Tunes,Songs and Other Recordings (Alphabetical by Genre)

Clawhammer Banjo Solos

Arkansas Traveler      

This is a well-known banjo and fiddle tune that isn't played often enough. Tab

Barlow Knife      

This is a fun little tune that I can play all day! Done on my Deering Goodtime, it is the first recording with the Fyberskin head and No-Knot tailpiece. Standard G tuning.

Black Eyed Daisy      

This is an old tune I learned from a tab by Bob Carlin. I really like the simplicity of the tune.

Breaking Up Christmas

Clawhammer Banjo (aEADE)

Cluck Old Hen      

A traditional fiddle/banjo tune rendered on my new Chuck Lee banjo.

Colored Aristocracy

Clawhammer Banjo (gDGBD)

Cumberland Gap      

A fairly standard fiddle/banjo tune common throughout the Appalachian Mountains. Played in "Sandy River Belles" tuning (gEADE).

Drowsy Maggie      

Clawhammer banjo

Glass of Gin      

I was fooling around with the banjo tuned to double C and capoed the other day and came up with this simple tune. Lots of drop-thumb, kind of a nice cooler after the heat of an Arizona summer day.

Liberty      

Clawhammer banjo tune.

Lizard on the Garden Wall      

An original tune for Clawhammer banjo. I came up with this one while sitting on the patio watching a lizard running along the face of my garden wall while being pursued by a Cardinal. The lizard won this round! Tab

Mississippi Sawyer      

Clawhammer banjo version of the old fiddle tune.

Needlecase      

Clawhammer Banjo rendition of an old fiddle tune.

Old Jawbone      

A Henry Reed fiddle tune rendered on my Chuck Lee Lone Star openback banjo. I hope to one day add the fiddle to this catchy melody. Done in the key of G.

Pusch Ridge      

Another original tune, but I think it a bit of that old-time sound to it.

Rolling Mills      

Rolling Mills Are Burning Down     

Clawhammer banjo and Vocal. This is my version of an old traditional tune, "Rolling Mills." I have only heard 2 other versions, and have used some from both. A rolling mill is a factory that rolls steel into sheets. My best guess about the song is that back in the late 1800's-early 1900's, the industry was undergoing a bad time, and the song probably reflects a bad time in a mill town when the mills burned down, and the owners had no intentions of rebuilding.
The second recording is in a slightly different tuning, eBC#F#B, and is played on a fretless mountain banjo with Minstrel strings, which require a lowere tuning. If this on on my steel string banjo, the tuning would be f#DEAD.

Sally In The Tater Patch      

My Clawhammer banjo version of "Sally In The Garden" and "Tater Patch."

Shady Grove      

Clawhammer banjo and Vocal.

Soldiers Joy      

I had originally learned this in the key of A, and had previous recording was in that key. Recently I have been playing around with putting it into its "proper" key of D. After a few days of experimenting, this is what I came up with. Played on a Deering Goodtime banjo, clawhammer style.

Spooky Cripple Creek      

Clawhammer Banjo in a minor tuning. This came about on All Hallow's Eve a few years ago after hearing a version by Donald Zepp that struck me as eerie.

Spotted Pony      

Can you hear the pony trotting down the road? A pretty little traditional tune in the key of D. Often done as a fiddle/banjo duet (which I hope to accomplish in the near future). Performed on my Chuck Lee Lone Star openback banjo sitting on my patio. The fountain in the background adds a certain nuance to the music, I think.Tab

Fiddle Tunes

Home On the Range     

Fiddle, Banjo and Vocal. The song was orginally titled "My Western Home," and never contained the well-known phrase "Home on the range." For more information on the origins of the story, check the NPR story at: NPR I did this on the fiddle and banjo. I used a two-finger picking pattern on the banjo, because the fiddle work was so out of time.

Sugar Hill     

This is a fiddle tune I am working on, I recorded the banjo first for rythmn, then added the fiddle. I finally threw in a couple of choruses of vocal just for fun.

Liza Poor Gal     

An old fiddle/banjo tune. This one has a slight twist to the B part. Also known as Little Liza Jane.

Folk Songs

Danville Girl     

Vocal and Banjo. This is a nice hobo/love song. I like the fact that the basic clawhammer stroke works great for 3/4 time tunes. Tab

Fair Margaret and Sweet William (Child 74A)     

Guitar and Vocal. Tab

Follow The Drinking Gourd     

A favorite folk song of mine which comes from the days of the Underground Railroad. Done in Am on the banjo, my vocal is in the general area.Tab

Good Old Mountain Dew     

Clawhammer banjo and vocal.

John B's Sails     

Clawhammer and Vocal (also known as Sloop John B).

John Henry (Steel Drivin' Man)     

Clawhammer Banjo and Vocal. I was fooling around one day with the double C tuning, trying to see if I could figure out "Rolling Mills," when this song just sort of popped up. It seemed to fit well to the tuning, so I went searching for lyrics different from the well-known, well-worn lyrics usually sung. This is what I came up with. I like the sound that the modal tuning gives the song, and the sound that the added 3rd (E) gives the second line of the verse. I achieved the plunky dead sound by slipping a strip of foam cushioning material under the strings at the bridge to deaden the sound. Tab

Kicking Mule     

Clawhammer banjo and Vocal.

Lady Margaret     

Clawhammer banjo and vocal of the oldtime version of Child 74.

Stewball     

Clawhammer banjo and Vocal.

The Fox     

Clawhammer banjo and Vocal. This is an old song that I've known since a boy.

Worried Man Blues     

Vocal and Banjo I have always liked this tune, and finally got around to working up a clawhammer arrangement for it. Tab

Guitar Solos

Ländler & Caprice     

I haven't really played Classical guitar in almost 20 years, but recently I felt my Goya G-10 longing to try some. So, I dug out an old notation book and spent a couple of hours practicing a few of the short ones I used to play. Here is a Ländler by Joseph Küffner and a Caprice by Ferdinando Carulli.

Singer/Songwriter Stuff

Pretty Desert Flower     

Written quickly for the song of the month thread for May. You may be able to guess that I have been listening to a lot of Carter Family music lately.

R-A-I-N     

Guitar and Vocal. This is a little song I wrote because one of the members of the ezFolk forum wanted some April Rain songs. I tried to put an Hispanic/Flamenco sound to it, and rather like the guitar work.

Sometimes I Feel Like A Nut     

An original talking blues with Clawhammer banjo.

Ukulele Pieces

Blue Uke Waltz     

An original Ukelele instrumental. Lots of reverb in the mix.