SandwichShortOfAPicnic
Legendary Member
I have so many repairs to do I'm burying my head in the sand by wasting time on the internet, but thats probably already entirely obvious 
Plans for today (2023)
- Thread starter PabloLerntKochen
- Start date
Everyone should have a dedicated banjo room, whether they play a banjo or not.
Everyone should have a dedicated banjo room, whether they play a banjo or not.
A room dedicated to banjos, accordions and bagpipes. That would make one great party house.
CD
blades
Ćber Member
Knife sharpening day. I sharpened 6 gyutos, two slicers, a utility and a parer. I had some time since it is Sunday so I took them all to a polished edge. The gyutos will slice through a sheet of paper with just the weight of the blade and my using only 2 fingers at the very end of the handle. Hopefully I can get through the day without cutting myself. 
The Velvet Curtain
Forum GOD!
- Joined
- 13 Oct 2012
- Local time
- 2:38 PM
- Messages
- 4,223
Banjo roomEveryone should have a dedicated banjo room, whether they play a banjo or not.
blades
Ćber Member
I wasn't even aware that the banjo is popular in the UK.
The Velvet Curtain
Forum GOD!
- Joined
- 13 Oct 2012
- Local time
- 2:38 PM
- Messages
- 4,223
Yep, used widely in folk music, most notably in Irish traditional music
Are you a lefty (as in handed)?
Iāll post this in honor of your banjo room:
I made that a couple of weeks ago for a fellow on another forum asking about that particular banjo. Thatās why I was yammering on so much about it.
When we were living in your fine country, back in the ā90ās, I signed up for a (very long) dayās ramble up and down the Brecon Beacons (which I understand have a new name now, but I donāt know what it is).
On the exhaustive ride over from RAF Upper Heyford, I got to talking with the fellow, and turned out he was a banjo enthusiast, but he was trying to teach himself and not getting very far (having the highest-pitched string on top can really mess with an organized mind).
I promised to pay him a visit soon after, and I did, and he kept a banjo in his office - you think Brit vs Yank begins and ends with language? Nope, it extends to banjos, as where Iām from, open G is the prevalent default tuning for a 5-string banjo, but there, it seems to be a C tuning.
After getting that straightened out, I played him a little of āOne Morning in May,ā one of those typically 18th-century sounding folk tunes thatās popular here in bluegrass circles:
One morning, one morning, one morning in May,
I spied a young couple, a-making their way.
One was a maiden so bright and so fair, the other a soldier and a brave volunteer.
They, in true folk fashion, fall deeply in love in the span of an afternoon, only for the duplicitous soldier to reveal āIāve a wife back in London, and children twice three,ā so tough luck for the maiden, I suppose.
Anyway, Iām rambling as I oft do when talking about banjos, but he kept describing to me what kind of things he wanted to play, but he didnāt know what to call it, but it wasnāt the 4-string flatpicked Irish stuff.
You know that scene from āA Charlie Brown Christmas,ā where Lucy rattles off a dozen or so phobias, until she gets to pantophobia (āthe fear of everything!ā), and Charlie jumps up, points at Lucy, and says, āThatās it!ā so forcefully that she tumbles backward?
Thatās more or less what happened with me. He went on about, āItās not that Irish stuff, plunk plink plonk, itās moreā¦cascading perhaps?ā¦like tink tink tink, quite fast, reallyā¦ā and Iād played/sang about two lines of the song when he jumped up, knocked his chair back, and shouted, āThatās it! Thatās it! What is that?ā
That, my friend, is Scruggs-style bluegrass banjo (which is not what Iām playing in that video above
).
The Velvet Curtain
Forum GOD!
- Joined
- 13 Oct 2012
- Local time
- 2:38 PM
- Messages
- 4,223
You are much more advanced than me, I am still trying to get my rolls fast and regular. I am only learning Scruggs style for now. I've had the banjo for a while but never really practaced enough to make progress, mainly because the house was cluttered and I didn't have anywhere nice or the headspace to settle with it. So now I have thrown all my junk out and created a nice space I am enjoying the process, I'm not sure what the neighbours think.Are you a lefty (as in handed)?
Iāll post this in honor of your banjo room:
View: https://youtu.be/H9VnrIZZslA
I made that a couple of weeks ago for a fellow on another forum asking about that particular banjo. Thatās why I was yammering on so much about it.
When we were living in your fine country, back in the ā90ās, I signed up for a (very long) dayās ramble up and down the Brecon Beacons (which I understand have a new name now, but I donāt know what it is).
On the exhaustive ride over from RAF Upper Heyford, I got to talking with the fellow, and turned out he was a banjo enthusiast, but he was trying to teach himself and not getting very far (having the highest-pitched string on top can really mess with an organized mind).
I promised to pay him a visit soon after, and I did, and he kept a banjo in his office - you think Brit vs Yank begins and ends with language? Nope, it extends to banjos, as where Iām from, open G is the prevalent default tuning for a 5-string banjo, but there, it seems to be a C tuning.
After getting that straightened out, I played him a little of āOne Morning in May,ā one of those typically 18th-century sounding folk tunes thatās popular here in bluegrass circles:
One morning, one morning, one morning in May,
I spied a young couple, a-making their way.
One was a maiden so bright and so fair, the other a soldier and a brave volunteer.
They, in true folk fashion, fall deeply in love in the span of an afternoon, only for the duplicitous soldier to reveal āIāve a wife back in London, and children twice three,ā so tough luck for the maiden, I suppose.
Anyway, Iām rambling as I oft do when talking about banjos, but he kept describing to me what kind of things he wanted to play, but he didnāt know what to call it, but it wasnāt the 4-string flatpicked Irish stuff.
You know that scene from āA Charlie Brown Christmas,ā where Lucy rattles off a dozen or so phobias, until she gets to pantophobia (āthe fear of everything!ā), and Charlie jumps up, points at Lucy, and says, āThatās it!ā so forcefully that she tumbles backward?
Thatās more or less what happened with me. He went on about, āItās not that Irish stuff, plunk plink plonk, itās moreā¦cascading perhaps?ā¦like tink tink tink, quite fast, reallyā¦ā and Iād played/sang about two lines of the song when he jumped up, knocked his chair back, and shouted, āThatās it! Thatās it! What is that?ā
That, my friend, is Scruggs-style bluegrass banjo (which is not what Iām playing in that video above
If I could go back and give my younger self one piece of advice, it would be āPut those damn fingerpicks on, and leave āem on until you get used to āem!ā
I was rarely in a position to play Scruggs-style in a band setting, so I didnāt bother with them, since I didnāt need the volume and clarity fingerpicks yield. Years later, when opportunities did arise, Iād developed a real lack of precision with them and was very much behind where I should have been.
Lullabelle
Midlands, England
It was a bit of a joke between us which then ended up at his brother's house, TVC had spoken a few times about getting one and I jokingly exclaimed that I would divorce him if he did. His brother emailed me to ask if it would be OK if he and their other brother bought him one for his 50th birthday, they were worried it would cause a problem between us so I assured them it was just a joke and it was perfectly OK if they wanted to buy one for him. I actually like the sound of them being played.
MrsT will leave the room (or strongly suggest I leave the room) if Iām playing any bluegrass banjo.
If Iām playing clawhammer/frailing banjo, like in that video I posted, she quite likes that, finds it somewhat soothing, which isnāt a word you hear associated with banjos very often.
My parents were exactly the opposite, and when I was learning, if I played anything like that above, my dad would spit out in disgust, āFrailinā the banjer?! More like failinā the banjer, if you ask me!ā
SandwichShortOfAPicnic
Legendary Member
Ok Iāve done the prevaricating thing for so long now I am tight for time.
I must focus on what actually needs to be done before I completely sabotage myself!
If Iām on here again before this evening tell me to go away!!
I must focus on what actually needs to be done before I completely sabotage myself!
If Iām on here again before this evening tell me to go away!!
Sounds like they'll be well-deserved!
MrsT is pulling out of the driveway as I type - off to Cleveland for a four-day work conference. This will be the longest sheās driven by herself since her stroke in 2013, but my doctor wouldnāt clear me for a three-hour car trip so soon after my stuff last week, so away she goes.
Soā¦plans for today: work, watch cheesy Euro horror flicks, eat pizza.
Soā¦plans for today: work, watch cheesy Euro horror flicks, eat pizza.