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Bacon and eggs.

Abbott and Costello.

Modal tunes and banjos.

There’s just something special about modal tunes played on the banjo. It’s one of those pairings where each party is elevated by the presence of the other. Modal tunes just make the banjo sound extra good, and vice versa.

So, as you may have guessed, this must mean that there’s a modal tune up for today’s tune of the week. Not just any modal tune, but arguably the most popular modal tune of all, one that’s spread itself well beyond the confines of the Appalachian old-time tradition. That tune….is Shady Grove.

And while it’s been rendered in a multitude of instrumentations over the years, I’m personally still partial to the way it sounds all by its lonesome on the banjo. Vocal accompaniment is optional.

Like I said, there’s just something special about the banjo and modal tunes.

Shady Grove

gDGCD tuning, Brainjo level 2-3

Notes on the tab

As you can see, I’m playing this one on the gourd banjo, which is tuned down to dADGA. However, this is the same relative tuning as G modal, or gDGCD, which is where I’d usually play this tune on a modern, steel string strung banjo.

Skip Notes: The notes in the shaded box are “skip” notes, meaning they’re not actually sounded by the picking finger. Instead, you continue the clawhammer motion with your picking hand, but “skip” playing the note by not striking it (this is a technique used to add space and syncopation). The fret number you see in the shaded box is the suggested note to play should you elect to strike the string.

 

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Legend has it that Joe Coleman, after whom this tune is named, was accused and convicted of stabbing his wife to death, though he claimed innocence till the end. En route to his execution, it was said the he played the tune we now know as “Coleman’s March” on his fiddle. According to legend, he then offered said fiddle to anyone who could play the tune as well as he (source: “The Fiddler’s Companion”).

For me, the melody of this tune alone is enough to get me all choked up. Throw in this anecdote and, well, you might as well stick a fork in me…

Anyhow, this is one gorgeous tune. And you don’t really need to do much more than stick to the melody to make it sound great. In fact, I find that the more I restrain myself from superfluous fanciness, the better it tends to sound.

You’ll note in the video that I play an “up the neck” variation on the A part, which I’ve also included in the tab below.

Coleman’s March

aDADE tuning, Brainjo level 3

 

Up the Neck A Part Variation

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Only one tune I know of starts with the first five notes ascending straight up the D scale…Spotted Pony. Which makes it one of those tunes that’s almost immediately recognizable after it’s kicked off. It also makes for a great first tune to learn in “double D” tuning.

And it’s one of my favorite kind of tunes – relatively simple to play, but sounds great. I imagine this is largely why it’s become such a favorite at old-time jams. I’ve classified it here as Brainjo level 3, but that’s only on account of the very occasional drop thumb.

Who knew the D scale could sound so good?

Spotted Pony

aDADE tuning, Brainjo level 3

 

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I’m not sure where exactly I first heard Flowers of Edinburgh. It’s one of those tunes from the old-world (of the Gaelic lineage as you might imagine) that has since worked its way into multiple fiddling traditions. So a variety of places one might encounter it.

It’s a beautiful tune, and one that grabbed me at first listen.

Being a fiddle tune, you’ll find that there are a lot of notes packed into each measure. But as it turns out, most of those notes are fairly easy to access out of standard G tuning, making Flowers of Edinburgh well suited to a melodic treatment. I find the up the neck descending runs in the B part particularly fun to play.

Flowers of Edinburgh

gDGBD tuning, Brainjo level 3

Notes on the Tab

Alternate string hammer-ons: There are several alternate string hammer-ons in this arrangement, noted where you see a number underneath tab with a circle around it. The number represents the finger I typically use to execute the hammer-on.

For the up the neck positions in the B part, I recommend keeping the 1st string fretted at the 9th fret (with the middle finger) and the 2nd string fretted at the 8th fret (with the index) throughout the 11th measure, then barring the 1st and 2nd strings at the 2nd fret (with the index) throughout the 12th measure, then barring the 1st and 2nd strings at the 2nd fret (with the index) during the 13th measure.