Clifton Hicks

Early 1900s S.S. Stewart "The Amateur" Grade 2 Banjo

Video of the other "Amateur" we featured last year 👉 https://youtu.be/xilUy0SPIQU

2021-07-30 15:31:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Rare Mountain Banjos of Kentucky & West Virginia

In this video I demonstrate two of my latest mountain banjo builds: a rare, hexagonal type that emerged in Kentucky before World War 1; and another type linked to Bluefield, West Virginia and the Great Depression.

2021-07-23 15:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post

"Sourwood Mountain" Lesson

gDGBD relative ≈ fCFAC actual. I learned Sourwood Mountain from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. George played it using a relatively heavy overhand style, and my version is very similar. As I attempt to explain in the video, I learned this as a free-wheeling banjo song, not as an "old time" fiddle tune with repetitive A and B parts. 

Listen to George Gibson's version here: ...

"Sourwood Mountain" Performance (WV Mountain Banjo)

gDGBD - I learned "Sourwood Mountain" from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. My instrument is a West Virginia-style mountain banjo, handmade by myself after an example made by the father of Franklin George, near Bluefield, circa 1935. 

See the same song performed on a Kentucky-style banjo: https://youtu.be/bFM0lo...

Every Tab So Far

Updated periodically. If you can't find the tab you're looking for, use the search box or contact Clif directly.

Thanks to longtime Banjo Heritage member, Josh Donnelly, for compiling (and continuously updating) these tabs into one PDF 👇

Building a Hexagonal Kentucky Mountain Banjo

I refer to these instruments as "Kentucky" mountain banjos because most seem to have been made in the eastern part of that state. Besides the polygonal nature of their sound chambers, they differ from  the more typical mountain banjos of Carolina and Tennessee in that they lack the former's intern...

"I'm Bound to Ride" Lesson

fB♭FB♭C (gCGCD relative). I learned this song from Josh Hayes of Watauga County, North Carolina. Josh probably learned it from recordings of Carter and Ralph Stanley. 

8.5" x 11" .pdf attached below 👇 

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Coming up from ...

"Bound to Ride" Performance

fB♭FB♭C actual (gCGCD relative). I learned this song from Josh Hayes of Watauga County, North Carolina. Josh probably learned it from recordings of Carter and Ralph Stanley. In this video, I demonstrate how I play my version of the song using traditional up-stroke (up-picking), overhand (clawhammer), and two-finger (thumb-lead) styles.  

Coming up from Tennessee riding on the bli...

Banjo Heritage Bibliography (Reading List)

Below is a list of articles, essays, and books that are relevant to our understanding of early banjo history.

Bauer, Albert (.pdf attached below)

"Reminiscences of a Banjo Player" 2021-06-16 14:46:32 +0000 UTC View Post

Rare Recordings of George Gibson (Summer, 2013)

These recordings were made by Garrett Faulkner during an interview with banjoist and historian, George R. Gibson, at his home in Knott County, Kentucky.

"In the Pines" Lesson

I learned to play "In the Pines" on the banjo from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. Gibson's tuning was close to f#DF#AD; however, my arrangement of the piece (though similar to Gibson's) is played in fB♭FB♭C (relative gCGCD).

Download 8.5" x 11" Tablature 👇

"Trifling Woman" Lesson

gDGBD. I learned "Trifling Woman" from Josh Hayes of Watauga County, North Carolina. Hayes learned it from the 1960s Smithsonian recording of Frank Proffitt (also of Watauga County). This is my own arrangement.

Note, the bold P letters in measures 4, 6, 7, and 8 are technically referred to as "alternate string pull-offs" because the left hand is plucking a string that has...

"In the Pines" Performance

I learned "In the Pines" from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky, who tuned his banjo f♯DF♯AD. Here, I play my own version in the related tuning gCGCD.

My instrument is a 1913 Vega Fairbanks "Regent" banjo with maple bridge by Joel Hooks and La Bella No. 17 nylon strings.

"Unquiet Grave" Lesson

I learned "Unquiet Grave" (Cold Blows the Wind, Child 78) from a 1960s recording of Hedy West & Doc Watson. This is an original arrangement for two finger banjo in 3/4 time.

gDGCD relative (eBEAB actual tuning):

Cold blows the wind my own true love

Cold blows the driving rain,

I never had but one true love

In the green wood he was slain.

I'll ...

"East Kentucky Banjo" by George Gibson

Attached below you will find a rough draft of a banjo tutor written by George Gibson in the 1990s. In it, George describes in great detail several of the playing styles and techniques which he observed as a youth in Knott County, Kentucky. He also uses his original notation system, which works like a simplified tablature, to lay out several of the most commonly played songs. 

2021-05-07 15:31:00 +0000 UTC View Post

c. 1890 "Dobson" (Buckbee) with Silver Bell tone ring.

This unmarked "Dobson" has an unusual 12-inch rim, new goatskin head, new Five Star tuners, reproduction No-Knot tailpiece, and a Clifford Essex bridge. All Dobson banjos (even the "Silver Bell" models) were probably produced by Buckbee in New York City from the early 1880s until his bankruptcy in 1901. By that time, Buckbee had been bought out by Rettberg & Lange.

2021-04-30 16:00:00 +0000 UTC View Post

"Jay Gould's Daughter" Lesson

f♯DF♯AD - I learned this song from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. In this tutorial I explain the history behind the song, and how the tune is played using traditional overhand (clawhammer) and two-finger banjo picking techniques.

Jay Gould's daughter said before she died 

Daddy O Daddy don't let the bums ride, 

If ride they must let them ride on the rod...

5-String Gourd Banjo Build

Demonstration of 1840s-style gourd banjo built entirely with traditional hand tools.

2021-04-20 15:31:19 +0000 UTC View Post

"Trifling Woman" Performance (Gourd Banjo)

I learned "Trifling Woman" from Josh Hayes of Watauga County, North Carolina. Josh learned it from the original recording by Frank Proffitt. My instrument is a 5-string gourd banjo, handmade by myself, tuned approximately eBEG♯B.

2021-04-16 15:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post

"Coke Oven March" Lesson

I learned "Coke Oven March" from a 1960s recording of Dock Boggs made by Mike Seeger for the Smithsonian. Dock learned the tune from a cheap wind-up music box purchased while he was working at an industrial iron smelting furnace known as a "coke oven." As far as I know, the actual name of the tune is lost to history.

2021-04-09 15:30:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Early 1900s Lyron & Healy Banjo

George Washburn Lyon and Patrick Healy began manufacturing banjos in Chicago, Illinois during the early 1880s. They quickly became one the world's leading musical instrument suppliers, and were a major source of competition for S.S. Stewart in Philadelphia.  

This example, probably made between 1900 and 1930, is typical of their entry level banjos.

"Bonnie George Campbell" Performance

gDGBD relative (d♯B♭D♯GB♭ actual). I learned "Bonnie George Campbell" from a recording of Bascom Lamar Lunsford. Frank Proffitt recorded it as "Bonnie James Campbell." Lunsford thought this song was an older variant of "Cumberland Gap." 

It's high upon highland low upon Tay 

Bonnie George Campbell rode out on one day, 

All saddled all bridled and booted ...

"I've Always Been a Rambler" Lesson

f♯DF♯AD - I learned "Always Been a Rambler" from Josh Hayes of Watauga County, North Carolina. This piece was recorded by Grayson & Whitter, Ralph Stanley, and many others.

"I've Always Been a Rambler" Performance

f♯DF♯AD I learned this song from Josh Hayes of Watauga County, North Carolina, who probably learned it from the 1920s recording of Grayson & Whitter. The song was also recorded by Ralph Stanley and Ola Belle Reed.  My instrument is a circa 1920 Fairbanks Vega "Regent" banjo with original calfskin head, La Bella No. 17 nylon strings, and Joel Hooks bridge.

Banjo Tuner Maintenance

This video introduces the four common types of banjo tuning pegs, and explains how to keep them turning smoothly.

Banjo Heritage: The Unlikely Survival of a Southern Folkway

George Gibson and I were recently interviewed by Nissim Lebovits for Symposeum Magazine. We went pretty deep into the history and present condition of banjo culture, and I think many here will find it relevant.

You can order a hard copy of the issue, or read the full article for free here: https://symposeum.us/banjo-...

"Going to Georgia" Lesson

gDGBD. In this video I demonstrate my take on Lawrence Eller's "Going to Georgia," and discuss a little bit of the history of the song and Eller's recordings which were collected by Art Rosenbaum in Towns County, Georgia during the 1980s.

👇 Download 8.5" x 11" Tablature 👇

"Unquiet Grave" Performance

gDGCD - I learned "Unquiet Grave" (Cold Blows the Wind, Child 78, Roud 51) from a 1960s recording of Hedy West from Cartersville, Georgia.

Cold blows the wind my true love 

Cold blows the driving rain, 

I never had but one true love 

In the greenwood he was slain  

I'll do as much for my true love 

As any woman may,  2021-03-08 00:09:46 +0000 UTC View Post

"I'm Going to Georgia" Performance

I learned "I'm Going to Georgia" from 1980s recordings of Lawrence Eller collected by Art Rosenbaum in Towns County, Georgia. At the end of one recording Eller says, "That's a good old tune. I learned that from my mother." 

I'm going to Georgia  

I'm going to Rome, 

I'm going to Georgia 

Gonna make it my home  

I left my dear old...

1919 Vega Fairbanks "Regent" Banjo

In 1904 the A.C. Fairbanks banjo factory in Boston was destroyed by fire. Shortly thereafter Fairbanks was bought out by The Vega Company, then manufacturing guitars in New York.  

This example of a Vega Fairbanks "Regent" banjo was produced in Boston sometime between 1910 and 1919. Calfskin head, La Bella No. 17 nylon strings, Joel Hooks bridge.

2021-02-26 16:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post