1903 - The Oldest Fretted Instrument Magazine In The World BANJO MANDOLIN No. 868 Winter 2012 - 2012 GUITAR €5.00 Ron Hinkle Music in this issue Plectrum Banjo: Two Yuletide Tunes (arr. Vince Miller); Mandolin: Peaceful Isle (Phil Barnes); Banjo: Narcissus (arr. Emile Grimshaw); Guitar: Mary’s Boy Child (arr. Max Brittain) All Music in Notation and Tablature A CLIFFORD ESSEX PUBLICATION - THE QUALITY MAGAZINE FOR MUSICIANS TWO EARLY MINSTREL MUSIC BOOKS Book One Contents Book Two Contents BACKSIDE ALBANY BOLTON CLOG HORNPIPE BONJA DAN EMMETT’S REEL JIM CROW HAYE’S CLOG HORNPIPE LONG TAIL BLUE JIM LEE’S JIG THE OTHER SIDE OF JORDAN SPALDING’S JIG LUCY NEAL NIAGARA POLKA THE COAL BLACK ROSE ROARING JELLY JIG TURKEY IN THE STRAW ZIP COON SUN GO DOWN, UP COME DE MOON THE EARLY BIRD LUCY LONG THE A1 SAND DANCE AMY ROSY LEE DANDY JIM AWAY TO THE SUGAR CANE FIELD GENERAL POPE’S JIG BELLE OF ALABAMA THE BOATMAN’S DANCE BESSIE’S GRAVE THE JUBILEE ELLEN BAYNE LON MORRIS’S JIG HURRAH FOR MY HANSOM CAR PEA NUT GIRL MARY GRAY TONAWANDA HORNPIPE MINNIE MOORE PEARL WALTZ NELLY WAS A LADY THE GAL WITH THE ROGUISH EYE SAVORY’S JIG ROSA LEE Early Minstrel Music Books One and Two €10.00 each, plus postage UK: €1.50 Elsewhere: €3.00 Clifford Essex Tel: 01485 529323 www.cliffordessex.net Buy both books and postage is free. Offer only available to BMG subscribers until the next issue of BMG is published. Subscribers outside the UK postage is €1.00 For a PayPal invoice email: [email protected] 99 1903 CONTENTS The Peabody Instruments Anthony Lis Jazz Guitar - Minor Chord Scales : 2 Phil Jones Harmonics on Steel Guitar Maurice Hipkiss Eddie Lang Technique : 8 The Return of the Banjoline Sean Moyses Grimshaw Plectrum Banjo Technique : 4 Ron Hinkle From a Bath Chair Richard Ineson Wrockin’ with the Wrinkly Wriffers The John Bright Column Humour Cover Picture : Ron Hinkle Music Supplement : Two Yuletide Tunes : (Plec. Banjo): arr. Vince Miller Peaceful Isle : (Mandolin): Phil Barnes Narcissus : [Nevin] (Banjo) arr. Emile Grimshaw Mary’s Boy Child : (Guitar): arr. Max Brittain Max Brittain - Jazz Guitarist Phil Jones Plectrum Guitar Endings : 3 Don Roberts Tenor Banjo Breaks : 3 Bluegrass Mandolin John Baldry BMG Tape Club (Hawaiian Guitar Section): John Marsden The Banjo Story : 3 A.P. Sharpe The Clifford Essex Weaver David Wade Fingerstyle Ukulele : 4 Ray Woods Making your own Guitar : 6 Roger Dalby Bluegrass Banjo : 8 David Cotton Bob Shank - Appalachian The Eddie Peabody Project : 4 Georgette Twain Fun with the Bass! I tried not to be Rude Richard Crabtree Remembering Bert Bassett Correspondence Musical Terms / By the Way Winners at the MBF / For Sale Hands Across the Sea 2012 98 100 101 102 103 104 106 B MG PUBLISHED IN MARCH, JUNE, SEPTEMBER and DECEMBER BY CLIFFORD ESSEX MUSIC CO., LTD. 7 ROSE WALK, WICKEN GREEN, FAKENHAM, NORFOLK, NR21 7QG Tel - 01485 529323 Email - [email protected] 107 108 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 125 126 127 128 EDITED BY CLEM VICKERY The Editor does not necessarily agree with the opinions expressed by his contributors. All items offered for inclusion in the next issue must arrive at the address above by 1st February. All articles and music in BMG are the copyright of the authors unless otherwise stated, and no material may be copied in any form, or for any purpose without prior permission from the owner. Application for permission must be made in the first instance to the Editor of BMG No. 868 Winter 2012 Early Minstrel Music Book 1 A Review by Mike Moss Of all musical instruments, none has been as deeply and intimately associated with a single genre as the banjo and minstrel music. An instrument designed to imitate those of the African slaves, the banjo became a part of the minstrel show in the 1830s and remained as such, in all styles ranging from stroke style to plectrum, for well over a century: the BBC’s Black and White Minstrel Show, for instance, was aired on television until 1978, and endured as a stage show until 1987. Nowadays, due to its offensive nature and the evolution of society, the minstrel show is often seen as an embarrassment and is rarely mentioned; and yet, some of the most enduring melodies in the history of popular culture – such as Swanee River or Camptown Races – were born from the minstrel phenomenon. There are plenty of books published which explore the early styles of minstrel banjo – that is, how the minstrels historically played the banjo – but this book is not one of them. As its title indicates, the goal of this book is to explore minstrel music, whether or not it was written for the banjo; as such, this selection includes arrangements of songs or pieces originally written for the piano-forte, specifically arranged for the modern fingerstyle five-string banjo. The selection presents a general overview of the music in the genre, ranging from an arrangement of Bonja, originally a song with piano-forte accompaniment, and one of the first songs about the banjo and African Americans, to a broad selection of songs and dances such as the ever-famous Turkey in the Straw, whose now-stereotypical use in cartoons was consecrated by its premiere in the 1928 Mickey Mouse cartoon, ‘Steamboat Willie’. The usefulness of this book as a cultural artefact is immediately apparent: for instance, many scholarly publications point out that, in spite of their claims that they were playing authentic African tunes, the minstrels’ music was primarily influenced by English, Scottish and Irish music; however, actually playing the tunes allows the reader to experience this fact first hand. Thus, playing the tunes in this book can be seen as an active way of studying musical and cultural history. B.M.G. 100 Winter 2012 ANTHONY LIS ON PEABODY On September 21st, the National Music Museum and Center for the Study of the History of Musical Instruments in Vermillion, South Dakota unveiled an exhibit including six instruments owned by banjo virtuoso Eddie Peabody. (Located on the campus of the University of South Dakota, the National Music Museum holds an impressive array of over 15,000 American, European, and nonWestern instruments, including a mandolin built by Antonio Stradivari [1680], a Stradivari guitar [1700], and a custom-built B. B. King ‘Lucille’-model Gibson electric guitar [1997].) The instruments in the NMM exhibit are part of an eightinstrument collection donated to the museum in May by Peabody’s second son, George Ro ber t P eabo d y. T he assemblage, previously housed in the New Orleans Jazz Museum—includes a mandocello, two acoust ic banjo lines, t hree elect ric banjolines, and two plectrum banjos. George Peabody—explaining the purpose of his gift in a May article in the Argus Leader newspaper (in nearby Sioux Falls, SD) related that: “I want to let others see my father’s instruments, enjoy them, and perhaps listen to some of the music that came from them.” NMM visitors, via a self-guided multimedia tour, will be able to hear audio examples of Eddie Peabody’s instruments, along with historical information. Eddie Peabody’s mandocello (the one such-instrument he owned) was assembled by the Vega company in Boston around 1920. (A mandolin tuned like a ‘cello, the instrument provided the baritone voice in turn-of-thelast-century mando lin orchestras). Peabody used his mando cello in vaudeville performances of the 1920’s and in the March 1928 Vitaphone short ‘Banjoland’ (in which he performed five selections with his then-prot†g†, Jimmy Maisel); Peabody also played the inst r ument in t he 1937 P a r a m o u n t s ho r t ‘ H u l a Heaven’ (offering a circa threeand-a-half minute, tremolo-laden rendition of ‘Aloha Oe’ roughly two-thirds of the way through the film). Mandocello Eddie Peabody’s two acoustic banjolines were assembled by Vega sometime around 1930. Peabody’s contribut ion to banjoline-evolution involved placing a violin mute on the bridge to produce a softer sound. The banjoline on the right—with a sunburst finish—was featured in Peabody’s 1943 film ‘Strum Fun’, during a segment in which he serenades a young woman with a tremolo-filled rendition of Eliseo Grenet’s sentimental tune ‘Marquita’. Banjoline In a 10th May interview with South Dakota Public Radio, George Peabody related that Bill Nelson, then-president of Vega, produced the first electric banjoline for his father (at his father’s urging) in the late 1950’s. Peabody noted that the instrument was “very, very popular” in his father’s stage performances, particularly when he played Hawaiian numbers. Eddie Peabody featured the electric banjoline on two early1960’s Dot LP’s, Eddie Peabody Plays Smo-o-o-thies [1963] and the Hawaiian-tinged follow-up, Eddie Peabody Plays More Smoo-o-thies [1964], where half of the tracks were Island-themed, including ‘Blue Hawaii’ and ‘Beyond the Reef’. Peabody’s electric banjolines include a Vega prototype made in Boston in late-winter 1957, a Fender prototype assembled in Fullerton, California in early 1965, and a model produced by the Rickenbacker company in S a nt a Ana , C a lifo r n ia i n December 1968. Geo rge Peabody related in his SDPR interview that Bill Nelson gave h is fa t h e r V eg a ’ s e le c t r ic banjo line pat ent in t he lat e 1950’s or early 1960’s; Leo Fender, founder of the Fender Winter 2012 Electric Instrument Ma n u fact u r ing Co mp a ny, expressed interest in manufacturing the instrument, but a long-term bout with a streptococcal infection forced Fender to sell his company to C.B.S. The patent was released and subsequently picked up by Rickenbacker, where companyhead Francis C. Hall at last effected mass-production of the instrument (with the finished product looking quite similar to a hollow-body electric guitar). Peabody’s plectrum banjos (Vegavox IV and V models) were manufactured by Vega about 1958 and 1969. In his SDPR int er v iew, Geo rge Peabody recalled his father personally assembling the Vegavox IV for him; the back of the resonator (likely assembled in the 1930s) features a handcarved version of the Peabody family crest. Eddie Peabody utilized the Vegavox V in the NBC-TV special ‘Johnny Carson Presents the Sun City Scandals’. (The music-andcomedy feature, — including two-dozen entertainers over age sixty-five, — was filmed in suburban Los Angeles in summer 1970, with Peabody playing his Vegavox V in a jazz sextet led by a drum-playing Carson. Ironically, the program aired exactly one month to the day after Peabody’s November 1970 death from a stroke). C o n c er n i n g t he N M M ’ s acquisition of the Rickenbacker electric banjo line, Fender electric banjoline prototype, and Vega plectrum banjos, the NMM’s Curator of String Instruments, Arian Sheets, remarked in the 18th May edition of the Vermillion (SD) Plain Tal k: “We d idn’t previously have a postwar Rickenbacker electric . . . and B.M.G. Fender instrument. And Vega of course is one of the better ma nu fact ur er s o f fr et t ed instruments throughout the 20th century, and also of very, very fine examples of high-end plectrum banjos”. Vegavox V The NMM constructed a large display case to showcase Eddie Peabody’s instruments, along with some related ephemera, also donated by George Peabody (including LP-covers and a Vega resonator from circa 1928). At the opening-reception, George, prefacing a screening of ‘Hula Heaven’, thanked the NMM “for finding a home for Dad’s instruments”. The NMM bookstore is selling George Peabody’s Man With the Banjo (Wheatmark, 2011), a fictionalized account of his father’s musical and militaryintelligence career in the 1930’s. In 1935, Eddie Peabody—via an arrangement with Franklin Roosevelt—was commissioned in the US Naval Reserve and cland est inely t rained for reconnaissance-work, which he undertook during his 1938 101 European tour. (Peabod y snapped photos of Nazi antiaircraft fortifications and a secretly-constructed U-boat plying the River Elbe in Hamburg. He had to be hurried o ut o f G er ma n y a ft e r entertaining Adolf Hit ler, Hermann Goering, and Heinrich Himmler at a private party, when the Gestapo discovered his Navy background and realized he might be conducting espionage.) The National Music Museum Thanks to George Peabody for supplying high-quality photos of his father’s instruments, to Arian Sheets for providing detailed in fo r mat io n abo ut t he instruments’ dates, modelnumbers, and place-of-assembly, and to Karl Gehrke for providing a recording of his 10 May SDPR interview with Peabody. Helmut Rheingans Luthier Maker of Open-back Banjos, Mountainbanjos, Bansitars. Top quality repair work undertaken. www.orbmusic.co.uk Tel. 01433 631907 B.M.G. 102 Winter 2012 Jazz Guitar - Minor Chord Scales - Part 2 by Phil Jones Moving on from where we left off last time, we are now building similar chord scale patterns on different string groups. Beginning from the first position on the inner 4 strings ie: the 5th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd this time we are using the scale for Bb Minor so that, again, we can run the unbroken scale up and down the fingerboard. Again we will build our chords on the melodic minor which differs whether it is ascending or descending and conveniently includes the chords we need: Figure 1 – (Bb minor scale) As before, practice the sequence ‘as written’ to begin with then vary the style and the rhythm in as many ways as you can think of – bass note then chord – arpeggios – etc. and then, when you are happy with the scale pattern in the key of ‘Bb minor’, try transposing it to all the other keys. After that you can try and mix and match the new scale shapes with those from the previous issue. The following chord scale which uses the top 4 strings ie: the 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st could be considered more suited to melody chord playing than for comping but, as previously, it is included here for the sake of completion. Figure 2 – (Eb minor scale) Practice this as per previous examples and then integrate this form with the others. Of course there are many, many, chord shapes over and above those shown so far in this series of articles, but if you work these in all keys they will help you to handle just about any chord sequence you are likely to encounter and bring you a step closer to a total understanding of this two foot piece of wood we all struggle to master. JAZZ GUITAR STRINGS - CHROME TAPE FLATS Medium 13 - 56. Heavy 14 - 58. Light 12 - 54. Super Light 10 - 50 ‡8.95 a set + ‡1.00 postage for any amount. Clifford Essex Tel: 01485 529323 Email: [email protected] Why not treat your playing friends this Christmas? Buy them a 2013 subscription for BMG. We will send them this issue absolutely free, with your compliments, and season’s g r e e t i n g s . A o ne ye a r subscription to BMG in the UK is ‡20.00 B.M.G. Winter 2012 103 HARMONICS ON STEEL GUITAR by Maurice Hipkiss As I have included harmonics in some of my steel guitar arrangements, I thought it may be a good idea to do a short article on the different types. I have found that many players shy away from using them probably because of the fact that if you do miss one they are often very exposed within your playing, and immediat ely noticed by your audience. However, they are a great vehicle for your musical expressiveness. There are two types of harmonics (sometimes called chimes) Natural and Artificial. Natural harmonics are normally played by lightly placing the edge of your left hand (bar hand) on certain frets, they sound best at the 12th, 7th, 5th, 19th and 24th frets. If you have a basic tuning in C (e.g. C6 tuning) frets 12th, 5th and 24th will give C chords and fret 7th and 19th will give you G chords. If you are in the key of C and want to finish the piece on a ‘Perfect Cadence’ (5 to 1) this can be done in harmonics quite easily. If you use the C tuning, an E chord can be achieved at the 4th fret and the 9th, a C chord can be achieved at the 17th, and a B flat chord at the 22nd fret, although these are much weaker. Artificial Harmonics The playing of Artificial Harmonics requires much more care in their execution. These can be played on any fret and on any st ring. The simp ler harmonics you can produce are the ones where you stop the strings with the edge of your right hand, resting lightly on the strings twelve frets above the bar position, and pick the strings with your thumb. Make sure your palm is parallel to the frets. You lift the right hand immediately after picking so that the notes ring out clearly. If not, they will be damped. T hese are called ‘pal m harmonics’. The one problem that you may get with the execution of these harmonics is the fact that you cannot see the spot where you need to touch the string or strings with your palm because the rest of your hand is blocking your view. As you are picking with your thumb, use the spot where your thumb picks the string for a particular fret and remember this position. You will find you will get more adept at this as time goes on. With palm harmonics you can pick several strings resulting in a chord of harmonics. Since the theoretical aspects are the same for both types of harmonics the right hand palm can produce artificial harmonics by stopping a barred string or strings 5th, 7th and 19th frets above the bar as well. Also with palm harmonics it is possible to strike two strings together, harmonic one string and leave the other as a natural note. e.g. strike E and G notes together, harmonic the lower note E but keep the G at its natural pitch. Now the E is an octave higher. Instead of a 3rd interval it now becomes a 6th interval. There is another way of obtaining Artificial Harmonics which takes the small amount of guess work out of the equation. This is by using the tip of your right hand ring finger again using your thumb to pick the strings. With this technique you can see exactly where the tip of your finger touches the strings. Your thumb is tucked in behind your ring finger about an inch or so further up the neck of the guitar. With this technique, string selection and placement of the f in g er is ver y pr ec is e. Depending on the sound you want, you can go between natural, palm and finger harmonics to create different effects. By using all three techniques it is possible to play any note or configuration of notes anywhere on your guitar neck in harmonics. Artificial harmonics can also be achieved using the knuckle of the little finger on the right hand, but I prefer using the tip of my ring finger as this is more precise. Do n’t be fr ight ened o f harmonics; relax and you will realise they are easier to execute than you thought. Whatever style you play on your steel guitar, from classical music to jazz, use harmonics, — they will add a new dimension to your playing. The Resonator The 4 String Banjo Newsletter of BANJOS UNLIMITED Published Quarterly Yearly Rates USA - $13.00. Canada - $18.00 Overseas - $25.00 [ US Funds Only ] Payments via PayPal to: BANJOS UNLIMITED [email protected] • Ask for a free copy • [email protected] www.theresonator.com The Resonator P.O. Box 101025, Pittsburgh PA 15237, USA 104 B.M.G. Winter 2012 EDDIE LANG TECHNIQUE PART EIGHT In this issue we are going to take a look at a single note solo played by Eddie on a recording he made with Frankie Trumbauer and Bix Beiderbecke in 1927. Under the title of ‘For No Reason At All’ the track was originally released on the album ‘Bix and Tram, Volume 2’ with the original catalogue number ‘Columbia CL 845’. It’s on You Tube and is well worth a listen. The tune is a typical 32 bar ‘AABA’ composition—(an 8 bar theme repeated with slight variation, a contrasting middle 8, and a recap of the original 8), Eddie’s is the third chorus in and instead of just running the chords or building on the earlier solos, Eddie lays down a whole new instant composition beautifully presented in a well sculpted AABA melody. The first technique to note is his re-use of his improvisatory material - having created his theme instead of dashing on to new material he allows it to develop naturally. Compare bars 1 to 4 with 9 to 12 etc. Almost all of the solo is played on the first two strings, as can be clearly discerned from the recording. This keeps things fairly high and gives the sound of the plain steel strings a chance to cut through or pass over the sound of the horns. This allows us to note a second technique, Eddie plays the first 4 bar musical statement in the 10th position and then drops down to the 5th position to produce a contrasting 4 bar phrase. He lets this technique carry him along changing between the two positions every 4 bars for the whole of his 32 bars. The third point which may have been a deliberate technique or just coincidental is the similarity of rhythm and phrasing between this theme and the big hit of the previous year (1926) ‘I Can’t Believe That You’re In Love With Me’. Not close enough to be a copy, but near enough to be a quote. To mark his passing on 20th April 2012, thirty of Bert Weedo n’s best kno wn recordings are now available on a new CD. In 1959, Weedon was the first British guitarist to have a hit record in the UK Singles Chart, ‘Guitar Boogie Shuffle’. His best-selling tutorial guides, ‘Play In A Day’ were a major influence on many leading British guitarists, including Eric Clapton, Brian May, George Harrison, John Lennon, Keith Richards, Pete Townshend, Tony Iommi and Jimmy Page. The Perfect Christmas Gift €4.99 Postage UK: ‡2.00 Elsewhere: ‡3.50 Clifford Essex Music Co., Ltd. Tel: 01485 529323 Email: [email protected] Winter 2012 B.M.G. The Return of the Banjoline The original inspiration for the banjoline was born in the 1920’s when Eddie Peabody and his stage partner Jimmie Maisel played duets on mandola and mandocello. Eddie tuned his instrument as plectrum banjo and was already playing beautiful muted solo’s on his banjo. He had an instrument constructed utilising a mandola body, a plectrum banjo neck but doubling the 3rd string in monotone and doubling the 4th as octave. The sound was sweet and this odd mixture proved to be popular in his stage act. Eddie revitalised the idea of the banjoline in the mid 1950’s when he saw that the Electric Guitar was becoming the ‘in thing’ he approached Bill Nelson of Vega Banjos to make a prototype for him. A few were constructed but they were never production models. Eddie recorded two albums purely on his banjoline for DOT which proved the instrument’s validity with the album buying public. Fender was then approached to produce the instrument but the deal fell through at the last minute and the Rickenbacker Company were then involved in producing a couple of models which were briefly manufactured until the early 1970’s. My inspiration to try the banjoline came from a remark that Eddie’s grandson made via the Facebook website: ‘Eddie Peabody Fans Cellar’ and asked “Is there anyone today who can play the banjoline”? Realising the potential of the banjoline as an instrument to bolster my solo banjo act, the plan of obtaining a banjoline was put into action. H o w e ve r , t he fe w o ld Banjoline’s that are out there are collectors’ pieces and expensive. Could I really justify several t hou sand do llar s o n an instrument that would be, after all, secondary in my arsenal of stringed instruments? I thought about the possibility of using a cheap Asian copy and making a reproduction Fender Banjoline. Of all the Electric Guitars available, the Fender Telecaster has about the right scale length for Plectrum Banjo tuning, and I found a brand new copy for under $100, complete with strap, cable, plectrum and a soft case! I must state right here that my woodworking ‘talents’ are purely at the level of a normal handyman about the house. However, I feel that most craftorientated people with a moderate amount of tools can put this project together for very little outlay and have fun along the way. Sean with his finished banjoline. My Telecaster copy was brand new and required very little modification. After removing the strings, my main task was to slim the neck down to plectrum banjo size. I removed the retaining bolts of the back-plate, tuning pegs and nut. The frets do not need removing as the fret spaces are fine. With a file I reshaped the neck, the fret ends then needed profiling and buffing to remove the sharp ends. I used a wipe-on oil finish instead of re-spraying the neck, and there was no binding on this 105 by Sean Moyses model to worry about. With that process out of the way, the nut needed making. A nut blank can be bought for very little money, take care to make the nut slots correctly. I used my plectrum banjo as the template and with a junior hacksaw and a small file I soon made the nut. Neck complete! The tail-piece needed two extra holes drilled for the double 3rd and 4th strings, it simply unscrews. The bridge on a Telecaster has a separate part for each string. I removed the outer bridges (1 and 6), and with a junior hacksaw I carefully cut a small channel for the string to run through to the side of the existing one. I restrung with an extra 3rd and used a 1st string for the octave 4th. Now I had my very own ‘Telecaster Banjoline’! I have already had a lot of fun with my Banjoline and recorded my latest album playing it. When plugged into an amplifier, using head phones, I can play at any time of the night or day, without disturbing anybody. The Banjoline Returns!!! 106 B.M.G. Winter 2012 EMILE GRIMSHAW PLECTRUM BANJO TECHNIQUE - PART 4 by Ron Hinkle Hello again! Welcome to Part 4 of my series on Emile Grimshaw banjo technique. This is actually a continuation of Part 3, and the subject is Picking-Hand technique. In the last lesson, I gave you a couple of basic exercises to start with. I could actually stop right there, because those exercises cover the physical technique pretty well; what I will do though is show you a few picking examples from his music. All you have to do is take the physical technique and apply it to the situation. I don’t mean to make this sound ‘easy’, because it does take a lot of work; the more you practice, the better you will get (no matter how many years you continue to work on this!). Since Emile Grimshaw and his contemporaries were originally finger-style players (and the plectrum banjo evolved from the classic five-string), many of his picking techniques were either an attempt to imitate the finger-style, or to more easily adapt the finger-style compositions to the plectrum. These could then be thought of as ‘hybrid’ techniques, further confirming how different they are from typical chord melody style. In my opinion, the result is a much more complex and musical playing style. So, here is a picking example (Figure 1, from A Banjo Vamp) that is found in just about every Grimshaw piece. The intent is to sound like two banjoists; the first plays the melody (on the beat, upstrokes), and the second plays the rhythm accompaniment (off the beat, down-strokes). It may seem a little counterintuitive at first to play up-strokes on the beat, but you’ll get used to it quickly; that’s the melody, so your ear will tell you it’s correct. The second example is a modern variation (called a ‘broken-chord’ stroke) that can be played in almost every case. In the brokenchord strokes, strive for machinegun-like precision. Remember to keep your foundation fingers in contact with the banjo head, as stated in the previous article! Now, here is a variation of the first example, where the melody is down an octave on the third string, and the accompaniment is on the second and first strings. This one is all down-strokes; take your time, and try to get the aural separation between the two parts that is so easy in the first example. Below it is the equivalent broken-chord stroke variation. By the way, I’m sure you can see from these examples how pervasive the three-string chord is in Grimshaw’s music. There are many instances, though, where the melody will be on the fourth string, and the accompaniment on the third, second, and first strings. B.M.G. Winter 2012 107 I’ll show you a few more basic Grimshaw picking techniques; these are very much related to the equivalent finger-style strokes (and actually quite similar to the examples). This one is a glide stroke (down-down-down-up), from Beat As You Go. It is similar to the broken-chord stroke but is executed in a quicker, more dramatic fashion (no need for machine gun precision, it’s meant to sound like a flourish). The last example, (from A Spanish Romance) actually shows two different strokes: The half-note chord on the downbeat of each measure is ‘arpeggiated’, meaning to play it one string at a time. It takes a little practice to get this one right; it still only takes up one beat, but you must distinctly hear each note. Think Spanish guitar on this one. The accompaniment figure is the interesting part; it is obviously just like fingerstyle. Because we only use one pick, there are usually some compromises made to accomplish it. Pay strict attention to the picking pattern shown in the first measure; sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to make it happen! Some of it may not make immediate sense, but the end result is music, and that’s all that counts. This is not a complete compilation of picking-hand techniques, but it should be enough to get you started. Almost everything else is simply variations on these. Have fun! I hope you are enjoying Emile Grimshaw’s music as much as I am! On behalf of all the banjo players here in the U.S, a very ‘Happy Christmas’ to all. Back Copies of BMG Pre 1926 Urgently Wanted Any Condition Good Prices Paid Call Phil Jones on: 02393 112364 Email: [email protected] Clifford Essex is the Official UK stockist of Wegen hand-made picks We stock a wide range of Wegen picks, suitable for mandolin, guitar and banjo. Go to www.cliffordessex.net on the menu on the left, click on ‘Plectra’. Or telephone: 01485 529323. YOU’LL NEED STRINGS THIS CHRISTMAS SEE THAT YOU HAVE SOME SPARES In Your Instrument Case BUY ONLY THE BEST — FROM CLIFFORD ESSEX TEL: 01485 529323 Solo Plectrum Guitar CD by Mike Chapman Speechless ‡10.00 incl. P & P [email protected] Tel: 01277 231522 Ideas for Christmas Presents ? visit www.cliffordessex.net B.M.G. 108 FROM A BATH CHAIR The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is upon us, speaking of which, mellow fruitfulness was well exemplified by the speaking likeness of Martin Wheatley, which adorned the front page of the Autumn issue of B.M.G. Martin is one of those rare musicians whose enthusiasm for the music of yesteryear makes his every performance a joy to witness, I well remember him playing a wonderful version of ‘Midnight in Mayfair’ at one of the Reading Banjo Festivals, some years ago, the tune, and Martin’s unerring performance of same, occasionally still comes to my mind at odd moments. Speaking of mists, I was pleased to see that the vigorous export activities of ‘Mac’ McNaughton, or McNaghten, as he preferred to call himself, were exposed to the public gaze at last, in the same B.M.G. The avuncular ‘Mac’ liked to project himself as a harmless old buffer, with a love for, and an encyclopaedic knowledge of, the banjo, his shady dealings in vo lving t he apparent l y unauthorised disposal of the archives of the B.M.G. division of the Clifford Essex Co. however, show a hitherto little known aspect of his character. Bill Ball used to tell me of their (Mac and himself) trips to the USA, to the ABF meetings, trips, where, ‘Mac’ would use Bill as a pack horse, to carry piles of papers, records and photographs, selected from the archives of C. Essex & Co.. Eventually, Bill refused to assist Mac in this endeavour as he thought that carrying these weighty parcels would kill him. ‘Mac’ was bo r n in a faded suburb, Pitsmoor, of my own hometown, Sheffield, in 1911. This area might still have been respectable in those days; the house, No. 15, Catherine Street, has sadly, been demolished, but its neighbours suggest that it was a substantial town house, built for a class rather above the ordinary. Joseph McNaughton 1936 ‘Mac’ never, as far as I am aware, ever really disclosed where his liking for the banjo came from, we know that he said that it arose as a result of hearing an Oakley recording of ‘The Darkie's Awakening’ and that later, he met a well-known Sheffield banjoist called Harry Burton, and also took lessons from another well-known S he f f ie ld ba njo ist , Fr ed Needham, and that his mother gave him a cheap banjo in 1930. Over the years, I have had much banjo music through my hands, and amongst it, I once found a copy of Cecil Folkestone’s ‘Frivolity’ barn dance. The interesting thing about this particular piece of sheet music, is that it bears a rubber stamped, owner’s address, which is P. McNaughton, 15, Catherine Street, Sheffield 3. Surely this must be some relation to our ‘Mac’? Could P. McNaughton have Winter 2012 by Richard Ineson been his father, or an older brother? Why was this relation never mentioned by ‘Mac’? Was this person the true source of McNaghten’s interest in the banjo? Why was this P, a McNaughto n, and not a McNaghten? The question which then arises is this, why was he, ‘Mac’ at such pains to change his name, and if he had decided to do so, why change it to something almost the same? A very puzzling circumstance. That he did take pains to make this change to the spelling of his name is well known and there is much evidence to support his o bv io u s o bs e s s io n w it h discarding his original surname, the cover of the B.M.G. for October 1952, shows ‘Mac’ in full flight, on his ‘Vibrante’, whilst stationed at R.A.F. Kai Tak, in Hong Kong, the caption shows his name as ‘J.McNaughton’ but, on my copy of this issue, which formerly actually belonged to ‘Mac’ he has changed the name to ‘J. McNaghten’. McNaghten Why has he done this? The magazine came from his house in Croydon, where it had been in the loft, probably since shortly after it was delivered; why change the name on his own copy of B.M.G. B.M.G. Winter 2012 which nobody was likely to see, when there were thousands of other copies, still bearing what appears to be his real name, McNaughton, spread over, not only the UK, but the world? A mystery which is not now likely to be solved, but is food for much thought. An amusing tale relating to Mac was told to me by another ‘Mac’, Kathleen MacGarvey, who told me that Mac went to stay with them, in N. Ireland, for a week or two, during the 193945, war. Mac pretended to be engaged on some very ‘hush hush’ O.H.M. Secret Service business. Kathleen’s banjoplaying father, Jack, decided to play along with this obvious fiction and arranged for his brother, who was a Trinity House, lighthouse keeper, to turn up at the house, wearing his lighthouse keeper's uniform. This he did and, pretending to be on official military security bu s ines s, co mme nced t o interrogate Mac about the purpose of his visit, and where he had travelled to and from, and what, exactly, was the purpose of his visit to N. Ireland. etc.. Mac was completely taken in by the imposter, and confessed that he was merely on holiday, — much to the amusement of Jack. Did ‘Mac’ fool us all, did he pull off the ultimate double bluff? Was he really a secret agent? Winter is upon us, our thoughts, at this time of the year, will inevitably turn to choosing a nice, young, plump bird and getting reacquainted with a few Carols, but do not forget amidst the Christmas festivities, to devote some time during those long evenings by the fire, to perfect ing t hose difficu lt chromatic runs etc.. Perhaps your banjo might benefit from a new vellum? Now is the time to make sure that your instrument is in top form, ready for next year. Fit some new strings, get a new bridge, cheer the poor old thing up, the banjo, that is, not your wife. A very merry Christmas to f r e t t e d i n s t r u m e nt a l i s t s , wherever and whoever you are. 109 BMG SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE NOW DUE FOR RENEWAL D e sp it e Ro ya l Ma i l’ s unprecedented 39% increase on the cost of 2nd class mail, we have not increased the cost of BMG subscriptions. Please help us by continuing to purchase and use our products. Annual Subscription Rates For BMG UK: €20.00. Europe: €22.00. Rest of the world: €25.00 Please make your cheque payable to: Clifford Essex Music Co. Ltd or go to www.paypal.com and make your payment to: [email protected] Or pay on line at our website www.cliffordessex.net ‘Clifford Essex’ The name that denotes everything that is best in fretted instruments and their accessories. Wrockin’ with the Wrinkly Wriffers Eric Clapton - Layla The Beatles - Michelle B.M.G. 110 Winter 2012 THE JOHN BRIGHT COLUMN In one o f my catalogues from the U nit ed States, advertising second hand banjos for sale, there is a statement that all instruments accepted for re-sale are sold on as received, including ‘all the cool little things you find in banjo cases’. Certainly, one of the great thrills for me, when acquiring a second hand banjo, is to see what the previous owner has left in the storage compartment in the case. Among the ‘cool little things’ I have found in cases have of course been the ‘tools of the trade’ such as plectra, tension keys, pitch pipes etc. On the more unusual side: an over elaborate banjo capo, a tin containing assorted nuts and bolts, none appropriate to a banjo! Violin resin, a small bunch of dried flowers, and a Victorian ‘skirt lifter’ or ‘skirt clip’, something which took me ages to identify. The gadget consists of a nicely made nickel plated spring loaded clip. I am told by antiques experts that ladies would have several of these, attached to their waists with ribbon, and use them to peg up their skirts if on muddy ground, etc. So, what do we keep in our banjo cases apart from strings, keys, plectra etc? I always carry a couple of screw drivers, a tuning fork, a banjo sling and a spare bridge. I am the only banjo player I know who has had a b r id g e s n a p i n ha l f w h i l e playing! In one of my banjo cases I had the compartment extended to hold a music stand. I also have two of those neat little banjo stands which really do fit into a banjo case, and of course, a black bow tie (well you never know). In his excellent book ‘A Life On The Road’, Julian Bream tells us he carries in his ‘old guitar case’ scissors for cutting his left hand nails, nail clippers for cutting the spare ends of strings, a tuning fork, a pencil, a rubber, fountain pen refills, a pencil sharpener, sand paper for filing his nails, two stones for burnishing his nails, a few packets of cigarettes, a collapsible footstool, a micrometer for checking string gauges, a postcard portrait of a woman by Rembrandt, a box of specially made false nails, and last, but not least, spare strings! His rather special case has three compartments, and has space for the guitar! Talking of special cases, the late Barry Dew once showed me a case he had had made to carry two banjos. Very convenient if you play two styles, or even break a string : put one down and pick up the other. However, the sheer weight made it impractical.. Okay then, what’s the most unusual thing you have found in an instrument case? What unusual things do you carry? Do tell, — you can always write under an assumed name! CLAW Clawhammer and frailing banjoists asked us for a very light 3rd. We have obliged with a 0.016” nickel or phosphor wound on steel string, never before available in the UK. €6.00 a set + €1.00 postage “Not bad, fellas. Let’s do one more take, with more emphasis on tone, ha r mo n y, mel o d y, r hyt h m, composition, lyrics, musicianship, tempo and originality. THE POWER HAMMER of the BANJO Could this happen to YOU? BEFORE CONVERSION Beware of the satanic demon evil in banjo playing! AFTER CONVERSION Winter 2012 B.M.G. This Issue’s Cover Picture : Ron Hinkle is a plectrum and tenor banjoist who literally grew up in the American banjo band scene. His father was Myron Hinkle, who founded three banjo bands in the Pacific Northwest. In 1960, the year Ron was born, Myron was working as a pianist and banjoist at the Blue Banjo, a popular watering hole in downtown Seattle, Washington. While in Seattle, Myron founded the Seattle Banjo Club. In the mid-60’s, he moved his family to Aberdeen, Washington (named by Scottish settlers from Aberdeen), and soon founded the Grays Harbor Banjo Band. It was in the GHBB that Ron got his start; this band became his extended family. His sister Linda had started playing the tenor banjo in 1970 (she’s still an active member), and Ron finally got the bug in 1972, starting on tenor, but soon switching to plectrum. Myron had recently started a third banjo band; the Grays Harbor Junior Banjo Band, made up of Linda and three other banjo band kids. With the addition of Ron, they changed their name to the Jubilee Five, and for the next five years, this group played all over the Pacific North West. They also travelled to the Sacramento Banjorama, and even had their own TV show on a local station. Ron took a hiatus from the banjo while he served a four-year enlistment in the military, then two years in college, where he met his wife, Paige. They have a 28 year-old daughter, Carlee. When he started playing again, he became the lead banjoist for the Silver Strings Banjo Band in Provo, Utah, and co-founded the Salt Lake Banjo Club. While in Utah, he also discovered his true 111 RON HINKLE musical love: Traditional Jazz. Throughout the 90s, Ron was the banjoist, either as a substitute or as a regular, for some of the West Coast’s top bands, and was a featured performer and clinician at banjo shows and jazz festivals throughout the Western U.S. In 1998, he recorded with three different bands: Pat O’Neal’s Riverboat Jazz Band, Black Swan Classic Jazz Band, and the Three Rivers Jazz Band. During this time, he also earned a Bachelors’ degree in Music Education from Central Washington University. Banjo; Beyond Chord Melody. This tutor brought him to the attention of the Clifford Essex Music Company, and he was commissioned to update the Emile Grimshaw collection, among various other future projects. Ron plans to retire from the Army in two years, and hopes to become a full-time banjoist, writer, and teacher. He can be reached by email at [email protected], and would love to hear from other players and teachers. To see and hear Ron play, simply go to YouTube and enter Ron Hinkle in the search box. Plectrum Banjo Solos Available from Clifford Essex, Edited by Ron Hinkle Linda, Myron and Ron Hinkle in 1974 In 1999, he returned to the active duty military as an Army Bandsman, playing clarinet, saxophone, guitar, and banjo. In this capacity, he has played the banjo in over two dozen countries (including England) on four continents. He also spent 6 months in Iraq in 2003, where he discovered that the Iraqis knew the banjo and Trad Jazz from before Saddam Hussein. He is currently serving a one-year tour of duty in Seoul, South Korea. In an effort to solidify his banjo education (and pass on the knowledge to others), Ron wrote and published a successful plectrum banjo technique manual in 2011; The Plectrum A Banjo Vamp ; At Sunset ; Banjoliers ; Beat As You Go ; Chop Suey ; Fretwork ; Happy Go Lucky ; Harry Lime Theme ; Here's How ; Listen To This ; Moonlight and You ; New Rag ; Return of the Regiment ; Sailors Don't Care ; Scotch Broth ; A Spanish Romance ; Speedwell ; Stars Are Shining ; Take Your Pick ; Tattoo ; The Entertainer ; The Kilties ; The Spanish Maid ; Tune Tonic ; Valse Sympathie ; Vodka ; You and a Canoe ; Joy Dance. *** All written in notation and tab, €3.00 each, post free, world wide, or download for €1.30. www.cliffordessex.net 112 B.M.G. Winter 2012 Winter 2012 B.M.G. 113 114 B.M.G. Winter 2012 Winter 2012 B.M.G. 115 B.M.G. 116 Winter 2012 MAX BRITTAIN - JAZZ GUITARIST by Phil Jones Max Brittain and Barney Kessel in March 1988 Max was born in Halesowen in the West Midlands on Christmas Eve 1946, both parents were amateur musicians eagerly involved in local musical productions, there was always good music being rehearsed in their home. Max took up the guitar in the 1960s, inspired by Lonnie Donnegan and the Beatles, which he heard on LP records brought home by his elder brother. Hearing one such record featuring Barney Kessel on the first ‘Poll Winners’ album with Ray Brown and Shelley Man was a life-changing moment. Decades later he had the privilege of playing with Barney and fulfilling a lifetime ambition. Initially self-taught, Max moved north to study at Leeds Music College and then to London, turning professional in 1978. A jazz guitarist at heart, Max has turned his hand to a wide range of musical styles, working in studios, the West End Theatre, pubs, clubs and concert halls all around the world. A spell with the Terry Lightfoot band took him to the Middle East and the Falklands, and UK tours with Vic Damone, Guy Mitchell, the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra and Mantovani gave him the opportunity to play in all the major concert venues. For thirty years, Max was guitarist to Val Doonican, with broadcasts, recordings and world-wide concert appearances, until Val’s retirement last year. A special highlight was a performance with Val and John Williams at the London Palladium. Other recent prestigious venues include Buckingham Palace, Blenheim Palace, Kensington Palace and Hampton Court Palace and all of the major Art Galleries and Hotels at home and abroad. In jazz, Max has worked with Ike Isaacs, Humphrey Lyttleton, Ronnie Scott, Cleo Laine, Marian Montgomery, Georgie Fame, Jamie Cullum, and visiting Americans Barney Kessel, Harry Edison, Charlie Byrd, Al Grey and Herb Ellis. A regular performer at the Ealing Jazz Festival with trumpeter Chris Hodgkins and with guitarist John Coverdale, he has also appeared with Chris at the Brecon Jazz Festival and travelled to Nepal to appear in the first ever Katmandhu Jazz Festival in 2002. In 1990 he was invited to establish the electric guitar faculty at Eton College, where he still teaches as senior visiting lecturer. The faculty currently consists of over 100 students with 4 teachers. Max has many guitars and banjos, plus a mandolin and a ukulele to meet the varying needs of the day. His 1997 custom-built Mike Vanden archtop takes pride of place, with a 1962 Gibson L7 which he obtained from Ike Isaacs, a close second. Max is happily married to actress Susan Sheridan (Trillian from the original BBC radio 4 Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) with three grown up daughters, and has to be the most contented musician it has been my pleasure to encounter. We must thank him for his arrangement of ‘Mary’s Boy Child’ in the music supplement, and samples of Max’s performances can be heard on his website: www.maxbrittain.com The following recordings are currently available: Chris Hodgkins Trio ‘Present Continuous’ Bell CD 511 Chris Hodgkins Trio ‘Future Continuous’ Bell CD 512 Chris Hodgkins Quartet ‘Boswell’s London Journal’ Bell CD513 Winter 2012 B.M.G. 117 PLECTRUM GUITAR ENDINGS Part Three by DON ROBERTS Here are some more endings for the melody note G in the key of C major. Note the use of a B flat 6th chord in Example 9, and the A flat major seventh in Example 10 to accommodate the G. In Example 11, we have another case of extended harmony, much like that of Example 7 in the last issue. In fact, this chord sequence is employed in the melody One Note Samba. Moving away from the idea of using the notes of the tonic chord, Example 12 uses harmonized scales to make a suitable ending. To harmonize scales, each note is ‘piled up’ with thirds, and this idea can be very useful for extended harmony. In the next issue, the final Part of this short series will demonstrate other methods of ending solos in an interesting way. Tenor Banjo Breaks Part 3 118 B.M.G. Bluegrass Mandolin Winter 2012 by John Baldry Jesse McReynolds - crosspicking on the mandolin : Part Two Playing the rolls as simple patterns is the first step in learning McReynolds style crosspicking on the mandolin. You then have to find notes on the fretboard in positions where you can work them into your roll patterns to create a seamless melodic break. With the first or second string played open, the available melody notes are often located on the lower strings higher up the neck. To illustrate the contrast between crosspicking and regular-style playing, I have tabbed two breaks for the well-known fiddle tune Sally Goodin in the key of A. The first version is a straightforward arrangement using down-up strokes throughout. On the opposite page is a crosspicked break using McReynolds rolls. In each break, play Part 1 x2 followed by Part 2 x2. It may be difficult to make sense of the crosspicked break until you have it smooth and co-ordinated. There are MIDI files of all the exercises and tunes in this article on the Clifford Essex website at (www.cliffordessex.net) follow the link to BMG, Winter 2012. Playing the files on your computer should help you to understand the sound that you are aiming to create. If you like the sound of crosspicking, listen to as much Jesse McReynolds as you can find! He and his brother Jim had a band which performed for decades as Jim and Jesse and the Virginia Boys. Jim McReynolds, who sadly died in 2002, had a wonderful high tenor voice, and the brothers’ harmony singing, together with Jesse’s mandolin playing (both crosspicked and regular style) comprised one of the wonders of the bluegrass world. Now in his early 80s, Jesse continues to perform and record a wide variety of music. Mandolin players will also want his excellent instruction DVD Classic Bluegrass Mandolin. This is produced by Homespun, who have released a clip on YouTube which spotlights Jesse’s crosspicking and shows his right hand technique clearly. Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aEvnS3LnVU There is also lots of Jim and Jesse on YouTube and a ton of their recordings (in CD and MP3 format) at Amazon and County Sales, as well as at the official Jim and Jesse website http://www.jimandjesse.com And there is a detailed interview with Jesse McReynolds at http://www.bluegrassmandolin.co.uk/jesse.html In book form the most thorough instruction in crosspicking currently available is in Jack Tottle’s Bluegrass Mandolin, which includes transcriptions of Jesse’s breaks on Too Many Tears and Stoney Creek. The original recordings of these tunes can be found on Jim and Jesse 1952-55 (their early Capitol recordings) and Bluegrass and More (Bear Family 5CD set) respectively. Both contain classic recordings of Jim and Jesse, with a good helping of crosspicking. If you know a long-time mandolin player, see if you can borrow a copy of Andy Statman’s book Jesse McReynolds / Mandolin in the Oak Bluegrass Masters series. Andy did a thorough and detailed analysis of the complete range of Jesse McReynolds’ playing techniques, Winter 2012 B.M.G. 119 which has inexplicably been allowed to go out of print. At the same time see if you can lay hands on Allen Shelton’s banjo LP/CD Shelton Special from 1977. Allen was Jim and Jesse’s best banjo player back in their glory days, and Jesse returned the favour by taking some wonderful breaks on Allen’s solo album. BMG TAPE CLUB Hawaiian Guitar Section by John Marsden John Wilkinson (East Yorkshire) has generously provided no fewer than six CD programmes this quarter. I’m sure members will especially enjoy a ‘live’ broadcast by Felix Mendelssohn from the Sheffield ‘Empire’. I must also encourage other members to put together some material for the club. Don’t leave it all to John! Tony Docherty (Cleveland), though not a member, has sent us his latest tape of homerecordings, this one entitled ‘Every bum chord tells a story’. However, I heard no bum chords, just Tony’s usual excellent playing! Members are sure to enjoy this tape. Thank you, Tony! Finally, I should like to pay tribute to our popular member Arthur Layfield of Pateley Bridge, who passed away due to cancer on the morning of October 19th, aged 74. The news came as a great shock to me. Hawaiian fans will have the biography published in 2005 in ‘Aloha Dream’ magazine’s Hawaiian Record Collectors Directory, so I won’t repeat that. He joined the Tape Club in March 1966 aft er a recommendation by Gordon Hepburn. Arthur took over Gordon’s position as guitarist and Hawaiian guitarist with the Bertini dance band, when ill health forced Gordon to quit. While with this band, Arthur met Leeds-based ‘Country’ singer Tony Goodacre, with whom he later recorded. Leading an unusual musical double-life, Arthur also played trombone and in 1989 became bandmaster and mus ical dir ect or of t he ‘Summerbridge & Dacre Silver Prize Band’. Concerts took up a great deal of time, especially around Christmas! On a personal level, I should particularly like to pay tribute to Arthur as one of our leading Hawaiian music experts. Arthur Layfield, (left) with George Hamilton IV and Tony Goodacre The Club was fortunate to b e ne f it fr o m h i s w i d e knowledge, and his record collection is internationally recognised as one of the largest and most comprehensive in the genre. We often used to trade, and I dearly wish, as a fellow Yorkshire man, there had been an opportunity to meet. On behalf of myself and the Club, I should like to offer heartfelt condolences to his wife, Ann, and family. B.M.G. 120 THE BANJO STORY (Johann Christian) Gottlieb Graupner (his first two Christian names are usually omitted) was born in Hanover in 1767, and died in Boston in 1836. He was a conductor and composer, playing oboe, piano, clarinet and double bass. His father was leading oboist in a regimental band commanded by Co lo ne l vo n Gr ot en o f Andreasberg, and Graupner himself joined a regimental band in Hannover (as oboist) at an early age. He had enjoyed a thorough musical training. When he was twenty-four it is said that the handsome young man became involved with a lady of society some years his elder and, to save the family names (both his father’s and the lady’s in question) he agreed to leave Hanover in exchange for an honourable discharge from his regiment. When he left Hanover in 1789, he went to London, where it is possible he played in Solomon’s orchestra assembled for Haydn’s visit to London between 1791 92. In the mid 1790s he travelled to Prince Edward Island in Canada and by 1795 he was in Charleston, South Carolina, where he performed many concerts. In 1796 he married English Diva (outstanding opera singer) Catharine Comerford Hillier 1769-1821, she was not only his wife, but principal music partner. After settling in Boston around 1797, in 1801 Graupner cofo u n d e d t he A mer ic a n Conservatorio, a successful music publishing venture. In 1810 he founded the Boston Philharmonic Society, and five Winter 2012 PART THREE by A. P. Sharpe years later was a co-founder of what later became the Handel and Haydn Society. American folklore has led to Graupner becoming known as ’The Father of Negro Songs’. Legend would have us believe that during a period when he was engaged to perform an oboe concerto between the acts of a drama which held no interest for him, Graupner left the theatre one evening, and strayed into some slave quarters nearby, from which he heard the strains of an unknown (to him) instru ment played as an accompaniment to negro voices harmonising a melody. Graupner, a warm-hearted and emotional German of the old school, is said to have wept with joy when he first heard that Negro melody; not because it was a sentimental or nostalgic air, but because, without warning, he had discovered something musical he had never hear d before. Aft er his engagement had ended, it is said Graupner acquired a banjo and re-visited the slaves’ quarters where, to their delight, he learned to play the instrument then and there. Being a trained musician, albeit not a string player (apart from the doublebass, of course) it was not difficult for him to pick up the few chords used in the rudimentary instruments of the time. It is said he noted down the Negroes’ dialect and inflections as well as their melodies and variations, he spent some time practising on his newly-acquired instrument and prepared himself to present to the receptive Bostonians a self-accompanied song. Time and again during my research I have come across this story, of course we have no way of knowing if it is based on fact, but we do know that legends are often based on true accounts. Meaning of ‘Legend’ - An unverified story handed down from earlier times, especially one popularly believed to be historical. The legend continues that Graupner made his debut during a performance of Thomas Southerne’s ‘Oroonoko’, subtitled ‘The Royal Slave’, in the Federal Street Theatre on 30th December 1799, and the song was called ‘The Gay Negro Boy’. It is said that for this truly novel performance he blacked his face and bare feet with burnt cork, wore white gloves and, to cover his blond hair (some writers say it was prematurely white at the age of thirty-two) he persuaded his indulgent wife to make him a woolly black wig. Graupner (who has been called both ‘the father of American orchestral music’ and ‘the father o f American minstrelsy’) became a naturalised American in 1808. When he died in 1836 he left an ‘est ate’ valued at $975, consisting of his music store, his instruments (including his banjo), his printing press and his clothes. This is a fact, and the mention of a banjo is very significant. The only other record of him mak ing ano t her public appearance with his banjo was on 4th September 1809, when he again performed ‘The Gay Negro Boy’ in a circus at Taunton, Mass. Thereafter it would appear that his banjo was laid aside and only occasionally looked upon as a reminder of a new experience in his busy life. Winter 2012 Johan Christian Gottlieb Graupner Fact or Fiction? In his book published in 1943, ‘Musical Interludes in Boston’, H. Earle Johnson writes: “One of the most persistent legends relating to Graupner concerns the introduction of a Negro song in blackface, alleged to have been sung by him in Boston on December 30, 1799. Unfortunately Graupner has become famous for this alleged novelty among persons who know no more about him. The fact is that Mrs. Graupner, not Mr. Graupner, sang the popular ballad ‘I Sold a Guiltless Negro Boy’ as this notice indicates: ‘End of Act 2d. the Song of ‘The Negro Boy’ by Mrs. Graupner’. In the Boston, Massachusetts, newspaper ‘The Columbian Centinel’(1790-1840) established by Benjamin Russell, announced on December 21st 1799, the first performance of ‘Oroonoko’ staged two days later on December 23rd: Federal Street Theatre The Pantomime of GIL BLASS, never performed in Boston. ON MONDAY Evening, Dec. 23, will be presented the Tragedy of OROONOKO, Or The ROYAL SLAVE [cast list] End of act 2d. the Song of the Negro Boy, by Mrs Graupner. B.M.G. Graupner was ‘the musical oracle of Boston’ and his wife, Catherine, who, as mentioned, was an exceptional opera singer, performed frequently as a soloist, often accompanied by her husband. It could well be that Graupner accompanied his wife on the banjo in the manner described. We shall never know, but certainly, something quite momentous, took place. Negro songs were introduced in the late 1700s with ‘I Sold A Guiltless Negro’ (also known as ‘The Negro Boy’). Also popular was ‘The Gay Negro Boy’, which featured the first use of banjo accompaniment. Some consider these songs to be the first suggestion of the black face minstrel style that would soon popularize thousands of songs. To be continued. The Clifford Essex WEAVER by David Wade Right back as far as I can remember, I was told that the ‘ultimate’ classic, classical banjo was a 12” wood hoop Weaver. There are plenty of original Weavers, 11” metal hoops – all slightly different and all very nice, but rarely do we come across a 12 incher, and even more rarely a wood-hoop. I was thrilled to learn from the Clifford Essex Co., that they wanted to have a 12” wood-hoop in their new banjo range. I was even more interested to learn that they had recruited Garry Silbert as luthier. Garry is a former pupil of Dave Van Edwards, the lute builder — well -known to me through the Lute Society. The banjo arrived by courier on 121 Tuesday lunchtime ....... it was one of those long lunchtimes where I was tempted ... do I sneak off home or wedge a chair behind the office door ... because as soon as I opened the case I knew we had a winner. The neck is beautifully hand carved by Garry and has very tasteful head stock inlays and simple pearl dots down the fingerboard. The neck has a silky smooth finish and fits your hand perfectly. The hoop is made of sections of English oak finished with an exotic hardwood tone ring (Chakte Viga) that blend together perfectly. Strung with Clifford Essex medium gauge nylon strings, this ‘jo has all the ‘snap’, ‘crackle’ and ‘pop’ that you would expect from the best vintage instruments. But there is no ‘boom’ which is sometimes associated with the sound of 12 inch hoops. In fact as you move to the bottom of the fingerboard the tone develops a lovely almost classical guitar warmth – really nice for the Cammeyer type of solo. It was a pleasure and privilege to have the banjo on my stall at the Midland Banjo Fest – please check the Rally video on classicbanjo.ning for Richard Ineson’s masterful performance on the Clifford Essex Weaver. This is a lovely banjo; beautiful finish, fantastic sound, and with loads of potential, and best of all it’s British, and it’s MINE!! Clifford Essex Quality 122 B.M.G. Fingerstyle Ukulele Part 4 Winter 2012 by Ray Woods Below is ‘The Skye Boat Song’, but I need to explain some of the signs before you start playing it. At the end of the first staff there is a Final bar line, where the right-hand side is a thick line. It is used at the end of a piece, whereas the Double bar line, at the end of the bottom staff, shows the end of a section. At that point, the words D.C. al Fine mean ‘from the beginning to the end’, so you must play from the beginning again until the Final bar line, where you see the word Fine, which is Italian for ‘Finish’. The brackets over the last two bars in the top staff are called First and Second Time Endings, and the first time ending has a Final bar line with two dots in the spaces. This is called a Repeat bar line, and means that you play the section again, but then use the Second time bar. The wiggly lines in front of the chords in bars 2 and 3 are called arpeggio signs, and mean that the notes of the chord must be played separately, one after the other, usually from the bottom upwards. The notes can be picked separately by your right-hand fingers, or they can be strummed, either with one finger, or as a rasgueado, which guitarists play by striking the notes with the back of the nails, starting with the fourth finger, and finishing with the first, all in rapid succession. The single line, as in the notation, usually means that the notes should be picked by separate fingers, and the one with an arrow, as in the tab, means a strum, but unfortunately not all composers use these definitions, so you often have to decide for yourself, according to the type of music. Only three chords are marked, so you can decide how to play the others. The notes in the first time bar have a curved line joining them: this is called a ‘tie’, and means that the second note is not picked, but the first one allowed to continue sounding for the duration of the second. The small figures in front of some note-heads show which left-hand fingers should be used. The rhythm of a 6/8 piece is best counted in two lots of three, as shown at bar 6, where the first three notes are all the same length. Compare these with those in the first bar, where you have to slip in an extra halfbeat, after the ‘2’, because the first note is a dotted quaver. You may find it easier to start at bar 6, to get the basic rhythm first, and then sort out the dotted quaver and semiquaver afterwards. B.M.G. Winter 2012 123 MAKING YOUR OWN CLASSICAL GUITAR PART 6 Making and fitting the Bridge The bridge of the instrument was made from rosewood, with a slightly compensated saddle arrangement. I have to admit to being baffled by the number of different views there are concerning bridge design and, in particular, the amount of co mpensat io n needed. Essentially when a string is pressed down onto the fret-board it is put under additional tension, causing it to sound sharp. To compensate for this, stringed instrument makers make the string a little longer than its theoretical length (in my case the scale length was 650mm) causing the note produced to be s l i g ht l y lo w e r , t h e r e b y compensating for the increase in tension. In theory the amount of compensation is different for each string, since each has a different stiffness. Also the densities of strings alter from one manufacturer to another. In practice, different makers use d if fe r ing a mo u nt s o f compensation to suit their own instruments and preferred string manufacturer. For example, some makers of classical guitars compensate by making all the strings 2mm longer than the scale length, others makers slant the saddle slot to provide less compensation on the trebles than the bases, others apply differing degrees of compensation to each string by altering the point that each string leaves the saddle. After a lot of deliberation I decided on a bridge design that provided 2mm of compensation for the bottom E string reducing linearly to 1mm at the top E string. I am sure that someone is able to describe how to decide by Roger Dalby on the correct amount of compensation to use for any given instrument, but in the end m y d e c i s io n w a s ve r y unscientific, I merely copied my existing instrument, which had the same scale length and an action similar to the one I wanted, and seemed to work very well with the strings I prefer. Making the bridge from a blank of Indian rosewood was not too difficult, but did require access to a router table. Fitting the bridge to the body of the instrument was another one of those tasks that I was dreading. and cla mped it t o t he soundboard. After the glue had cured I removed the drill bits and replaced t hem wit h hardwood dowels that were glued into place. These dowels were then hidden by a decorative tie block top, made from an offcut of Indian rosewood and bound with bone to help prevent the strings from cutting into the tie block. ( To be continued ) The completed bridge Classical Guitar Bridge Dowling the bridge If the position of the bridge was not just right the intonation of the instrument would be compromised. So needless to say I measured the position of the bridge many times before finally holding it in position with masking tape while I drilled two, 1.5mm dowel holes through the bridge’s tie block and into the body of the guitar. I used two 1.5mm drill bits as an aid to locating the bridge, and to hold it in position while I glued Gluing the bridge from Clifford Essex Indian rosewood Bridge for nylon strung Guitar. Pre-routed saddle slot. ‡10.25. Postage UK: ‡2.00. Elsewhere: ‡3.50 BMG Is this someone else’s BMG you are reading ? Why not subscribe and start collecting all this valu able infor mat io n fo r yourself ? Old BMG’s are in great demand, and can fetch a good price, because of their unique content. Players are already ask ing for back numbers. Why scrounge? 124 B.M.G. Winter 2012 Bluegrass Banjo 8 – Playing Melodically by David Cotton This time, we’re going to explore a more melodic approach to playing, building on the scale practice which you did last time. Here’s an old bluegrass standard, ‘Red-Haired Boy’. As before, the tuning is gDGBD Red-Haired Boy trades under a variety of names, including ‘There was an old soldier and he had a wooden leg’. Adopted many years ago by the bluegrass fraternity, it switches from G to F suggesting it has Irish origins. Take it slow and easy at first, and then build up a little speed when you can play it smoothly. Note the hammer in the first full bar, easing the passage from the D to the E. If you want it to sound more Irish, ignore the hammer, and pluck the first three notes separately, alternating your thumb and index finger in whichever sequence is most comfortable for you. In bar 4, you need to bring your right middle finger over on to the second string. This will come naturally with a little practice. Once you have found your way around the tune, start to see left hand patterns — places where you can keep your left hand fingers in a particular position or pattern for a few consecutive notes, rather than trying to move your left fingers every time in search of the next note. Some people can do this entirely by feel; others see visual patterns and associate sounds with those patterns. Do whichever works best for you, and you’ll quickly find yourself incorporating these patterns into other tunes. It’s important from here on in to start to develop your own style. I arrange these tunes to suit the way the notes quite naturally fall under my fingers. I have a strong right index finger, and so the alternated right middle and index patterns used from bar 11 come relatively easily to me. If you find them tricky, there are two possibilities—practise them until you don’t (!) or change the fingering and the note choices a little to suit your own developing style. For example, at bar 11 you might try: Winter 2012 B.M.G. 125 In a bluegrass jam session I was once told that I ‘punished every bar’! Sometimes it’s good to introduce a little space into the music, instead of incessant picking. You could try this: If you have a chance to play this with other players, you may find that they play it in the key of A. You’ll need a capo at the second fret and a fifth string capo (sliding capo or thumb tacks). Alternatively, you may want to work out a version in A without a capo. We’ll look at how you can do this in a future article, using some aspects of the single string technique which we looked at in article 7. Finally, I have taken a liberty with the original tune in the final repeat bars, adding a couple of bluesy notes for added colour. To emphasis the blues feel you may want to bend the Bb played on the third string, third fret in the final bar. For a different slant on the tune, watch guitar master, Tony Rice on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQciomrswQ&feature=related or Casey Henry playing a straight-ahead bluegrass banjo version at two different speeds at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DNNW4BZAPk. Jon Meek presents an alternative melodic version at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCMi8eLSsYc&feature=related which may give you further ideas about how to spice up the tune. Happy Christmas, Happy New Year and of course: Happy picking! BOB SHANK For more than three decades Bob Shank has been a benchmark for American banjo players. Not bluegrass or old-time, or classical or ragtime, but all that and more. A s ixt h- generat io n West Virginian, Bob began his musical journey at age 5 with drums and piano and by age 13 he was firmly hooked on banjo. Then guitar, hammered dulcimer and an abiding rock and roll sensibility. Bob’s new CD ‘Don’t Worry About the Moon’ is an ambitious exploration of musical genres on solo banjo and more complex arrangements performed by his one-man-band, the Big Otter Orchestra. He plays several banjos on the CD including a vint age Weymann, a thoroughly modern Nechville Phantom, and a cello banjo with a Gold Tone pot and Wyat t Fawley neck. An excellent rendition of Joe Morley’s ‘Dream Dance’ is featured on the CD, played on steel strings using finger picks. Bob’s CD is well worth a listen and can be purchased at: (www.bobshank.com) Over the last several years Bob has performed on WV Public Radio’s internationally broadcast Mountain Stage, at West Virginia University’s annual World Music Concert, and has been a Master Artist at the Upper Poto mac Dulcimer Festival, the Augusta Heritage Centre’s Spring Dulcimer Week, and West Virginia’s traditional music camp, Allegheny Echoes. He also won first place old-time banjo at West Virginia’s celebration of traditional arts, the Vandalia Gathering. He can also tell a story as only an Appalachian can. He’d love you to hear ‘Don’t Worry About the Moon’, and he’d love to hear from you. [email protected] DREAM DANCE by Joe Morley is available from Clifford Essex in Notation and Tablature ‡3.00 post free worldwide or download from our website See details at www.cliffordessex.net B.M.G. 126 Winter 2012 THE EDDIE PEABODY PROJECT PART 4 by America’s Queen of the Banjo, Georgette Twain My first banjoline was a Vega which I regrettably sold at a later date. Eddie sat me down and said: “Georgette, I designed this instrument as a banjo with a new sound, it should not be played as a guitar or bass guitar. It has to be handled carefully, watch while I demonstrate and you will see how my technique differs from my Vega Vox technique”. I turned on the reel to reel tape recorder and he played ‘Let Me Call You Sweetheart’. “Note, I am not using any aggressive strumming” he said, and continued “I am gently striking my bass string before I play the chord. The double unison strings make the sound of this instrument unique. I prefer numbers with a slower tempo for the instrument, it lends itself to songs like ‘The Harry Lime Theme’ or ‘Around The World In Eighty Days’ and it will c e r t a in l y f it i nt o yo u r performances Georgette”. So Eddie taught me ‘Let Me Call You Sweetheart’ and we adapted my Hawaiian medleys for the banjoline. I soon found that most banjo players preferred the sound of a conventional banjo. They were not ready for this sound and compared it to the electric guitar. Nevertheless, many well known ba n jo so lo ist s do ha ve a banjoline in their collection and regularly feature it. The electric banjo has a totally different sound from t he banjoline. I bought my 1937 Gibson electric banjo in 1964 from a collector who could not play it. I also have Jad Paul’s (Jad Paul was the banjoist with ‘Spike Jones and his City Slickers’) which I bo ught from ‘Mast er o f t he Banjo’ Danny O’Donnell, in Pennsylvania. I mentioned Roy Smeck in the last issue, and it was he who endorsed Gibson’s 1937 electric banjo. At the birth of electrical amplification, nobody knew where the new technology would take stringed instruments. As the electric Hawaiian guitar caught on and changed the sound of Hawaiian music, instrument makers realized that the future of electric instruments was wide and unpredictable, they decided to develop electric versions of all inst rument including: keyboards, guitars, mandolins, violins, basses and banjos. Reads Roy Smeck Smeck 1937 Gibson Electric Tenor Banjo. Roy Smeck was known to millions of Americans in the 1920s and 1930s as ‘The Wizard of the Strings’. History has not given him the recognition he deserved for several reasons. Although he was a virtuoso on ukulele, guitar, tenor banjo, and Hawaiian guitar, he was featured in vaudeville as a novelty act. He did not sing, so he highlighted his performance with musical gags, such as tapping on his ukulele to recreate the sound of one of Bill ‘Bojangles’ Robinson’s dance routines, as well as visual gags, such as tossing his ukulele around and playing it upside down. He was probably the most successful endorser of musical instruments prior to Les Paul. The ‘Smeck’ was intended to create a grand entrance for a new t ype of t enor banjo. But, it t r a n s p i r e d , it m a r k e d t h e beginning of the end for Gibson electric tenor guitars, as well as their electric tenor banjos. The last time I saw Eddie Peabody he was putting his equipment into his car after the 1970 Banjorama in Sacramento. I asked him if I should keep playing the Gibson electric banjo. “That’s fine”, he said “It’s just as good, keep playing it”. I never saw him again, he passed away the same year. But the banjoline is making a reappearance, Dave Marty, Sean Moyses, myself and others are featuring it again. The banjoline needs to be played and heard again, but played correctly, not played like an electric guitar. Eddie’s banjoline ‘Smoothie’ album should be in the home of every fretted instrument player. It is very musical and a joy to listen to. B.M.G. Winter 2012 127 Fun with the Bass! Here we go again with another handful of riffs to build your chops! Crank it up and make it wobble Keep it smooth and just let it come rolling in with the Beatles ‘Money’ Better learn to count it well - here’s more ‘Money’ from Pink Floyd Don’t get caught up in the Stevie Ray Vaughan’s ‘Crossfire’ ‘Come Together’ with the Beatles And remember - keep it ‘fun’ - don’t make it ‘work’. I tried not to be Rude I wrote a letter to the government About the soaring price of food And escalating heating bills, I tried not to be rude. Last week my wife and I went out Our anniversary celebration, She said - “Take me somewhere expensive darling” So I took her to the filling station. They say it’s nought to do with tax It’s the rising cost of crude And the worldwide fiscal market, by Richard Crabtree I tried not to be rude. I’ll bet those energy company chiefs Buy boats off the Florida Keys And sun themselves all Winter Whilst the rest of us bloomin’ freeze And the bankers still take bonuses For debts that they’ve accrued, When public money bailed them out. I tried not to be rude. I paid for my old age pension All my working life - Awarded mine at sixty-five But then they robbed my wife! All of our retirement plans, To which I now allude Are put on hold ‘til we’re too old, I tried not to be rude. Even funeral costs are rising Can’t afford the cost of living Can’t afford the cost of dying No one seems to listen, Hope I won’t be misconstrued I’ve really had it up to here But ........ I tried not to be rude Richard subscribes to BMG, playing banjo cheers him up! Ed. B.M.G. 128 Winter 2012 Remembering Bert Bassett 1894 - 1937 Bert Bassett whose full name was Albert Thomas Bassett was born in London in 1894. As a youth, he was employed on the regular staff of Clifford Essex, to whom he was introduced by his father, who played banjo. Bert first appeared in public at a Kensington Town Hall concert in 1905. In 1910 he was prima balalaika player in the ‘Clifford Essex Ru ssian Bala la ik a Orchestra’ and in 1912, became a star artiste with Joe Morley, Will Blanche and George Morris in the ‘Palladium Minstrels’, which featured a team of 34 banjoists. The Plectrum Banjo In 1913, Bert Bassett appeared at the ‘400 Club’ in New Bond Street, London, in the first dance band in England to include p lect rum banjo s. Playing plectrum banjo with him in the band was Nicholas Kovac, who later became a leading member of the ‘Classic Guitar Society’ of New York. Later, Bert Bassett, who was also a fine player of the cello and piano, appeared on the Music Halls in a double act with George Morris. One of their suc ce ss e s wa s Mo r le y’ s ‘Bagpipe Patrol’, in which Bert played a cello obbligato to George’s solo. George Morris, writing in the April 1957 edition of BMG said: “Our fir st week was t he Camberwell Empire and our debut followed the ‘Six Brothers Luck’ who had been given a really rough house on their first appearance. Music Halls were different in those days. If ‘the gods’ were displeased with your offering, they told you in no uncertain terms. Our act started off to cat-calls from the front of A photograph taken when he was playing with Jack Hylton at the Queen’s Hall Roof. the house, but the audience gradually quietened down as we finished our first number - ‘The Mountaineers March’. The second number I had to announce, and as I said that we would give an imitation of the bagpipes, someone from ‘up aloft’ blew me the father of all raspberries. This seemed to please the rest of the audience and we started our number at a disadvantage. ‘Bagpipe Patrol’ starts very quietly, too quietly for that audience! Someone shouted out that they would call a blacksmith to bring his bellows round to fill the bagpipes. This was followed by loud laughter and more raspberries. As our playing increased in volume, the uproar from the audience gradually ceased and we were able to finish the number to satisfying applause. Our final number was ‘Big Guns March’, which we played plectrum style, accompanied by the pit orchestra. We had the satisfaction of leaving the stage to thunderous applause”. In 1915, Bert was entertaining the troops with his banjo, and a year later became lead banjoist in ‘La Belle Leonora’s Ragtime Band’ at the London Colliseum, an act that subsequently went to Paris. Sho rt ly aft erwards, back in England, Bert was employed by the Admiralty, but in 1917 he jo ined Mis s Jenk inso n’s fashionable dance band in Eastbourne. During his career he appeared in two Gaumont British and Path† films, and he made dozens of records for the old ‘Jumbo Record Co’. Bert Bassett, who died from tuberculosis on April 21st, 1937, was editor of BMG from March 1933 until April 1937. As a mark of respect, the June 1937 issue listed no editor; instead Clifford Essex used the editorial page to pay him a glowing tribute. A P. Sharpe had been ‘Associate Editor’ since October 1935 and along with Clifford Essex did everything he could to help Bert, who had suffered from bad health all his life. Some American banjo historians talk of rumours that AP did a lot to undermine Bert so that he could take over BMG, and there seems to be a desire to discredit him. There is no doubt that A.P. Sharpe was always loyal to C liffo r d E ssex and t he Company, and worked tirelessly for the benefit of the fretted instrument world, and the fact is that everybody at Clifford Essex had tremendous respect for Bert Bassett. We will publish the full tribute written by Clifford Essex in our next issue. For now, it is worth quoting this sentence from it. “He had a charming nature and a great sense of humour, while in all the years I knew him I never heard him say an unkind word about anyone”. Perhaps the American historians who appear to base so much on rumours, would be well advised to take a leaf out of Bert’s book. Winter 2012 Correspondence Dear Sir, I thought perhaps BMG readers may be interested in my beautiful old Clifford Essex ‘Ace’ guitar, which I still play regularly. As you can see it is quite a simple guitar, finished in a small Gibson style sunburst, front, back and on the neck. The body is constructed in flame maple with a solid spruce top. The body is lined inside with beech and the bracing is a mixture of ladder and fan bracing rather like old Paris Selmer guitars. The serial number and label are all intact inside the body and the address o n t he label wou ld indicate it was built before the mo ve fr o m Gr aft o n St r eet , before 1936. Under the top is a stamp and the initials ‘M R’ wr it t e n in p e nc i l, per hap s meaning Marco Roccia either built the guitar, or signed it off B.M.G. after completion. It’s a true flat top guitar with a pin bridge made from rosewood, bone pins with pearl dots, bone bridge insert and a bone end pin, also with a mother-of-pearl dot inlay. The long scale neck is a sandwich of what appears maple/ebony/maple with a rosewood fingerboard. Nicely inlayed mother-of-pearl dots and a bone nut. The frets are absolutely tiny but original. The neck joins the body at the twelfth fret, the nut width is 1ˆ”, and the neck has a nice deep C profile. The slotted headstock has a faceplate of rosewood, plain with no inlay. The tuners are three on a plate, simple with no engraving. All in all she is a beautifully made little guitar, all original and in fantastic nick for being the best part of 80 years old. She has a lovely sound with lots of sustain. The guitar still has its original case but the small ‘Clifford Essex, Grafton Street’ makers plate fitted with two pins is missing. If you know of anyone who has one spare I would be very interested in buying it. I bought the guitar from a gentleman in York who in turn purchased the guitar from the original owner who was a jazz guitarist and lived in Welwyn Garden City. The photographs are courtesy of Mr. Barenthien who was the previous owner. Marc Jones Switzerland SMALL HANDS OR ARTHRITIS ? Over seventy years ago I found my father’s old Temlett zitherbanjo in the attic and annoyed t he ho u s e h o ld b y p l a y i n g ‘There’ll always be an England’ 129 on the one remaining string. An ultimatum from my father, and an agreement from me, led to him buying a set of strings, and me ploughing through his ‘Ellis’ Tutor’ with his help. Eventually we realised that the Temlett, — a ‘Student’ model — was too small for me, and so we found a 12” wood hoop Weaver banjo, which I have enjoyed playing for well over sixty years. Until recently, that is. About two years ago I found that some of the long stretches lower down the fingerboard were becoming more difficult to reach. The notes of the A, C, F sharp chord, were not always very clear, and other chords could be quite painful to finger, so that I finally realised that arthritis was setting in. It occurred to me that it might be easier to play the old Temlett ‘Student’ zither-banjo which, fortunately, I still have, so it was cleaned up, given a new vellum and strings, and those difficult stretches were found to be well within my reach. I still prefer an open-back instrument, and the Temlett is a very cheap model, so I measured its scale length (25 inches) and compared it with my Weaver, which is 27 inches. The answer to arthritis, or small hands, is to do what I did, — order a custom-built new Clifford Essex Weaver with a scale length of 25 inches. Mine has an 11 inch hoop, against the 12 inches of the old Weaver, but it has greater volume, and is much, much easier to play. Alan Middleton Devon P.S. I know this sounds like an advert, and perhaps it is, but I assure you, my feelings are genuine. AVM. B.M.G. 130 Musical Terms by Al Molina Obbligato -- being forced to practice Rit/Rall -- coming to the part you haven’t practiced Con Moto -- yeah baby, I have a car Allegro -- a little car Metronome -- short, city musician who can fit into a Honda Civic Lento -- the days leading up to Easter Largo -- beer brewed in Germany Piu Animato -- clean out the cat’s little box or it goes Interval -- time to meet the other players at the bar Perfect Interval -- when the drinks are on the house Cantabile -- singing while drunk Con Spirito -- drunk again Chords -- things organists play with one finger Dischords -- things that organists play with two fingers Suspended Chords -- things to lynch the vocalist Subdominate -- “I can’t play unless I’ve asked my wife”. Syncopation -- bowel condition brought on by an overdose of jazz Quaver -- the feeling brought on when you haven’t practiced Key Signatures -- silly things put in music to frighten you (ignore them and they will go away -- along with your audience) Time Signatures -- things for drummers to ignore Colla Voce -- this shirt is so tight I can’t sing Professional -- anyone who can’t hold down a steady job Flats -- apartments A tempo de cafe -- Ah, coffee time! Improvisation -- what you do when the music falls down Fugue -- clever stuff Prelude -- warm-up before the clever stuff Acciaccatura/appoggiatura -- insects Opus -- exclamation made when the cat wets on the new rug Virtuoso -- a person who can work wonders with easy-play music Melody -- an ancient, now extinct, art form in song writing ● Music -- happiness Winter 2012 For Sale Buscarino ‘Jazzcaster’ 7 string semi acoustic/electric jazz guitar. All original; Blonde; single ‘F’ hole; as new condition; original hard case. Tel: Phil on 07800 803599 or 02393 112364. Gibson ‘Byrdland’ 6 string electric archtop guitar By The Way from David Wade, do support: The Midlands Fretted Orchestra : Christmas Celebration Saturday 8th December 7.30pm The Bonded Warehouse Canal Street Stourbridge Contact: 0121 422 7884. Website: www.m-f-o.co.uk/ The George Formby Society 17th – 18th November next Quarterly Convention at the Imperial Hotel, North Promenade, North Shore, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 2HB. Contact: Tel: 01253 623971. Website: www.georgeformby.co.uk Winners of the free draw funded by Clifford Essex at the Midlands Banjo Festival held on October 13th. 1st prize. Banjo Case. Won by Daphne Cusick of Tamworth. 2nd prize. Six sets of strings. Won by Jill Friendship of Bristol. 3rd prize. Two bottles of wine. Won by Colin Braddock. Serial number 554059 mostly o r ig ina l, so me har dwar e replaced, but no damage/repairs, sunburst, twin humbuckers with original hard case. Designed for Gibson by Billy Byrd and Hank Garland. Collectors item. Call Phil on 02393 112364 or 07800 803599. THE ARIA MM20 MACCAFERRI STYLE GYPSY JAZZ GUITAR Specifications Top: Solid Spruce Back and Sides: Rosewood Neck: Mahogany Fingerboard: Rosewood Number of Frets: 21 Scale Length: 670mm Soundhole: 57-75mm (Oval-hole) Finish: Semi Gloss These instruments have a clear beautiful sound. They are built by experienced craftsmen so that all guitarists from beginners to advanced players can play comfortably. Moreover, all people who take these guitars in their hands are enchanted by their artistic beautiful shape. Clifford Essex stocked Aria guitars in the sixties, simply because of their sheer excellence. Nothing has changed. €350.00 including case Postage UK including insurance, €25.00 THE ARIA AW-45TN TWELVE STRING GUITAR The Aria AW-45TN twelve string guitar has amazing volume and excellent tonal qualities for Top: Solid Sitka Spruce Back and S i d e s : the price. The Sitka Spruce and Rosewood combination makes for a good rich brightness, Rosewood with plenty of that famous 12-string jangle! Neck: Mahogany Fingerboard: Rosewood INCLUDED FREE: Superior Number of Frets: 20 TrailPak jumbo size guitar gig Scale Length: 650mm bag with unique design features. Bridge: Rosewood High quality ballistic nylon; Hardware: Chrome durable reinforced interior Finish: Natural lining; multi pocket, stacked Specifications accessory pockets; adjustable, padded backpack-style, webbed nylon handles. €225.00 Postage UK including insurance, €25.00 Palma Student Classical Guitar As an introduction to playing classical guitar, this finely crafted 30" Palma instrument will reward the novice with many enjoyable hours of playing pleasure. Available in a traditional natural finish, the 1/2 size Palma offers young hands the chance to get to grips with the classical guitar. Suitable for ages five to eight. A perfect action guaranteed €40.00 Post Free Complete with a ‘Fusion’ designer gig bag THE CLIFFORD ESSEX WEAVER Clifford Essex - Making the world’s finest banjos - Established in 1900 We personalise our logo shield with your initials This beautiful, completely hand made banjo has a 12” hoop, 22 frets, nylon/gut strung, English oak hoop with integrated Chakte Viga tone ring, producing a brilliant tone. Neck mahogany; geared pegs with real ebony buttons; position markers - mother of pearl or abalone dots. Width at the nut 1-5/16". Scale length 26-3/16". The heart of this banjo is the Chakte Viga (scientific Name: Caesalpinia Platyloba) tone ring. Chakte Viga is a tropical hardwood from Mexico. The hardwood colour varies slightly from pale to rich reddish orange/brown. Chakte Viga is sometimes referred to as Paela. The grain is typically straight, but can be interlocking. It has excellent tonal qualities and is popular in both instrument building and wood turning. To the best of our knowledge, until now, it has never before been used in banjo construction. €950.00 including a plush-lined hard case A deposit of ‡350.00 is required, please allow three months for completion. Clifford Essex Music Co. Ltd., 7, Rose Walk, Fakenham, Norfolk, NR21 7QG Tel: 01485 529323 Email: [email protected]
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