others followed suit, and it made its way into jam circles in short order.

It’s also one of those tunes that sounds great a variety of tempos, and with enough melodic breathing room to allow all those modal banjo tones to waft into the sonic ether.

In other words, no real need to get too speedy or fancy! 🙂

(p.s. – thanks to all for the kind words about last week’s tune with my daughter Jules. As you can imagine, getting to perform with her is a unique thrill for me, and I can’t express enough how much your words of encouragement and appreciation to her means to me.)

Kitchen Girl

aEADE tuning, Brainjo level 3-4

The notes in parentheses are “skip notes”, meaning they aren’t sounded by the picking finger (for a full tutorial on these, go here). And for more on reading tabs in general, check out my complete guide on reading banjo tabs.