Q&A | Variety, Improvisation & Transitioning from Guitar to Banjo!
Added 2018-05-02 19:45:33 +0000 UTC"How do you keep your repertoire (and playing style) varied enough that it doesn't all sound the same? Do you have any tips for making very similar songs more distinct and interesting for listeners? All the best." - Mick
"I was wondering if you could talk a little about the roll improvisation played in old time music. Did the old timers tend to just improvise within songs people were playing, giving known songs their own touch? Or was there a lot of 'jamming' going on where music was made up on the spot?" - Justin
"I am by far most comfortable with traditional folk music, Appalachian, Irish, Scottish, a bit of Bluegrass etc… (as that's what I like). However, I don’t like to limit my horizons. The problem I have is that whenever a tune crops up out of my comfort zone, particularly those containing a key change or unusual chord within the key... I find myself reaching for the guitar, which feels a bit like a cop out. I play pretty much solely clawhammer and find that if a song slips out of the usual run of chords for a key the drone string becomes a real pain, but I can’t play without hitting it. Any suggestions? Do I need to learn some closed shapes past the fifth fret? Learn some new techniques, or stop worrying and play the banjo when it’s appropriate and not when it isn’t?" - Kevin
(intro music: When the Sun Goes Down - original arrangement by Clifton Hicks)
https://patreon.com/cliftonhicks
http://cliftonhicks.bandcamp.com
Comments
Thanks for picking up my question Clifton. Sorry if it was both a tad long and, as you say, subtle. Food for thought, much appreciated.
Kevin Potter
2018-05-08 14:25:51 +0000 UTCThat's the whole nut for me, to keep it varied. the trick that worked for me was to learn songs from different genres. a Coen Bros. film starts with an awesome version of Ode to Joy.
John F. Cooke
2018-05-06 02:21:27 +0000 UTCMichael, that is a subject I need to address in a "discussion" episode here. I will get right on that. I actually busked for several years and got pretty handy at filling a banjo case with money. Like you say, it IS a daunting step for a musician to step out onto the sidewalk and sing for tips.
Clifton Hicks
2018-05-03 14:25:00 +0000 UTCSounds good! My main goal now is to get a decent (and sufficiently diverse) repertoire together and do some busking. It doesn't have to be much, just a few tunes will do, but it has to be impressive enough to get people to stop and listen and perhaps contribute to my beer fund. This is actually a pretty BIG step for a novice player, as you can imagine.
Micheál Mac Labhrás
2018-05-03 11:38:43 +0000 UTCO yes, I didn't even think about all the tunings we use. For example, anything that's in gCGCD can also be played in f#DF#AD and vice-versa. And there are many songs in gCGCD that sound super cool in eCGCD or gCGCE... and then there's "Darling Cora" in gCGCC where the sound is totally different when played out of the 4th fret instead of the 3rd...
Clifton Hicks
2018-05-03 00:03:27 +0000 UTCGood answers! I was thinking changing playing styles, tunings, etc. would probably be the best way to keep things varied.
Micheál Mac Labhrás
2018-05-02 22:31:15 +0000 UTC
