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Several weeks ago I introduced you to Justin Manglitz, professional whiskey maker and fiddler extraordinaire, with the tune Rockingham Cindy.

The response was favorable. You seemed to enjoy his fiddling as much as I do, and the requests for more came in.

Given that he and I aim to please, we set about to do just that! We gave ourselves a name, The Georgia Jays, and got busy working on an album.

And I’m pleased to announce that today marks the release of said album: “Round Peak, Georgia“.

Justin and I are both especially fond of the music and musicians from the area of Round Peak, North Carolina, and for both of us this was really the gateway drug that hooked us both on this music forever.

So, naturally, we thought it appropriate to pull the music nearest and dearest to us from our first effort.

Today’s tune of the week, “John Henry,” is one of those tunes. Specifically, this is Fred Cockerham’s distinctive version, not the more widely known melody by the same name. This one has way more funk and grit.

I’m playing it here on Justin’s Mogi half fretless banjo, which I used on several of the tracks on the album. Here I’m tuned up to the key of A (aEAC#E), though on the album I was down a full step in the key of G (gDGBD). Feel free to take your pick of where to play it!

If you’re interested in purchasing, the album is available for sale either as a digital download or physical CD over at thegeorgiajays.com. To hear audio samples of every tune, go here.

Also, I’ve also created a “Banjo Players Edition” of the album, which includes the album, a book of banjo tabs for every tune on the album, solo fiddle jam tracks at performance and slowed speed, and the “How To Play Banjo With A Fiddler” video course – all the tools you need to take my place alongside Justin in our fiddle and banjo combo. More information on the Banjo Players Edition can be found here (note: if you’re a member of Breakthrough Banjo, you already have access to all of it).

We’ve already started making plans for our next effort, where we’ll be mining chestnuts from another musically fertile region of the country.

Thanks to all those who encouraged us, as you’ve given me a convenient excuse to play more tunes with Justin!

John Henry

aEAC#E tuning, Brainjo level 3-4

[ws-facebook-likebox url=”https://www.facebook.com/georgiajays” width=”340″ height=”500″ show_faces=”true” show_Header=”true” show_border=”false”]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.

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.

Last week we relaxed our pace a bit with the lovely “Dry and Dusty.”

Since those of you in the U.S. may still be emerging from the mass-turkey-ingestion-induced tryptophan fog, I thought it best to keep things on the slow and easy side for one more week with this week’s installment, “Winder Slide.”

In fact, I often link both of these two tunes together in my mind under the “slow and sweet D tune” category.

Winder Slide is actually a “modern old-time” tune — a relatively recent composition that still sounds as if it could’ve been around for a century or so. Written initially by fiddler Joe Larose in 1980, according to sources, it was modified at some point a few years later to add a B part.

Combine this with the fact that it’s also a bit crooked (i.e. it doesn’t conform to the classic fiddle tune form, thanks to the little tag thrown in at the 2nd to last measure) and it’s not surprising that there are several variations of this tune that tend to show up in jam circles.

But don’t let that intimidate you! This is not a difficult tune to get under your fingers, and well worth the effort. Plus, it makes for a nice medley when tagged onto last week’s tune.

Winder Slide

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.

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

If you’ve just listened to the above tune and are anywhere within reasonable proximity to a 5-stringed banjo, I defy you to resist the urge to go grab it and start trying to pick it out.

Originally introduced to the wider world as a fiddle tune by Frank Jenkins in 1927, in recent years “Wandering Boy” taken a life of its own as a solo banjo number. I think it’s easy to hear why. It’s an instantly likable and irresistible melody, and fits snugly inside the clawhammer rhythm.

You won’t hear it too often as a jam tune, which means you can feel completely free to learn and play it in any key. It actually works out well either in standard G or double C, but I think the latter tuning puts it in the best light.

Wandering Boy

gCGCD 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.

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.

Met her on the road, she danced on a board

Danced to a tune called Sugar in the Gourd,

Sugar in the gourd honey can’t get it out,

Only way to get the sugar gotta roll the gourd about

 

Ah, if only every romance began this way, maybe we wouldn’t have such an abysmal divorce rate.

But alas….

While the precise reason(s) why one would put sugar in a gourd remain somewhat unclear (and some potential explanations on the more…ahem…adult side), what is certain is that the tune named for the aforementioned act is an irresistible jam classic, and well deserving of a prominent place in your 5-string downpicking repertory.

This is definitely a ‘clear out the kitchen chairs and stomp your feet kind of tune’, so don’t be afraid to make it swing.

Sugar in the Gourd

gDGBD 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.