Banjo Hangout Newest 100 Clawhammer and Old-Time Songs

A simple version on a homemade gourd banjo. The strings are loose so slaps around a bit.

A medley of three "New Old Time" tunes by Brad Kolodner from Brad and Ken Kolodner's first album, "Otter Creek." A multitrack recording I made back in 2013 featuring clawhammer banjo (Double D tuning), occasional hammered dulcimer, and bass. Headphones / earbuds help with the sounds.

We don't often get a French Canadian tune on Tune of the Week. This one is a charming dance tune, said to be Quebecois, which must mean that Quebec has its own style of music. The B part is crooked and adds to the charm. The source recording played it much more quickly and it must have made for a happy, lively dance.

Quebecois fiddle tune from the playing of Louis Boudreault. Tune Of The Week 5/11/2021

Based on the version by Jon Wilkes

Calvin Cole, recorded by the Library of Congress in the 1930's, played banjo for Peter Hoover in the 1960's and a CD was released with 37 cuts. It was said that in his 80's, Calvin was still dancing at the local Fancy Gap dances like he was a teenager. And his banjo speed on Western Country was twice mine!

Multitrack recording in 6 tracks: Muted banjo, guitar, bass (Michael Allen marimbula), fiddle, unmuted banjo, "clappers." The open back banjo is a Pisgah Rambler Special "foam-muted" on one track and and unmuted on another, both tuned to G tuning. Fiddle is a cheaper Hermann Luger model cross-tuned to GDGD.

Double D tuning. Played on new 11" open back with skin head

John "Dick" Summers was a prolific playing fiddler from Indiana, born before 1900. This week's Tune of the Week features one of his tunes, offered by Carl Baron who played it in the 1970's with the folk who actually recorded Summers. It's a happy beauty of a tune -- Lowery's Quadrille -- perhaps for dancing way back when.

Banjo - aDAde Recorded for TOTW 10-22-2021, the day before uploading.

Banjo - aDAde Version I recorded in 2000 for my self produced CD "Banjo Stuff".

Mashup 1

Adapted from the playing of Will Keys. Double C Tuning.

Elizabeth Cotten learned this tune in 1910 from a man aged about 50. She added the words.

An old church song from the playing of Elizabeth Cotten. I try to stay fairly close to her simple up-picking style, though, being left-handed, she did not use the thumb string. I made some noise when turning off the recording.