Sam Stewart died in 1898, but instruments bearing his name continued to be made until World War 1. The high serial number and a few other details suggest this banjo was made circa 1900-1910.
"S.S. STEWART. PHILA. PA. THE A...
2020-10-10 19:08:20 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey everybody! I just wanted to announce that we are officially THE fastest-growing traditional banjo community on the internet.
2020-10-08 14:13:09 +0000 UTC View Post
gCGCC. I learned "Swannanoa Tunnel" from several Library of Congress recordings of Reta Spradlin (The Pea Fowl), Roscoe Holcomb (Swanno Mountain), and Bascam Lunsford.
2020-10-07 06:37:12 +0000 UTC
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John Sloan was an English-born machinist who built a number of unique banjos after emigrating to the United States after WW2. This example utilized two "tunnels" through the neck, allowing it to be played either right- or left-handed. Ambidextrous...
2020-10-04 12:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
John Sloan was an English-born machinist who built a number of unique banjos after emigrating to the United States after WW2. This example utilized two "tunnels" through the neck, allowing it to be played either right- or left-handed. Ambidextrous...
2020-10-03 23:50:10 +0000 UTC View Post
This is my original arrangement of Cotton-Eyed Joe for both 2-finger and overhand style banjo. The tuning is f#DGAD.
I learned the words to C...
2020-09-29 03:15:10 +0000 UTC View Post
Hey everybody! This song has never been requested here, but one of my 13-year-old students asked me to do it, so here it is. I'll be putting up the lessons/tabs you've requested ASAP.
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2020-09-26 13:23:13 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's a fine, lightweight intermediate banjo made sometime after Fairbanks & Cole dissolved their partnership in 1890. This "Companion Style C" banjo still has the original head, celluloid tuners, and tailpiece. We've set it up with nylon str...
2020-09-21 14:28:46 +0000 UTC View Post
Going live TOMORROW at 2:00pm Eastern Standard Time! 🪕 🍺 ... 🍉?
2020-09-19 12:58:54 +0000 UTC View Post
I learned "Boat Up the River" from a recording of North Carolina banjoist, Ola Belle Reed. My 1888 Luscomb banjo (by Thompson & Odell) is tuned gCGCD relative, fB♭FB♭C actual.
2020-09-16 16:37:11 +0000 UTC
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"I learned "Boat's Up the River" from a recording of Ola Belle Reed. My 1888 Luscomb Banjo is tuned one octave below gCGCD. I'm using nylon strings and a handmade maple bridge by Joel Hooks, available here: 2020-09-16 16:30:26 +0000 UTC View Post
In 1872, Sam Stewart was a seventeen-year-old violin student and heir to a family fortune worth several million dollars. However, upon hearing banjo music for the first time (at a minstrel show in Philadelphia), Stewart became obsessed with the in...
2020-09-12 02:22:45 +0000 UTC View Post
I learned "Swannanoa Tunnel" from a recording of Retta Spradlin titled "The Pea Fowl." Roscoe Holcomb, who learned his version directly from western Carolina railroad workers, recorded it as "Swanno Mountain." Several more recordings exist under t...
2020-09-04 22:42:13 +0000 UTC View Post
This Fairbanks "Electric" banjo (patented 1890) has an unusual 21-inch scale and 9-inch pot. My understanding is that these smaller banjos were advertised as women's instruments.
2020-08-25 19:28:35 +0000 UTC
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I learned Cotton-Eyed Joe from Jerron "Blindboy" Paxton of South-Central Los Angeles. He sang it a capella following the usual melody, so I composed this original banjo arrangement in f#DGAD. Be warned that although I've censored Paxton's lyrics, ...
2020-08-22 19:07:10 +0000 UTC View Post
Tuesday, August 18th (TOMORROW) at 2:00pm Eastern Standard Time...
Join the conversation here 👉 https://youtu.be/zWu5SRhia0w
2020-08-17 12:10:37 +0000 UTC View Post
gDGBD relative (eBEG#B actual) I learned the early folk ballad "Hiram Hubbard" from Jake Book of Gallatin County, Kentucky. Jake learned it from a recording of Jean Ritchie & Doc Watson (Folkways Records, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, Libra...
2020-08-15 12:02:00 +0000 UTC View Post
gDGBD relative (eBEG#B actual) I learned the early folk ballad "Hiram Hubbard" from Jake Book of Gallatin County, Kentucky. Jake learned it from a recording of Jean Ritchie & Doc Watson (Folkways Records, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, Libra...
2020-08-15 12:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
"... the Luscomb banjo, named after John F. Luscomb, a highly regarded banjo soloist and composer who over the next decade designed several models. His first, patented in the late summer of 1888 but advertised by Thompson and Odell half a year ear...
2020-08-13 16:50:10 +0000 UTC View Post
Here's the easiest way to install nylon or gut strings on your banjo. I demonstrate using Aquila Nylgut "Classic Banjo" strings and an original 1888 Luscomb banjo; however, the process is basically the same on any banjo whether you're using gut, n...
2020-08-10 01:44:32 +0000 UTC View Post
gCGBD relative (fB♭FAC actual) known as "Two-Finger C tuning." I learned this song from the Library of Congress recording of Dock Boggs, who composed it around 1928. In this video I'll discuss the history behind the piece, and demonstrate how to...
2020-08-04 12:44:44 +0000 UTC View Post
gCGBD relative (fB♭FAC actual) known as "Two-Finger C tuning."
"Dock put this song together about 1928 after an incident in which an overbearing lawman broke into his home and caught him enjoying music and liquor with some friends during ...
gDGCD relative (fCFB♭C actual):
Coffee grows on white oak trees
River flows with brandy,
I've got a gal who's mighty fine
Sweet as sugar candy
CHORUS
Swing and turn Jubilee,
Live and learn Jubilee &n...
We played a lot of music, answered a lot of questions, and told a few stories! Topics & time stamps in the Youtube player description.
2020-07-24 05:01:04 +0000 UTC View PostI sometimes feel compelled to show my friends here a little slice of what my life is like outside of banjos. Yesterday evening. when the light was perfect, I went outside with my camera and just filmed wildflowers, fruit trees, and vegetable...
2020-07-23 15:21:58 +0000 UTC View Post
In this video I walk you through the steps for producing my original arrangement of John Jackson's "Going Up North" (Can't Get No Letter From My Home). Jackson said he learned the song from his father. In this instance, my version (though in the s...
2020-07-21 12:50:52 +0000 UTC View Post
I learned this song from the recording of John Jackson on the album, "Black Banjo Songsters of North Carolina and Virginia" (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings). Jackson said he learned it from his father, and offered the alternate title, "Can't Get ...
2020-07-20 19:46:51 +0000 UTC View Post
f#DF#AD (Reuben tuning). I first learned to sing "In the Pines" (Where Did You Sleep Last Night) from a 1930s Library of Congress recording of Huddie William Ledbetter (better known as LEADBELLY). Later, when I was 14 or 15, I learned to play it o...
2020-07-16 12:36:06 +0000 UTC View Post
gCGAD relative (eAEF#B actual) aka "Omie Wise tuning." I learned this song from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. Though most of us learned the piece as "Oma Wise" or "Omie Wise," she is called Naomi Wise in actual historical documents. She...
2020-07-15 13:00:31 +0000 UTC View Post
My banjo is tuned gCGAD relative ( ≈ eAEF#B actual). I learned this song from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. Though most of us learned the piece as "Oma Wise" or "Omie Wise," she is called Naomi Wise in actual historical documents. She...
2020-07-14 10:28:03 +0000 UTC View Post