Seeger-Style Banjo Intro. in C Tuning
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- čas přidán 11. 10. 2013
- Video 1 for Madison College Banjo 2: Seeger Style class. Basic strum. C tuning, gCGBD. Chords: C, F, G7. Various licks. My iPhone memory ran out at the end, so I got cut off. I was just about done anyway.
- Hudba
Colin, I learned Banjo from you. You were my first teacher. I loved Pete Seeger music and wanted to know his method when I started. CZcams directed me to you when I put my topic in the box. This video was my first. I feel like I learned from the best on Seeger style. I've been playing a year now and learned other styles,tunings,and shapes but I always come back to Seeger style.Thanks for many enjoyable hours.
Thanks for the kind words, Lynn! I can't believe how old that video is. When I was in college I wrote Pete Seeger a letter thanking him for everything, and he sent me back a card with a maple leaf glued inside. I'll tell you what he told me in response: "Keep on!"
Thank you very much for your clear instructions! I have only been playing for about a week now using Pete Seeger's "how to play a five string banjo" book that I had found at my library (the only book there on banjos I might add). Now I can properly practice with confidence that I am strumming correctly. Well, time to go play! I will definitely use your channel for a resource as I hone my skills. God bless
thanks for all these lessons man, very helpful
Great lesson,thaanks for all the time and effort you put into your videos. Learned that strum out of the book,had the record but misplaced it. That was 1963.
Been playing "Seeger style" since the late 1950's. Yeooow! That makes me old !
Thanks, Colin. The more I watch the more I understand how it all works.
...Bill
Keep picking my friend, im learning alot from you . Thank you
Really good lesson Colin, Thankyou for sharing your knowlege!!
Thanks!
Ahh, so this is what my version of "clawhammer" actually is. xD I always pluck up on the bum. It just feels better. Sometimes I'll even pluck various strings with my thumb. Maybe it's due to coming from a Travis picking background. Glad I'm not the only one who does this. 😂
WoW that you for this! Especially the C tuning! Now I finally know how Pete played The Golden Vanity! I was singing along while you were strumming that chord! Anyways its sad how this banjo technique is dying out. It has a few advantages over clawhammer. Much easier to play eighth notes without hammer on or pull offs. More mellow. Switching from clawhammer to this style and back again during the same song gives the advantages of both styles. Derroll Adams also played exclusively in this index lead upstroke style. Great lesson video!
I love Pete's version of "Golden Vanity". Thanks for your comments!
.... and if you lived in S.FL, I would take lessons from you! You're so GOOD!!
Thank you!
Very helpful intro. Now that you've got me going, what is the next video in the series? Thanks.
Sure, here's a list of all the videos from the course, in order.
BANJO 2: SEEGER STYLE VIDEOS
1.
Seeger-Style Banjo Intro. in C Tuning
czcams.com/video/0pjAai7PtxU/video.html
2.
"New River Train" Seeger Style Banjo
czcams.com/video/p-BXO7bqFGA/video.html
3.
"This Land Is Your Land"
czcams.com/video/4wXCG1UCuLM/video.html
4.
“500 Miles”
czcams.com/video/RKWBR8xrLyE/video.html
5.
“Deep Blue Sea” Pt. 1
czcams.com/video/bLvsEbAzgrM/video.html
6.
“Deep Blue Sea” Pt. 2
czcams.com/video/Bt01CPB_1Ik/video.html
7.
“Hard, Ain’t It Hard”
czcams.com/video/0082hQUV0DU/video.html
8.
“John Henry”
czcams.com/video/21lCom4J_XI/video.html
9.
“Whiskey, Rye Whiskey”
czcams.com/video/ZmIMABH3dBc/video.html
10.
“Whoopie Ti Yi Yo Get Along Little Dogies”
"Get Along Little Dogies" Seeger-style banjo
Hi Colin, we haven't talked in a while. I am new to banjo playing. I have tried to get my pointer finger in the rythme but it just won't work. I can get the strum down but it is kind of weird
Is it possible to tune a standard 5 string banjo to the first tuning you use?
I play the banjo too
If you take off the capos then you would be in A so it would be E, A, E, G#, B.
Colin, your instructions are very clear, but I have been trying for a while now and I can not get my index finger to do that first pluck. everytime I try I can get close but no cigar
People often have trouble with the timing. The up-pick comes right after the thumb on the fifth string. index (pause) brush thumb index (pause) brush thumb index...etc. Think of the first pluck as always on the downbeat.
Thanks let me give that a shot. Very nice of you to respond so quickly. The banjo has been a struggle for me, but I am determined to get it!
That Gibson RB-175 sounds a lot like Pete Seeger's old Vega Tuba-phone. Do you have a rag inside the rim? Frank Hamilton plays a Gibson RB-175 which he replaced the brass hoop with a Greg Rich tone ring. Keep up the good work.
No, I didn't put anything inside the rim. Thanks, I really love that banjo!
Hi Colin,
Thanks very much for your valuable videos. It is so hard to find informational videos on the Banjo nowadays.
I have one question though that you might be able to help. My steel strings on the banjo dont sound "Plunky" when I play them. What strings do you normally use? They sound pretty spot-on and "plunky"
Thanks, Russ! On the Gibson RB-175 in this video, I use D’Addario strings, nickel-wound and medium gauge. Nothing special. May it’s the open back or the heavy wooden pot that makes it sound plunky.
@@ColinBazsali Thanks for letting me know!
That Gibson is the Long-necked one, right? I think Seeger sorta "invented it". Those are quite amazing, but pricey for me to afford. The banjo I have uses steel strings, as far as I know (I ordered it a while ago and never changed the strings). I dont have a resonator, so I only play with the open back. However, the wooden pot of the head is medium sized, being not so small, but not as wide as yours, looking off the video. I do have a pack of D'Addario strings as a backup. Maybe I should try those?
@@russj.5296 Yes, it’s the longneck model. I bought it at the Old Town School of Folk Music in the mid-90s for around $600. The prices have about doubled since then. If you’ve never changed the strings, you might want to try that, and experiment with different gauges, brands, and materials.
@@ColinBazsali Oh wow, it has gone up a lot in price. It is a very nice type of banjo though. I started changing the strings, so I'll let you know how they sound.
A quick question though, on another of your videos (Deep blue sea seeger style part 1)
For that video, I see that, on a normal sized banjo, you have it capoed to the second fret (and in c tuning). However, when you capo to the second fret, did you tune the 5th string change from g to A? I read this somewhere in Pete's book.
Thanks for all the help anyhow!
Russ
@@russj.5296 When you move your capo from G to A, you do have to retune your 5th string to an A. You need to retune that string whenever you move your capo around (unless you happen to be moving to a different tuning, where the 5th string would stay the same note).
What brand of camera are you using? The resolution looks like something from 2002.
Hi Colin, Just wondering, is C tuning better or have some more potential then G tuning? Seems Pete Seeger used it a lot and most people today don't.
Each tuning has its own uses. Open G is good for certain melodies and styles, especially clawhammer. The "classic" C tuning, gCGBD, is good for when you want to play a lot of chords. In fact, you have to fret a chord all the time because it's not an open tuning like G is. It's good for accompanying oneself while singing folk songs, because folk songs generally have 3 chords. For that reason, it's versatile and very handy to know. Pete Seeger, of course, used it liberally, but so did a lot of the old timers like Doc Boggs and especially Charlie Poole. Both Boggs and Poole played with 3-finger up-picking styles, to which the C tuning lends itself well.
It's really good to play in jams when you don't know the melodies, but can chord along Charlie Poole-style, or if there is already someone playing clawhammer.
C tuning is also the main tuning for those who play "classic" banjo style, where they play up-picking with 3 fingers classical and popular melodies from the turn of the century.
So, I wouldn't say it's better or has more potential than G. It just has it's own strengths and weaknesses.
Don't need 13minutes of video. Just tune it ok
what make of banjo do you use
That's a Gibson RB-175 longneck from around 1964.
Are you tuning while the cappo is in place? How does that work?
Are you referring to the fact that I'm in standard open G with a capo on? You'd normally expect there to be no capo in that key. That banjo, though, is a long-neck model, with 3 extra frets, which makes it 3 half-steps lower when there is no capo on it. So to get into G, I have to have the capo on the third fret. Does that answer your question?
@@ColinBazsali sorry, I’ve only been playing for about 4 months, so there is a lot I don’t understand. In the video it looks like the capo is in place and you’re adjusting the tuning. I play mostly in standard G, but then capo on second fret (A?). I just didn’t think you could adjust individual string tunings with the pegs with a capo in place.
I like your videos and alternate tuning are a new step for me. I think I’ll hold off on the Seeger style for a while though. Thanks for the reply.
@@amoschase7207 I see! I've never had any problem tuning while the capo is on.
What brand of banjo are you using?
It's a circa 1963 Gibson RB175 long neck.
double C. better since its only a half step higher on the B string, i guess unless u need an open b string in your chords. mostly i don't like chordal playing on the banjo. i guess thats why i prefer double C.
Yeah, double-c is great, too. All tunings have their special uses. This C tuning is good for Seeger style or other chord-based styles, like that of Charlie Poole.
Did Seeger always play in C tuning?
Not always. He at least as often used standard open G, and would sometimes veer into open D tuning (f#DF#AD, particularly for "Darlin' Corey") and other specialized tunings. I can't recall any examples of double D, but I'd be surprised if he didn't use it. But classical C tuning (gCGBD, capoed up and down) was his bread and butter.
You teach a lot of chords; but watch Pete play. How often does he chord? From what I've seen, banjo is putting fingers on the individual strings, rather than chords.
There are lots of ways to play the banjo: some play with mostly single strings, others play with chords, others (like me) switch between the two depending on the song or style. Pete did both, but he's mostly known for using the banjo to accompany himself while singing folk songs. When you sing folk songs, it's nice to play chords, like you would on a guitar. There are some tunings that work best for that kind of playing, and the C tuning is one of them: gCGBD. It's not an open tuning, so you need to fret the strings if you want to play a chord. And that's what this particular video is about.
sorry i realize u are teaching seeger style