[Dixielandjazz] Banjo Styles

[David Richoux]

There is a style of banjo playing I have not heard too frequently, and  
since I am not a certified Banjo operator I don't know how to describe  
it in structural terms . A few Brit/Euro/Oz  "youngish" bands play it,  
especially the HooDangers ( http://www.hoodangers.com/tunes.html ) and  
maybe it is an offshoot of the UK Trad /Skiffle Revival?  Creole New  
Orleans? African?

I guess it is sort of a 4 beat with off-beat accents, sometimes 8 to  
the bar,  but the beat is stretched a bit at times, especially on slow  
tunes. Anyway, makes for some interesting listening, but I am not sure  
where it fits in the spectrum of OKOM banjo... I have heard Don Vappie  
and Jimmy Mazzy do it at times.

Dave Richoux


On Sep 18, 2009, at 4:19 PM, Mike Woitowicz wrote:

> DJML Listmates:
>
> It's interesting the  topic of banjo styles should pop up as a topic  
> today. I am leaving Saturday morning for the LaCrosse (WI)  
> banjorama, and I have been invited to do a workshop for tenor  
> banjoists. The topic I have selected is "banjo styles."
>
> There's more to banjo playing than "whacking on 2 & 4," although you  
> would be hard pressed to find many OKOM band leaders would  
> understand or believe that. It's been my experience that they're so  
> focused on their own instrument, that they believe the others in the  
> band are for background only [Let the flack begin on that comment!].
>
> Anyways, my workshop will focus on some of the techniques that  
> define styles of banjo playing including (but not limited to):
>
> Full Chord Melody Style (such as Eddie Peabody, Don Van Palta, Doug  
> Mattocks, Buddy Wachter, etc).
>
> Full Chord Syncopation (Eddie Peabody, Brad Roth, Buddy Wachter,  
> George Formby -- O.K., not a real banjo player, but a good  
> syncopater).
>
> Broken Chord Stroke Style or Sub-Style (Masterfully done by Perry  
> Bechtel, Buddy Wachter and others).
>
> Single String Jazz (Elmer Snowden in the past; current proponents  
> such as Jimmy Mazzy, Paul Erickson, Howard Alden and others)
>
> Single String Chord Runs (the late Maurice Bolyer).
>
> Complex chord harmonies, staccato melody lines and complex  
> syncopation (Harry Reser, Howard Alden, and others).
>
> Note that these styles are not necessarily played continuously by  
> the above players, but that they tend to use the listed styles a  
> lot, and this, in my opinion, defines their playing. These are not  
> the only styles, of course, but the ones I could illustrate and find  
> recordings of in my collection. Not all of them are fully compatible  
> with OKOM style. I have tried them all during the course of gigs,  
> and some work better than others in an ensemble setting. Some are  
> better used for solo work.
>
> I will be demonstrating some of these techniques, as well as playing  
> some recordings illustrating them as done by the above players. It  
> should be a fun workshop.
>
>
> Mike Woitowicz
> The Banjo Barons Ragtime Band
> The Dixie Barons Dixieland Band
> Solo Banjo Shows
> www.banjomusic.biz
> _______________________________________________
> To unsubscribe or change your e-mail preferences for the Dixieland  
> Jazz Mailing list, or to find the online archives, please visit:
>
> http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz
>
>
>
> Dixielandjazz mailing list
> Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com