Tenor Banjo tutors in North England

Subject: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: GUEST,S-j
Date: 05 Jan 09 - 02:54 PM

Hi, I have been searching for a tenor banjo tutor, ideally not too far from Newcastle upon Tyne for a couple of lessons - no luck so far! Was wondering if anyone here knows of anyone?
Cheers!

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: Gedpipes
Date: 05 Jan 09 - 03:59 PM

See if there is a Comhaltas in Newcastle Irish Centre - there will be bound to be someone to help you
Blue skies
Ged

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: GUEST,s-j
Date: 05 Jan 09 - 05:51 PM

seems like tenor banjo players are thin on the ground at the moment in Newcastle!

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: GUEST,Tom Bliss
Date: 05 Jan 09 - 06:04 PM

If you can make it to Leeds, Tom Napper is recovering from his broken arm...

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: Tyke
Date: 05 Jan 09 - 08:54 PM

Yes Tom I think Tom Napper would be a good bet as well. He can also tutor the Madolin. I will refrain from any coments about Slip Jigs and I just hope that he recovers compleatly from his nasty fall.
George

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 06 Jan 09 - 03:50 AM

I would have thought that in Newcastle, with the Folk Music Degree course, there would be people about with the necessary skills. Have you thought about contacting the course tutors for a chat. They ought to know someone, possibly one of the students looking for beer money?

Quack!
GtD.

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: GUEST,S-j
Date: 06 Jan 09 - 12:32 PM

thanks for the ideas, actually I finished the folk degree myself but studied voice and flute as instruments...I taught myself mandolin and ukulele since and just recently got the banjo! dont know anyone on it that plays tenor banjo at the minute..although there will be a whole new year of first years I dont know around!
A day trip out to Leeds might not be a bad thing either!
Cheers

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: The Sandman
Date: 06 Jan 09 - 12:50 PM

Tony Wilson,the guy who played with the Matthews Brothers,ans who also is a story teller was a vey accomplished tenor banjo player and lives in the north east.

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: greg stephens
Date: 06 Jan 09 - 02:26 PM

Guest s-j: seems to me if you play the mandoline already, you don't need lessons for the tenor banjo. Just do the same thing, but stretch your fingers a bit more!

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: GUEST,S-j
Date: 06 Jan 09 - 05:25 PM

I am, and you would think that my fingers would be used it! I can play tunes on it and just have to check my finger spacing now and again it was picking ideas and hints on chords and using it in different ways for song accompaniment that I was looking for really...I have had it since new year and just want to get better at using it really!

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: The Sandman
Date: 06 Jan 09 - 05:34 PM

buy sullys banjo tutor,detailed picking instructions etc.

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: GUEST,s-j
Date: 06 Jan 09 - 05:40 PM

will have a look for that - thanks

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: Geoff the Duck
Date: 07 Jan 09 - 04:42 AM

Sully's tenor banjo tutor is a useful one. It's many years since I looked at it, but found it well written and containing things you actually want to know.
I seem to recall one important one was about playing a tenor banjo NOT being like playing a mandoline "only bigger". On a mandoline (or even a mandolin), all the frets between the nut and moving up to the next string are pretty much under your fingers without moving your hand. With a tenor banjo (even a short necked one), they are spaced further apart, so although "stretching" the fingering pattern used for mandoline may reach the note you want, it is more efficient to change where the left hand rests on the neck and learn a new fingering pattern. For instance, a hypothetical run of notes on mandoline may be easily covered by :-
"open", "first finger", "middle", "ring", "open-next string".
The same run on wider frets might be reached more comfortably by :-
"open", "first finger", "ring", "pinky", "open-next string".
It is one of those situations where changing to a new fingering pattern may seem awkward and in the short term take your playing back a step, but in the long term allow you to play faster (not that fast is necessarily good) and more accurately on the new instrument.

I'm pretty sure that it was Sully's book which suggested the modified fingering patters for different scales.
Quack!
Geoff the Duck.

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: Zen
Date: 07 Jan 09 - 05:06 AM

I play both mandolin and tenor banjo. While the positions for the fretting hand are fairly similar (assuming both are tuned EADG ... scales will be different for a tenor banjo tuned CGDA and taking into account some of the comments about fingering Geoff the Duck has mentioned relating to the wider stretch), picking hand techniques will be somewhat different, e.g. the playing of triplets. Some of this is easier to pick up by listening and watching rather than reading in a book (I've heard that the Sully book is OK but haven't read it myself).

There are a couple of useful websites such as this one and this one that you may find useful.

Zen

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: The Sandman
Date: 07 Jan 09 - 11:16 AM

Sully gives lessons he lives in Macclesfield.he can be contacted at halshaw music.

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: Gedpipes
Date: 07 Jan 09 - 12:27 PM

Macclesfield on Tyne is that?

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: GUEST,s-j
Date: 07 Jan 09 - 12:44 PM

thanks for the website links there Zen. I had a little look and will be going back again for further reading. I am just playing in gdae at the minute sometime adad. Wish my fingers were longer for some chords, sure they will stretch though in time!

Macclesfield is probably a bit far right now but if I am ever around there will keep it in mind.

Thanks for all the tip off's Geoff, am still Banjo mad this week, what better to do on a cold evening in but to try and warm your fingers up on a Banjo fret!

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: Tootler
Date: 07 Jan 09 - 06:00 PM

Damien O'Kane used to be based in Newcastle and tutored at the Sage, but I don't know if he still is as I haven't seen him for a while.

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: Guy Wolff
Date: 07 Jan 09 - 07:12 PM

Here is a link to a great tenor banjo player who came from the northeast and is in Yorkshire these days . Our own Bill Sables .. All the best , Guy

http://www.foolishvirgins.com/page2.html

Subject: RE: Tenor Banjo tutors in North England
From: GUEST,S-j
Date: 08 Jan 09 - 08:34 AM

Damien is in Sheffield these day's still I think..he was the only person I could think of at first that I knew that played but there are a few more names and ideas popping up here.

Thanks for the link will check it out Guy...