Episode 15: June Apple

Wish I was a June Apple,
Hangin’ on a tree,
Every time a pretty gal passed,
She’d take a little bite of me

Indeed.

Whether you share a wish to transmogrify yourself into a sweet, pomaceous fruit to attract the attention of pulchritudinous passersby, or you simply want to learn another great tune on the banjo, you’re in luck! For this installment of the Core Repertoire Series, we’ve got another classic of a tune: June Apple.

June Apple is often grouped under the “modal” tune umbrella, meaning it’s got a bit of that eerie quality that makes it feel ancient. It also means it gives you an excuse to use the word “Mixolydian” in ordinary conversation, upon which you’ll be immediately bestowed 20 additional IQ points by anyone within listening distance, regardless of whether you’re capable of elaborating further on the topic.

So now that you’re sold on its merits, let’s learn it!

First up, a multisensory presentation of the final arrangement:

Step 1: Know Thy Melody

If you’ve followed along this series at all, you know that there’s no passing go till you’ve got the tune in your noggin’. Which means if you’re not familiar with June Apple, or need to re-acquaint yourself, then you’ve got some listening to do first. As always, I prefer to hear how these fiddle tunes sound on the fiddle, and then adapt them for clawhammer banjo.

So, here are a few for your auditory pleasure, compliments of the fine folks at the Fiddle Hangout. Listen until you can hum or sing the melody, and have a good sense of the apple’s essence.

Version One

Version Two 

Version Three

Step 2: Find the Melody Notes

Now let’s seek out them melody notes on the fretboard. First off, get yourself in our favored tuning for A tunes, aEAC#E. Now, here’s what I hear as the stripped down melody of this one.

Basic Melody:

And in tabulational format, it looks thusly:

Step 3:  Add Some Clawhammery Stuff

Now, to get a basic clawhammer arrangement that will sound quite nice paired with a fiddler, let’s add a “ditty” stroke after each of those downbeats from our melody above (the notes in bold). Here’s what that looks like:

And here’s what it sounds like:

Clawhammerated Apple:

And, as I said, if we pair this version with June Apple on the fiddle, we have something quite nice sounding:

Fiddle Added:

Step 4: Spice the Apple

Here’s where you can add your own personal stamp by dressing up this basic outline any way you see fit. Add in more of those melody notes, or embellish with some well timed hammer ons, pull offs, or syncopations. As you do so, just remember not to sacrifice rhythm at the altar of fanciness.

You can hear my final rendition in the video above. You’ll note that I tend to favor a fairly rhythmic style for this one, but that’s just personal preference. Here’s the final version in tab:

Step 5: Practice Smart

As you build this one up to speed, don’t forget to practice this one along with your jam partners at oldtimejam.com. June Apple, like the other tunes in the core repertoire series, is on the old-time “top 20” playlist.

Go to the Core Repertoire Series Table of Contents

In my last post, I mentioned I’d be using the Brainjo Level system for any clawhammer banjo tabs and arrangements I release going forward, to make it easier for you to select and learn tunes that are appropriate for your current ability. To that end, I’ve just released a book of Level 1 arrangements for clawhammer banjo.

You can hear how all these sound in the video playlist below.

The songs in the book are:

• Bile Dem Cabbage Down
• Bury Me Beneath the Willow
• Cripple Creek
• Darling Nellie Gray
• Long Journey Home
• Worried Man Blues
• Will the Circle Be Unbroken
• You Are My Sunshine

As stated, these are all Brainjo Level 1 arrangements, meaning they draw only upon techniques covered in the “Clawhammer in 8 Essential Steps series“.

They’re targeted towards those in the earlier phases of the learning process, but they still sound great. I’ve also included the words to each of the songs, as I encourage you to sing the melody before you start trying to learn it.

Level 2 arrangements for these songs are taught as part of the Breakthrough Banjo course if you tackle these and want to take things even further.

If you’re part of the 8 Essential Steps to Clawhammer newsletter, then you should have received an email with the link to download the book. If you’re not a subscriber yet, click the button below to grab It now:

Get the Songboook