The oldtime banjo blog from Kiel

Grad hab ich noch mal auf der Seite von Cathy Moore gestöbert und fand das: Is that cool or what?

Finally I found Patrick´s instruction video on nylon strings on a no-knot tailpiece (thanks a lot, Werner, for your comment on my last post!). As Patrick says, those tailpieces are made for small fingers, not for paws. I found it hard to handle it, it looks easier as it is. But as my last nylon e-string broke yesterday, I stringed my banjo with the good old GHS steel strings "regular light L09". Thank God, they´ve got loop ends. So here is a complete rendition of "Soldier´s Joy" which I learned from the tabs of Mike Iverson with some modifications as this seems to be how I know the tune - and made it easier for me. I don´t want to know anything about the "joy´s of a soldier", but I like the tune anyway. By the way: What about revitalising the good old "Transcontinental Jam Session"? Any guitar around here? Or a fiddle?

Never was quite sure, if the sound I produce on my banjo was exactly what I wanted to hear (not speaking of wrong notes). Sometimes I think the sound is not plunky enough. Then I got the CD "Banjo Gathering" (in fact a double) and heard (among others) banjos with nylon strings - also called nylguts. At the Banjoree in Hagen Cathy Moore played nylguts . I loved the sound - but I´m afraid it´s not only the nylguts but her kind of playing too ;-) As I didn´t want to order nylgot strings from the US without knowing how these would sound with my kind of frailing, today I put nylon guitar strings on my banjo. Wasn´t easy in no way: They didn´t want to get fixed at the noknot tailpiece, always slipped away when I began to tighten and tune them (I remember there was a video from Patrick showing how to put strings on a ukulele which had a similar tailpiece, but couldn´t find the video). Finaly the strings where fixed. I took e-strings for the 1st and the fifth string and spent some (l...

This little vid was shot on Charles Bridge, Prague. I felt it had to be published right here on the blog:

Heute ist der lang ersehnt BAHA-Tag . Patrick wird sein Audio-Interface angesetzt bekommen. Hoffentlich hört er dann gnädig über unsere falschen Töne hinweg... Dabei fällt mir ein, dass wir natürlich für unser Retreat - in 3 1/2 Wochen! - unbedingt das Songbook von Kelly Griner brauchen! Es ist auch möglich, mehrere Exemplare zu bestellen ...

No more asking, no more doubts: Our retreat will become reality! Nine fearnoughts will meet (they can bring in some more as we will have some bunks free ;-) on Friday Sept. 18th and will start to play and cook and play -and drink a little - and play again and continue playing and .. til Sunday 20th we will have to part. For details visit kolicom.de I really can´t wait. Raise high the banjos, folks! For those who will travel here from afar, we will try to organize some pick up service. Those arriving at Kiel central station will be taken from there to the retreat´s place. Those who come via Hamburg or Hannover will get mail from me about how to make their way to Kiel. We even can pick you up at Hamburg.

... in Georgia". This is the name of a rousing tune I never heard before. Hartmut from Hannover who will join the retreat sent me his rendition . That´s old tymie, isn´t it? Hopefully he will show us in Kiel how he did it. Sounds as if he´s got the cluck. I would like to learn that too. He wrote me that he first recorded the guitar track, then played it back through the speakers of his audio equipment while playing his banjo, so recording both tracks. Hartmut, next time you may use Audacity ;-)

Morgen ab 11 Uhr hat Max Wolff den Blues im Kulturladen Leuchtturm in Friedrichsort. Sehr empfehlenswert!

The Kiel Retreat will take place in five weeks from now (September 18th - 20th).Since some folks cancelled, there will be around 7-8 guys and gals who will come for sure (I´m still waiting for some confirmations, but this will be the number). This will slightly increase the costs for each of us, but I think it will not be unbearable. All costs are shared per capita. 400 € for the whole weekkend will go for accomodation. We will need food (home cooking - think of some recipes, please) and electricity plus maybe gas for heating. I think one weekend of music will be worth this effort. In a few days I will send to participants a link to another server where I stored lyrics and chords of some well known folk songs so that everybody can have a look at it. Any suggestions for more songs or tunes are wellcome. We can share them this way. You may print thoses songs you like and bring them with you along with your own songbooks. I`waiting to meet you all.

Holidays are over, I`m back to work. England/Dorset/Shipton Gorge was wonderful. The dear (and only?) reader of this blog may find it interesting, that we had a small jam in Shipton. Roland and his wife Angela from West Sussex came on a sunday afternoon. They had their car packed with guitars, a banjo and a sweet little ukulele. As this Hawaian (?) instrument wanted an Hawaian song, we had a go at "Let´s Talk Dirty in Hawaian", a funny John Prine song (hear Neil singing it) . This is how we looked: Looks like fun, doesn`t it? And it really was. By this I got the chance to play Roland´s banjo. First Cripple Creek since two weeks. I almost adopted it ... ;-)