Clifton Hicks

"John Henry" | Performance

This is my own original arrangement of the classic folk ballad "John Henry." Note that in this video I sang "Big Bend Tunnel on the C&O Road," however, Dr. Art Rosenbaum has since convinced me that John Henry actually died in the Oak Mountain Tunnel on the C&W Road outside of Leeds, Alabama so I've written the below lyrics to reflect the actual history of this American folk hero. From now ...

John Henry - Lesson

gCGCC relative tuning ("Darling Cora tuning"). Here's how I figured out my original arrangement of John Henry many years ago. It's pretty simple. 

When John Henry was a baby boy

Sitting on his mamma's knee,

Said that Oak Mountain Tunnel on the Georgia Road

Gonna be the death of me (x2)

John Henry said to the captain

A man ain't nothing but a m...

Q&A | Humidity & Tackhead Banjos

 
"I've recently finished building my first banjo (a tack-head, more specifically), partly inspired by you. My question is: how do you deal with changes in humidity when dealing with banjos without a mean of tightening the head? Do you treat the skin in any way, or do you leave it raw? Do you retune or change bridge with a taller one? Or maybe use shims? Anyway, take care." - 12D3 

Q&A | Playing in Bands vs Solo

 "I'm obsessed with playing traditional style banjo and learning about it's history. Most of my music friends are less than enamored with this style of banjo. They wanna know when I'm going to learn to play 'Dueling Banjos' and start cranking out bluegrass rolls. My jam group is hooked on playing the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Eagles ... you get my drift. I'm having a bit of a quandary finding ...

An Interview With Dock Boggs (57 minutes)

"Excerpts from Interviews with Dock Boggs, Legendary Banjo Player and Singer" from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

Performance & Lecture by George Gibson

Great music and plenty of historical details in this live show from 2013.

'George Gibson from Knott County, Kentucky at the Laurel Theater in Knoxville, Tennessee at Bob Carlin's Banjo Extravaganza 15 Nov 2013  Cold Icy Mountain, Wild Bill Jones and Morphine. Video by Dean Turley,'

Bluegrass & Clawhammer vs TRADITIONAL Banjo

"I’d like to hear more on your opinion of Bluegrass and modern 'Round Peak' having little respect for the tonal range." - Mike R.

http://cliftonhicks.bandcamp.com

https://patreon.com/cliftonhicks 2018-06-17 16:19:41 +0000 UTC View Post

Pretty Fair Damsel | Lesson

Let's talk through how to play Pretty Fair Damsel. Banjo is tuned fA#FA#C (one step below gDGCD). In this video I show the basics of how to play the song both two-finger "thumb lead" style and overhand. 

Two-Finger Thumb-Lead Techniques

In this video I demonstrate most of the elements that I have developed to embellish, emphasize and vary my traditional two-finger banjo picking.  

1. "Bump-Ditty" or "Chicka-Boom" Lick 

2.Two-Count Rhythm 

3. Three-Count or Waltz Rhythm 

4. Drop-Thumb 

5. Pinch 

6. Double Note 

7. Forefinger Brush 

There are, of co...

July 18th: George Gibson @ Warren Wilson College!

George R. Gibson (banjo master, collector, researcher and mentor) has been invited to give a presentation at the 2018 Swannanoa Gathering at Warren Wilson College near Asheville, North Carolina. George is scheduled to go on at 1:15pm Wednesday, July 18th as part of their Old Time Week Master Artists series. 

"George Gibson was born at Bath in Knott County, Kentucky where he  learned to...

"Pretty Fair Damsel" Performance

I learned this classic British love song from the recordings of Morgan Sexton out of east Kentucky and Tom Ashley out of east Tennessee.  Thanks to Patrick for requesting this song; it has been years since I've heard or sang it.

gCGCD  

Pretty fair damsel in the garden 

Brave young soldier riding by, 

He rode up to the gate to greet her 

Saying pr...

Relative Tuning by Ear | Part 2

In this video I'll show you 6 more traditional banjo tunings and discuss how to tune to each one by ear using the relative tuning method.

gCGBD "Minstrel," gCGAD "Naomi Wise," eCGAD "Little Birdie," gCGCD "Hook & Line," gCGCE "Cackling Hen," gCGCC "Darling Cora."

https://patreon.com/cliftonhicks

2018-06-08 19:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post

Relative Tuning by Ear | Part 1

In this video I'll show you 6 different traditional banjo tunings and how to achieve them by ear using the "relative tuning" method. There are _many_ more tunings out there!

gDGBD "Standard," gDGAD "Moonshiner," f#DGAD "German War," f#DF#AD "Reubin," fDGCD "F," fFGCD "East Virginia."

https://patreon.com/cliftonhicks 2018-06-08 17:27:03 +0000 UTC View Post

Banjo Roots and Branches

Banjo Roots and Branches is now available for pre-order through University of Illinois Press and 2018-06-04 14:54:47 +0000 UTC View Post

Hills of Mexico | Close-Up

Here's a slowed down, close-up view of Hills of Mexico played using simplified overhand approach. fDGCD, relative.

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http://cliftonhicks.bandcamp.com

Hills of Mexico | Lesson

"Hills of Mexico" from Roscoe Halcomb of Daisy, Kentucky.

• Performance (two-finger): https://youtu.be/zTsDSWlwPro?si=ehM38aaqhe1M9_HD

• Tutorial (two-finger):  2018-06-01 03:09:49 +0000 UTC View Post

Q&A: Magic Wish Banjo, Fingernails & OLD Wood

"If you could snap your fingers and have any banjo, what would you get and why?" - Lindsay

"To my ear, you seem to get quite a deep, bassy tone from your banjo. Banjos aren't really associated with a deep, bassy sound but I wondered whether things like a skin head, tuning down, heavier strings or older wood might contribute to that. I play a goodtime and though it sounds good I wonder if ther...

Hills of Mexico | Performance

My banjo is tuned: dBEAB (fDGCD, relative, aka "F Tuning")

I learned this song from the famous recording of Roscoe Holcomb from Daisy, Kentucky. In the past I've mostly used up-picking to accompany this song; here I chose to finger pick it in an effort to more closely follow Holcomb. While this song's popularity has grown in recent years, and there are many fine versions now floating around, Joh...

Basic Overhand Banjo Picking

This is a very basic introduction to traditional overhand (or "clawhammer) style banjo playing. Even if you're already familiar with this style of banjo playing, you might get some use out of my relatively different approach to teaching it.

Banjo is tuned fCFAD (relative gDGBD standard "open G" tuning).

Dan Gellert on "Finding Folklore"

Fine music and wise words from expert banjoist/fiddler Dan Gellert.

(Filmed by Dylan McMurry & Quinn Donoghue.)

Discussion | Going Across the Mountain

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http://cliftonhicks.bandcamp.com

Although made famous by renowned Appalachian folk artist Frank Proffitt, I actually learned this song from contemporary banjo balladeer Josh Hayes of Watauga County, North Carolina...

Frankie & Albert | Lesson

Let's talk our way through how to play "Frankie & Albert" in f#DEAD.

Frankie & Albert | Close-Up

(f#DEAD, relative, aka "Frankie" tuning.) 

Here is a close-up view of both hands playing "Frankie & Albert" a couple of different ways. To slow this video down click on the machine cog symbol in the bottom right of the video player and then click on "Speed." 

Q&A | Top 5 Banjo Albums?

Sean wrote in and asked me to list my top 5 banjo albums were I to be, somehow, stranded on a desert island with a functioning CD player. Well yall, I think I picked SIX albums and they're not all "banjo" albums... but here they are! These are all recordings that have deeply influenced my own banjo playing and singing.

Scott Didlake on Banjo Origins

"This is a very rare video of the late Scott Didlake, 1948-1994, pioneer gourd banjo builder and the lost origin of the banjo researcher. He his talking at a Gourd banjo workshop during  the Tennessee Banjo Institute event 1992 together with Mike Seeger and Clark Buehling." - Ulf Jagfors 

How to Tack a Banjo Head

A few of yall are running into the same troubles I had when I first tried to make a tackhead banjo. Mounting the head on one of these contraptions is fairly challenging and nuanced--hopefully this short video will spare you the agony of a busted or loose banjo head.

Camden Pugh | "Go Along Mule" (from Dave Macon)

Young Tennessee banjoist Camden Pugh (who learned much of his music from world famous entertainer Leroy Troy) has come up in more than one of our discussions here. Though I'd say he is mostly known for his finger picking and singing, here Pugh is laying down a fairly straight overhand rhythm for dancers at a small house party earlier this year. 

This is a small glimpse into our "living and ...

Frankie & Albert

f#DEAD, relative (aka "Frankie" tuning)

Here's my attempt at this fairly unusual piece of music that I learned from banjo master, researcher and mentor George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. Virgil Anderson, Dee Hicks and Dock Boggs (to name a few) also used this tuning to great effect.

Look out for some close-ups on this one as well as a discussion/lesson in the coming days.

Q&A | Clif's Dogs & the Fifth String "Pip?"

Several folks have asked for a formal introduction to my two dogs, Mexico and Copper--so here they are! We also _try_ to answer Patrick's question about the details of my deer bone fifth string "pips."

"Banjo Tales" with Mike Seeger

 A number of you have inquired with me about Mike Seeger's "Banjo Tales" film and field recording project that I participated in during 2008. Due to the sensitive nature of this subject (and the numerous parties involved) I have been reluctant to respond to your inquiries... until now.

"Banjo Tales" on IMDB: https://w...