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Some people call her Molly.

Some call her Polly.

Who’s right?

Turns out everyone is. This week’s tune first appeared in print around the turn of the 18th Century, one in London with “Molly” as the title character, one in Dublin with “Polly.”

The version played here is based largely on the fiddling of Tommy Jarrell, who used the latter moniker. Hence, so do I.

And there’s even a movie inspired by the tune, described as “a romantic drama of smiles and tears.”

There it is.

 

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(NOTE: For those considering adding a Brainjo banjo, this one is played on a “Hobart” model. Click here if you’d like to learn more, or claim one in the next batch.)

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Polly Put the Kettle on

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.

The “Galax lick” appears in this tune in the 1st and 3rd measures, as indicated by the up arrow. For those unfamiliar with the technique, you’ll find a playlist of videos demonstrating this and other techniques in this article all about reading the tabs.

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

[RELATED: 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

 

 

 

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

 

“Ducks in the millpond, Geese in the ocean;
Hug them pretty girls, If I take a notion.”

So begin the words that are occasionally sung to today’s installment of the Tune of the Week, “Ducks on the Millpond.”

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(NOTE: For those considering adding a Brainjo banjo, this one is played on a “Hobart” model. Click here if you’d like to learn more, or claim one in the next batch.)

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Understandably, this tune is sometimes confused with the fiddle tune “Ducks on the Pond.” So if you find yourself in the company of other old-time-fiddle-tune-loving musicians and want to offer this one up as a selection, make sure you know the pond to which you’re referring.

Most versions of this tune are traced back to fiddler Emmett Lundy of Grayson County, VA (1865-1953), who was recorded playing it by Alan Lomax in 1941. Lundy reportedly learned most of this tunes from local fiddler Greenbury Leonard, who fellow musicians referred to as “the best there ever was.”

Leonard was born sometime in the early 19th Century. Where he picked up “Ducks on the Millpond” – if he is indeed Lundy’s source – is unknown.

So more than likely, it’s a tune that’s survived two centuries, at the least. I say we keep it around for many more!

 

Playing Notes: The “Galax lick” appears in this tune in the 10th measure, as indicated by the up arrow. For those unfamiliar with the technique, you’ll find a playlist of videos demonstrating this and other techniques in this article all about reading the tabs.

 

 

Ducks on the Millpond

aDADE tuning, Brainjo level 3

 

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.

[RELATED: 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

 

 

 

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

For this week’s tune, we’re once again mining the catalog of Mississippi John Hurt, only this time we have a song without words. Or a tune, as we like to say.

Those of you familiar with the tune “Buckdancer’s Choice” will note many similarities, and apparently MJH also referred to this tune as both “Stocktime” and “Buck Dance” (click here to listen to Hurt’s original version that inspired this Tune of the Week). Whether they are tune clones, brothers, or cousins depends on your own categorization schema for melodical ancestry.

Regardless, it’s a delightful tune with a single repeating melodic theme and a lot of bounce. It is a tune for buckdancing, after all.

Much of that bounce comes from a healthy dose of syncopation, or the playing of melody notes on the offbeats. This is a signature of Mississippi John Hurt’s style, and of country blues guitar in general.

If you’ve followed along here for any length of time, you’ll know that my favorite technique for adding syncopations is through the use of syncopated skips. No surprise then that you’ll find a healthy serving of them here.

(RELATED: Click here for the full video tutorial on Syncopated Skips, an excerpt from the Breakthrough Banjo course).

Also note the use of the 5th string in this arrangement as a melody note (1st and 3rd measures). This doesn’t happen all that often in clawhammer banjo (though was a common device for the downpicking minstrel players), but here it’s another means of adding syncopation.

Since with the clawhammer stroke the 5th string is typically played on the offbeat, any time we have a syncopated melody note that’s the same pitch as our 5th, we can call into action for melodic duty (note that the ensuing note will almost always be a skip note, so as to highlight the syncopation).

As mentioned, this tune essentially consists of a single repeating melodic theme. Hurt plays multiple variations, the most common of which I’ve tried to replicate in this arrangement.

[NOTE: For those considering adding a Brainjo banjo, this one is played on a “Hobart” model. Click here if you’d like to learn more, or claim one in the next batch]

 

Slowed Down Video Tutorial for “Stocktime”

I’m currently in the process of creating slowed down tutorial videos in the Breakthrough Banjo course for the songs in the Vault (click here to see a list of the songs currently in the Vault), and below is the one for Stocktime. Given the ample number of skips, syncopations, and the use of the 5th string as melody as described above, I thought some of you may find this of use:

 

Stocktime (aka Buck Dance)

gCGCD 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.

[RELATED: 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

 

 

 

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

 

Apparently, rye straw and the digestive tract of the carnivorous canine aren’t the best of friends.

And the ingestion of said straw produces painful digestive upheaval in the unfortunate puppy who does the ingesting.

Such is the backstory for this week’s tune, “Rye Straw.” And that backstory provides the context for understanding one of its other names, “The Joke on the Puppy.”

On the fiddle, the opening drones played on the high strings on the B part are said to mimic the wails of the distressed young pup as he attempts to pass the grass.

There are words to this tune as well, and typically revolve around a dog excreting all manner of absurd items.

Which is why, outside of the cultural norm eroding effects of fermented beverages, you’ll almost always hear this one played as an instrumental.

Ah, the things we’d have never learned if humans always had smartphones to pass the time.

Scatological references aside, this has always been one of my favorites.

[NOTE: For those considering adding a Brainjo banjo, this one is played on a “Hobart” model. Click here if you’d like to learn more, or claim one in the next batch]

 

Rye Straw

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.

[RELATED: 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

 

 

 

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

Birthing the Brainjo

Recently, after Tim Gardner (master luthier at Cedar Mountain banjos) and I put the final touches on our most recent batch of Brainjo banjos, we took a break to share a few banjo and fiddle duets and hear these banjos come to life for the first time (a special thrill that never gets old).

Tim is not only a world class banjo maker, he’s also a master fiddler, as you’ll hear in the video (and he’s a great banjo player, too!).

In fact, I think his expert musicianship is a big part of why his banjos not only look great, but sound and play so fantastic.

The tune we play here, “Rock the Cradle, Joe,” has long been a favorite of mine. Turns out it was a favorite of Tim’s too.

(RELATED: The next batch of Brainjo banjos is currently in production, and due for completion next month. There are a couple left to be claimed, so a chance to snag one with a really short wait. Click here for details.)

Rock the Cradle, Joe

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.

[RELATED: 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