Banjo uke, anyone?
Bo Parker
Hi
Does anyone else out there play that "red-haired step-child" of the
banjo family <hangs head in shame>, the banjo uke? ;^)
And will actually admit it?
Anyone have any TABs (or chord diagram sequences, or whatever) for it?
See ya
-Bo "will play banjo uke, kazoo, & siren whistle for food" Parker
bo_p...@fbpmac.msfc.nasa.gov (preferred)
Me
Not my employer (whoever that is)
Me, me, me
Nate Smith
>
>Does anyone else out there play that "red-haired step-child" of the
>banjo family <hangs head in shame>, the banjo uke? ;^)
>And will actually admit it?
>
i have what used to be a banjo uke made by Avalon. it looks about 1930's
vintage. i bought it from a friend who was converting it intoa piccolo
banjo. i finished the conversion. i out huge ebony viola pegs on it for
a laugh. i actually got started performing via this funny thing......
- nate
Will Hancock
my hands. I have tried screwing around with it, but I don't know how
it's tuned or anything. I have tried to tune it to guitar like tunings
(with four strings), but that's not to great. Any tuning and chord info
would be fun.
Tom Erbe
fretboard. I have mine tuned like a uke, you know "my dog has fleas". It
needs a new bridge though. Anyone know any good instrument builders in the
Los Angeles area?
Tom Erbe
t...@music.calarts.edu
Eric E. Snyder
the front man plays Banjo-Uke quite a lot. They are sort of a
post-punk bluegrass band... in case anyone was thinking about
picking up one of their albums. They were the closing act on
saturday of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival a couple of years
back.
Eric E. Snyder
Department of MCD Biology ...making feet for childrens' shoes.
University of Colorado, Boulder
Boulder, Colorado 80309-0347
Tom Walsh
I have a small collection of ukuleles and banjo-ukes which I play.
Banjo-ukes reached the peak of their popularity in the late twenties-early
thirties. They are tuned the same as a ukuleles : My Dog Has Fleas =
A D F# B (or G C E A - the modern tuning of choice.) The A string is tuned one octave higher than you might otherwise expect, the D string is the 'low'
note. Banjo-ukes are generally strumming instruments, people who play well get
into some pretty fancy strums.
If you look around at old sheet music, it is quite often arranged with
Uke/Banjo uke chords. Songs like Ain't she sweet, Five Foot Two, and Sweet
Georgia Brown (not to mention Tip-Toe Thru the Tulips, a 1920's favorite)
are Ukulele classics. Look for recorded music by Roy Smeck (The Wizard of the Strings), George Formby (Famous British Film star/Banjo-Uke player (Really! :) and Cliff Edwards (also famous as the voice of Jimminy Cricket - went by
the name of Ukulele Ike.)
For Uke parts (bridges/nuts/strings/etc.) try Elderly Instruments out in Michigan, they seem to have a pretty good selection from the looks of their catalog. E-mail me if you want the address, I'll have to dig up the catalog.
If there are any other Uke/Banjo-Uke players out there, I'd like to hear/see more about it here. If you don't want to upset the Banjo purists, you can E-mail me.
T.Walsh tow...@pilot.njin.net
Bo Parker
Well, I'm glad I started this thread on banjo ukes. I have an Audition
banjo uke that's about 20 years old. I believe Audition was Woolworth's
house-brand. It looks to me like the back and sides are made of (laminated)
rosewood, and the fingerboard is rosewood. It doesn't have a resonator,
just a closed back like a guitar. Is this typical of banjo ukes? It sounds
great and is LOUD, unlike a normal uke.
I replaced the bridge on mine a few months ago. I used a 5/8" Grover
Non-Tip Tenor banjo bridge that I got from Elderly Instruments - it fit the
bill quite well.
I may try to type in some chords over the holidays.
See ya
-Bo Parker
bo_p...@fbpmac.msfc.nasa.gov (preferred)
parker_b%aplva...@fedex.msfc.nasa.gov
I do not speak for my employer, whoever that is.
``...the razor inside, sir...jerk the handle...''
Eric E. Snyder
I can't post to Usenet, so I am sending you this personal message.
The "front man" of the Horse Flies is Jeff Claus, who really rattles out a
rhythm with the banjo uke. He's a friend of mine (Ithaca is a smallish
place), and he once said that the uke is "half the size of the banjo, and
twice as cool." He tunes it like any ukulele.
The Horse Flies started out as the Tompkins County Horseflies, as a straight
-ahead old-time stringband. Judy Hyman (Jeff's wife) is featured on the
Tennvale album "Anthology of Old Style Old-Time Fiddling", and the two of
them together are featured on Bob Carlin's album "Banging and Sawing." This
last is a must-have for any clawhammer banjo enthusiast--all banjo/fiddle
duets! Anyway, they started getting more funky and electric about 5 years
ago, when they changed their name and decided to try and become a successful
alternative rock band. Well, they lost their contract with MCA after
"Gravity Dance", but Johnny Hayward (bassist) says there's another contract
in the making and an album due out soon thereafter.
Occasionally they play an all acoustic set, usually for a local dance, under
the moniker "Cast Iron Lawn Dogs" or "Plastic Dirtballs". These
incarnations don't include the drummer or keyboardist, hence the different
name.
Banjo ukes seem to be on the upswing in popularity, judging from old-time
festivals like Mount Airy, NC, and the Old Fiddlers Convention at Galax, VA.
There's even a backlash against them: I've seen two NO UKES bumper stickers
at festivals.
Other info you may or may not want: Judy Hyman is daughter of famous jazz
pianist Dick Hyman. Rich Stearns (banjo and guitar player) is also playing
with Tony Trischka (bluegrass banjo and former Ithacan) in Farm Report, and
is also in a band with his wife Jenny, doing original material. He used to
be part of Donna the Buffalo, which is an up-and-coming roots music band
you're bound to hear from eventually.
Cheers, your die-hard local-boys-make-good supporter.
end included message...
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Eric E. Snyder I've tried psychotherapy, TV and beer
Department of MCD Biology but sometimes I still feel
University of Colorado, Boulder like van Gogh's left ear.
Boulder, Colorado 80309-0347 --J. Claus
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