My old banjo
@LaurieLovesLearning , @torey and @jodienancarrow asked me to update the group as this project came together... well, I am still working on it, but am making progress. A couple of years ago, I bought an antique tenor banjo - made by Epiphone, circa 1920, so around 100 years old. It needed a little work and a lot of cleaning. Getting used to the volume was a major learning curve. This instrument was meant to cut through a Dixieland band with no amplification. In this recording, I had to turn the microphone input way down, so the banjo wouldn't overwhelm... but, that meant singing at the top of my lungs and still not being heard well. Here goes nothing:
Comments
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You are a man of many talents, indeed @judsoncarroll4!
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Thanks... I'm still a little clumsy!
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Glad to!
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@judsoncarroll4 good on you mate! I envy anyone who can play a musical instrument! Maybe I should give it a crack, nothing ventured nothing gained.
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You'll never regret buying a uke... hey even Jiminy Cricket could play the uke! Actually, the voice of Disney's Jiminy Cricket was "Ukulele Ike" Cliff Edwards, and he was a fantastic vaudeville musician:
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@jodienancarrow Go for it! I have been looking into junior guitars (smaller neck & body, lighter) for our youngest who is trying to teach himself how to play guitar, using a toy style guitar. It is not too bad at holding its tune. We are looking at getting him a much better one, however.
You can also get special strings that are less harsh on the fingers, so that you can first learn how to play without hurting fingertips, then move on to regular strings later.
I will post the article for anyone who is interested. It focuses on children's guitars, but could have helpful information here or elsewhere on the site for beginners.
And another site that has more good information under the reviews.
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@judsoncarroll4 the older banjos definitely have a very different sound than the more modern ones we hear in most music played today. I grew up around all kinds of stringed musical instruments and love that sound. Great job restoring a good one.
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That's so cool!
I personally think that every child should learn an instrument as it is just so much fun to play them. If you are an adult learner take the plunge, it will be worth it!
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I agree. I didn't begin learning guitar until I was 16 or so. I wish I had begun on uke as a child. The baritone ukulele is tuned just like the top 4 strings of a guitar. The soprano uke is just tuned higher, but also in 4ths. It is so easy to play and would have advanced my eventual guitar playing by decades. I would recommend anyone wanting to learn the chord melody style of guitar to start on a uke. 5 string banjo is much easier than guitar, too. Tenor banjo is a little tricky due to the fret spacing, so it helps to have big hands.
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I like small guitars a lot, especially the old parlor guitars and tenor guitars. A good quality kids' size classical guitar is usually fairly inexpensive and the nylon strings are much easier on the fingers. The only draw back is that the strings wear out so fast. Steel strings last much longer. Either way though, a small guitar is always good for travel. Full sized guitars are heavy and bulky in their cases. David Rawlings always plays small, parlor guitars (usually antiques). Here is a nice tune for Sunday ... such brilliant old time harmony... love those two, and I was there when they were discovered!
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@judsoncarroll4 I only heard part of your song. I don't know if my phone just doesn't like rumble or what. I have tried to listen repeatedly at different times of day on various days. At least I heard some!
The little guitars that we were recommended at a somewhat local music store had very good sound. He went over the pros & cons with us and played a little for us. It was good!
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