I’ve noticed lately that I’ve been composing more banjo tunes than fiddle tunes. Perhaps it’s because of a renewed interest in banjo picking due to my new Gold Star banjo. I’m not really sure. I got the Gold Star in a musical instrument trade and shortly after the trade I parted with my old 1963 Gibson “Bowtie”. I didn’t let the “Bowtie” go with the original 1963 19-hole tone ring, though. I kept that and swapped it out with the Kulesh ring that was in the Gold Star. This made the Gold Star come alive in the sense of improved tone. The old “Bowtie” still sounded great even with the new Kulesh ring, probably because the rim was a 3-piece rim from 1963. I would have loved to have kept the old rim and changed that out, too, but I didn’t take the time to make the swap.
But, anyway, the activity around the new banjo seems to have inspired three new tunes, so far. The first tune I wrote, I named “The Unaka Bounce” and it has a very catchy melody almost western swing-like in progression. The second has a recurring melodic theme repeating through the basic 1, 4 & 5 chords with an interesting “B” part that has a V of V chord resolving back to the V chord. I’ve named this one “I’m Goin’ to the Jam” and the third and latest tune is a lightning fast one I’ve named “Fred’s 5-String Breakdown” which is basically all over the neck in a great big hurry.
When I add the banjo tunes I wrote last year, i.e. “Blue Ridge Pines” , “Shake and Bake Breakdown”, “The Rheatown Ramble”, “Mountain Fairies” and “The Chuckey Pike Breakdown”, it gives me a great start for the original tune portion of volume two of my banjo book I’m working on.
But, anyway, the activity around the new banjo seems to have inspired three new tunes, so far. The first tune I wrote, I named “The Unaka Bounce” and it has a very catchy melody almost western swing-like in progression. The second has a recurring melodic theme repeating through the basic 1, 4 & 5 chords with an interesting “B” part that has a V of V chord resolving back to the V chord. I’ve named this one “I’m Goin’ to the Jam” and the third and latest tune is a lightning fast one I’ve named “Fred’s 5-String Breakdown” which is basically all over the neck in a great big hurry.
When I add the banjo tunes I wrote last year, i.e. “Blue Ridge Pines” , “Shake and Bake Breakdown”, “The Rheatown Ramble”, “Mountain Fairies” and “The Chuckey Pike Breakdown”, it gives me a great start for the original tune portion of volume two of my banjo book I’m working on.
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