Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton

Subject: Review: Banjo lessons Pete Seeger Style
From: GUEST,Frank Hamilton
Date: 11 Apr 22 - 11:17 AM

Today’s banjo pickers seem to be either old time clawhammer or Scruggs style bluegrass players.
Pete Seeger was an innovator of the five-string banjo and his style is not in vogue.

I want to correct that. I am offering ten lessons in the Pete Seeger style mainly for beginners.

I’ve known Pete for over sixty years and he was a mentor for me and many others. His approach to folk music helped to spawn the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago and now our School in Atlanta, modeled after the Chicago school. Here’s a dropbox with the ten lessons. If you have any questions, you can reach us at frankhamiltonschool.org>

It works best if you download this to your computer.


https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3y5q3tbc3mtanr9/AAC-WQB-m12o6duTe1wvvIfCa?dl=0

Subject: RE: Instrument: Banjo lessons Pete Seeger Style
From: GUEST,Don Meixner
Date: 11 Apr 22 - 01:48 PM

Thank you Frank. This is the style that has eluded me for years. I don't wish to be a melodic player. Nothing else quite fits the singers style. I appreciate this very much.

Don Meixner

Subject: RE: Instrument: Banjo lessons Pete Seeger Style
From: GUEST
Date: 11 Apr 22 - 09:06 PM

Hi Don,

That's the reason I put this out. Singing with the banjo is not emphasized enough.
Pete innovated the style of banjo that could accompany songs. I have always liked to sing songs from all over the world. Pete's style affords this. The banjo transcends its roots in Appalachia and hearkens back to Africa where it originated. Pete was influenced by Bascom Lamarr Lunsford Asheville Folk Festival where he hear 80 year old Aunt Samantha Baumgartner play the five string and sing. Later, he heard coal miner Pete Steele from Hamilton, Ohio play an up-picking style on "Pay Day at Coal Creek". Pete transformed the banjo into the versatile accompaniments used to able to play Spanish songs. In order to play and sing "Viva la Quince Brigada",a song from the Lincoln Brigade who fought against Franco's fascism in Spain, he elongated the neck of his banjo to sing in his key and other songs in different keys using a sliding capo, a fifth string fret device from a tie inserted into his banjo neck bought from a model railroad store and he innovated appropriate styles of accompaniments for all kinds of songs.

It was Pete who through the Weavers created the sound used by Dave Guard of the Kingston Trio and other folk song popular groups of the Sixties.

Pete was a major influence in the folk revival; a one-man PR for folk music and folk musicians.

His legacy is his voice and his banjo and natural showmanship which created many followers, myself included.

Subject: RE: Instrument: Banjo lessons Pete Seeger Style
From: The Sandman
Date: 12 Apr 22 - 01:17 AM

yes, and thankyou for doing that
if you already finger pick on guitar, it comes naturally, however, both maybelle carters thumb style, and melody piedmont finger picking style can be used sometimes for different phrases in the same song something Pete Seeger does not cover.
i find for some songs hoping down in kent and the handsome cabin boy and leaving of liverpool, that frailing [which is not clawhammer is useful, for me versatilty of style is the final goal

Subject: RE: Instrument: Banjo lessons Pete Seeger Style
From: GUEST,Frank
Date: 12 Apr 22 - 07:27 AM

Sorry to post this twice.

Subject: RE: Instrument: Banjo lessons Pete Seeger Style
From: GUEST,gillymor
Date: 12 Apr 22 - 07:41 AM

I now have a grasp of that Seeger style with the up stroke that's long eluded me. Your demo in lesson one illustrated it beautifully. Can't wait to dig in deeper. Thanks.

Subject: RE: Instrument: Banjo lessons Pete Seeger Style
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Apr 22 - 10:47 AM

Hi Sandman,

I hope to come out with a future video showing how to employ fill-ins and intros/outros to this style. Actually Pete does use a three fingered approach reminiscent of say a picker like
Obray Ramsay or Charlie Poole but he does this sparingly. The most important aspect of banjo picking when you are singing is the song. Anything that distracts from communicating this is irrelevant and often detrimental.

For a good example of his accompaniment style I recommend his first ten inch album for Folkways called Darlin' Corey. It's available on CD.

Pete's approach has always been simple, direct and never distracting from the song.
Also his sense of dynamics is the key to his song leading. His playing enables people to want to sing along.

Subject: RE: Instrument: Banjo lessons Pete Seeger Style
From: The Sandman
Date: 12 Apr 22 - 12:07 PM

I agree, about keeping it simple, and that was always the problem i had with earl scruggs style it seemed like a desire to fill every silence, silences are part of the music[ particularly in slow airs.
the amazing thing about earl scruggs is that as a guitarist he could do that, there are clips on you tube of him playing with maybelle carter and he plays sensitively on guitar, i can only conclude that scruggs style banjo encourages people to play filling in with rolls and not leaving gaps, scruggs on guitar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA6jWj0bTi8

Subject: RE: Instrument: Banjo lessons Pete Seeger Style
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 12 Apr 22 - 01:12 PM

A friend of mine always claims to have once had a banjo lesson from the man himself and, having known him for 40 odd years, I’ve no reason to disbelieve him. He also claims to have made beans on toast for Rod Stewart but Rod wasn’t famous in those days and my friend still isn’t!

Subject: RE: Instrument: Banjo lessons Pete Seeger Style
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Apr 22 - 04:16 PM

The Flatt/Scruggs with Mother Maybelle was lovely. Scruggs has always been a tasteful musician. We met him one morning at WGN after sleeping all night on their lawn. He was gracious and modest.

His followers have often emphasized technical playing and speed at the expense of the song.
Bluegrass doesn't have to be played at breakneck speed though this seems to be what the public demands. You can dance to it at a reasonable tempo. Virtuosity is the name of the game
for the most part. The playing is often slick.

Monroe kept Scruggs off of the Opry when they split. As Ken Burns pointed out, the Opry was a way of selling insurance. Even though it was commercialized, it had some wonderful talent. Many supporting musicians were tasteful and well-developed. Each artist had a unique manner of expression and knew how to entertain. Very few musicians played and sang without the backing of others.

Pete gave concerts with just his banjo and Burl Ives with just his guitar. This was true of Josh White, Richard Dyer-Benet, Jean Ritchie, Doc Watson, Leadbelly and lesser known banjo players like Clarence Ashley, Rufus Crisp, Buell Kazee, who used their instrument as an expressive accompaniment instrument.

It's almost expected that a singer would be backed by a band, today. A voice with a simple backing of an instrument is not found popular today. The joy of sitting, singing and playing for yourself does not require a concert stage.

Audiences have become production oriented in their tastes in music. This means that when they make music for themselves, some are frustrated because their song accompaniment doesn't sound like the high production value of the recording of the song they like.

On this website, unaccompanied singing, just voice, is appreciated but is an acquired taste.
I learned to like it when I heard American field recordings from the Library of Congress.

Sitting and making music, playing and singing simply and heartfelt is one of the greatest joys in life. Playing and singing with other sensitive musicians is another.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, "the song's the thing......."

Subject: RE: Instrument: Banjo lessons Pete Seeger Style
From: The Sandman
Date: 13 Apr 22 - 02:10 AM

I agree that Pete is generally speaking a good role model as regards accomaniment.
However i find with song accompaniment and this includes all instruments i play, concertina, guitar and banjo, that being flexible about song approach is useful, eg for some songs i might use a melody based acc another a single line harmony another a chordal approach, another might have a mixture, but the accompaniment must always follow the singer.

Subject: RE: Instrument: Banjo lessons Pete Seeger Style
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 13 Apr 22 - 05:09 AM

> if you already finger pick on guitar, it [Pete Seeger style] comes
> naturally

So *that*'s how I play the banjo, which I learnt from Pete Seeger's book. Thanks, Sandman; now I can more properly disabuse the chap who accused me last month of frailing.

Subject: RE: Instrument: Banjo lessons Pete Seeger Style
From: GUEST,Frank Hamilton
Date: 13 Apr 22 - 09:22 AM

That's good Sandman and I think the sensible way to go.

MaJoC: Pete's approach does employ some "frailing" but anything that is "frailed" clawhammer style can be up picked ala Pete.

The Pete style is accessible if you play other instruments, that's the beauty of it. It also sounds good with guitar, fiddle and bass or flute.

As to clawhammer style, Mike Miles from Chicago has applied his approach to a wide variety of styles.

I still maintain that Pete's approach was unique and usable for most songs.

Subject: RE: Instrument: Banjo lessons Pete Seeger Style
From: The Sandman
Date: 13 Apr 22 - 01:38 PM

Frailing is downpicking pickin a melody and using a strum generally downit is not, clawhammer
clawhammer is melody and originally down but instead of a brush, instead of a brush a single harmony note is played, originally this was either drop thumbed ,or in the case of bascam lunsford the string above the melody note was a harmony note plucked upwards.
cklawhammer is different from frailing,
seeger style is up pickin as can be seen from the link

Subject: RE: Instrument: Banjo lessons Pete Seeger Style
From: Joe Offer
Date: 13 Apr 22 - 08:58 PM

This is really wonderful, Frank. And it's nice to see videos of you. Now, do you have something similar on guitar?

-Joe-

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: GUEST,string singer
Date: 14 Apr 22 - 12:27 PM

Hi Joe,

Thank you so much for your encouragement and kind words. I would like to do a guitar video.
One project I had in mind would be a beginning Swing guitar video. Not sure if this would be appropriate for a folk song format.

I'd like to know what fellow Mudcatters what instruction videos you would like or be needed.

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: GUEST,Stringsinger
Date: 14 Apr 22 - 12:30 PM

Glad you found the video useful gillymor.

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: Charley Noble
Date: 14 Apr 22 - 01:27 PM

Keep this discussion going!

The 3-finger picking style I do is directly adapted from Seeger's double thumbing, with a brush stroke sometimes included at the end of a phrase. It's all very flexible.

Charlie Ipcar

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: The Sandman
Date: 14 Apr 22 - 03:40 PM

well string singer, perie willie johnson used a jazz style guitar for backing shetland tunes, he had heard eddie lang on short wave radio during the second world war, and it seems to work for shetland folk/tradtional tunes

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: The Sandman
Date: 14 Apr 22 - 03:44 PM

here is a clip of peerie willie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aIHtJj073Q

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: PHJim
Date: 14 Apr 22 - 09:23 PM

I prefer to call this style "Up-Picking" rather than "Pete Seeger Style".
Anyone who's seen Pete live or watched Rainbow Quest or looked through Pete's old red* book will realise that Pete played many styles, in fact the theme for Rainbow Quest, "Oh had I a Golden Thread.. ." is played clawhammer style.
Granted, Pete did Christen this style "the basic stroke", but he learned it from Samantha Baumgartner, so perhaps we should call this way of playing the banjer "Samantha Baumgartner Style".

*It has been brought to my attention that some folks who got Pete's book before I did may have a yellow cover and some who got it after I did may have a blue cover. I got mine in the early sixties, before I got my first banjo.

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: GUEST,Frank Hamilton
Date: 15 Apr 22 - 03:36 PM

Actually Pete innovated this style because unlike the banjo players he had, other than his half-sister Peggy, they were not playing countermines to the melody in the way a guitar player would do. The basic stroke had been around through Baumgartner and Pete Steele, coal miner from
Hamilton, Ohio on his song "Pay Day at Coal Creek". Pete was the only five-string banjo player to innovate the accompaniments for a variety of songs, many from other countries.

Up-picking styles can define any number of styles but Pete's was unique. The players who adopted his style were Dave Guard of the Kingston Trio, Erik Darling of the Weavers, Bob Gibson from Chicago, Peggy Seeger, Pete's half-sister, Hedy West, Dave Sear, Joe Jaffe,
Tony Saletan and I can assure you PHJim that Aunt Samantha Baumgartner was never able to play the variety of songs that Pete could do in his concerts with just his basic strum. Pete was a creative musician who thought carefully about the accompaniments for songs that he crafted.

Pete liberated the banjo from being exclusively an Appalachian instrument while popularizing the interest in Southern banjo playing from North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
There are very few players today who can play in his style effectively and this is one reason why I chose to make these videos.

Sandman, I really like the Shetland approach with Eddie Lang's. Thanks for sharing it.

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: The Sandman
Date: 15 Apr 22 - 05:24 PM

Frank isnt music great

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: GUEST
Date: 16 Apr 22 - 05:14 PM

Sandman, the way I see music is as a healing medicine to bring the importance of honest human expression to keep communication going so that we can make music rather than war. It's also a wonderful form of fun. I had such a good time listening to the Shetland fiddlers accompanying by the kinda' Hot Club Django style guitars. Eddie Lang and Django applied to the Shetland culture was revelatory. Makes you want to dance.

I see the same in the quasi-ragtime piano accompaniment to the Cape Breton fiddlers. It's dance music for sure.

The Scots have taken early jazz and incorporated into their dance music. The Irish also with in incorporation of the tenor banjo into their style.

We can see that music is not limited to one culture but crosses cultural lines. When you think about what folk music really is, you come to the conclusion that a certain style of traditional music crossed with another style

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: GUEST,Frank Hamilton
Date: 16 Apr 22 - 05:44 PM

The last two guests were me. I haven't figured out how to navigate getting on to Mudcat yet.

I wanted to make the point that without one form of musical style, there would not be another.
Where would bluegrass music be without blues licks? Where would the banjo be if it had not been the e-konting from Africa?

Pete was an amalgam of many different musical tributaries. No traditional five-string mountain banjo player would have played ninth and thirteenth chords in folk but then Pete came along
These chords are the staples of jazz. Now, many of us accept them in folk music. (not all).

Now we have folk rock, Newgrass, various Latin styles, American and European jazz (it's different). We have Round Peak, a recent development, Shape-Note singing from hymns and folk music sources.

And what about electric instruments? Who is reasonably to say that they are outside the folk genre? The steel guitar in gospel music? Amplified acoustic instruments in folk concerts?

An academic view of music breaking it down into manageable categories is a mixed advantage.
It sells recordings. It defines demographics. But the downside is a pseudo-academic approach that limits the vitality of each musical style to grow and explode into another style.

I am a folk heretic in that I consider hip-hop music in its street form, not commercial form, a folk music stemming back to the time the the African Girot told the stories of his tradition and events in a rhythmic "rap".

Pete at the end did not want to call himself a "folk singer". I think that misses the point. He did reflect a sub-cultural group, as Sam Hinton pointed out, "A folk music sub-culture of the post Atomic Era". I really miss Sam! I think he would have enjoyed Mudcat.

Hope I can find my way back to Mudcat.

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: GUEST,Frank Hamilton
Date: 17 Apr 22 - 04:51 PM

The jazz guitarist, Scott Henderson, says that many musicians find themselves in a music "cult". This might be an academic approach to folk music; styles have to be played specific ways.

For example: the difference between the Irish fiddler Tommy Peoples and the Comhaltas Ceoltori Eireann, was that the latter insisted on the “Tradition”. Doc Watson enjoyed playing "Over the Rainbow" and popular honky tonk type tunes and started his career with the electric guitar. Not “folkish”.

Alan Lomax as a collector had an attitude that folk music must be "authentic", emanating from a specific sub-culture with inherent musical boundaries. A "real" folk performer had to
be from a specific area. At the same time, he embraced the Kingston Trio for bringing folk
music to the public.

Pete Seeger was once suggested that in during a "hootenanny" involving audience particpation, a song leader could lead “How High The Moon", teaching the audience a counterline based on the guide tones in the jazz tune. Leadbelly could take “Poor Dhrinin
The Cow” and the Weavers could turn it into “Kisses Sweeter Than Wine”. Many popular
Classic Country tunes are recycled folk melodies. Appalachian musical culture owes heavily
to the African-American culture. There is no pure musical culture.

Study and be respectful of the tradition of music, know what you’re trying to express, and then allow for creative change. That’s what Pete did a with his banjo.

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: Stringsinger
Date: 20 Apr 22 - 05:46 PM

Pete’s banjo style was notable for its dynamics. He could play soft on it and then very intense by switching from his basic strum (bum-ditty) to what he called whamming, the two parts were the Toggle (a term coined by a member of the Kingston Trio, I believe George Grove) and a more intense double whamming on the fourth and the fifth string as well as the other strings.

Switching into the whamming style enabled Pete to induce the audience to sing along by raising the dynamic level.

Dynamics were never a part of banjo playing as an accompaniment before Pete came along.

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: The Sandman
Date: 21 Apr 22 - 06:34 AM

THANKYOU STRING SINGER ,Useful info

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: The Sandman
Date: 21 Apr 22 - 12:29 PM

In my experience, another technique that is useful is to sing quieter and look at the audience to get them to join in, making accompaniment quieter than voice is no 1 priorityas regards acc

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: Stringsinger
Date: 22 Apr 22 - 11:13 AM

Yes, Sandman, this is actually the best way because now you know the audience is really paying attention and is moved to sing along. Another way sometimes is to stop the accompaniment altogether and gesture to the audience. Some R and B groups will just sing accappella for a moment and indicate hand claps for the audience to join in. The element of surprise is often useful to draw attention suddenly by reaching out to an audience physically with a hand motion.
Pete was a master at this. He could often bring in an audience by playing and singing very softly. Because of his control of the dynamic range of the banjo, he could play very softy and rhythmically and induce a singing audience. Othertimes, while holding the banjo he would outstretch both arms at a climactic moment and the surprise element would result in his leading a chorus from the audience. He was the best song leader I ever knew. Without the dynamic range of his style of banjo playing, this would be impossible.

There is also a beat on the whamming style that resembles a basic rhythm pattern by a dance band drummer. The Weavers used this pattern to get the audience to clap along in rhythm. This was a custom in the early days of the "hootenanny" and employed by R and B, rock and gospel groups.

Pete told me that when he sings a gospel number he envisions himself in a black church.

Pete's style fit in with other instruments that played all styles of music. He could have fit in with rock musicians and earlier jazz musicians.

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Apr 22 - 11:43 AM

Frank: Of course, *also* very few banjo players have long-neck banjos like Seeger did. Bill Steele admired Pete very much and had one for that reason, but I can't think of many others.

Tom Paley also played an up-picking style.

wg

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 22 Apr 22 - 12:25 PM

> Othertimes, while holding the banjo he would outstretch both arms at a
> climactic moment and the surprise element would result in his leading
> a chorus from the audience.

Were I to try that, the surprise element would be the banjo falling to the floor, as there's nowhere at the heavy end to anchor a strap.

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: Stringsinger
Date: 22 Apr 22 - 01:12 PM

Guest, Tom played a variety of styles but didn't apply up picking to other than the traditional Appalachian music.

MaJoC the Filk, Pete held the banjo by his strap on the right shoulder like Earl Scruggs rather than the left as is usually done. This freed his arms and hands. I have small shoulders so it doesn't work for me. Pete could balance it on his right shoulder and the weight was distributed by the end of the strap hooked onto a screw eye into the upper side of the long neck, the other end onto a bracket on the body. Bob Gibson had the strap connected in the Seeger way too. The advantage of wearing the strap this way enables a fast change to another instrument such as to a 12 string guitar.

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: Stringsinger
Date: 23 Apr 22 - 01:52 PM

I’m reading that the up picking style adapted by Pete was also use in the time of Minstrel Shows. The Minstrel banjo was in C tuning in intervals of gCGBD however it was actually in fBbFDBb, a whole step below. It was gut strung and unfretted. Sometimes it was referred to when playing down-picked or clawhammer as “knocking” the banjo. I get the notion that Pete might have preferred the clawhammer style although he used it sparingly.

Pete took me to the L.A. County Museum to see Joe Sweeney’s original five string banjo. Sweeney was reputed to have put the fifth peg on the neck of the fifth string but he may have actually been responsible for the low fourth string being added.

It has come a long way from the African E-konting, Banjar, Bania, Halaam or any other predecessor. I defer any real information to Michael Miles in Chicago who is a great five-string player and scholar of the instrument.

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: Stringsinger
Date: 23 Apr 22 - 05:21 PM

I hope I’m not making this thread too long.

Here’s a list of banjo players that play in the Seeger style mostly associated with “the Folk Scare”.

Erik Darling
Bob Gibson
Dave Guard
George Grove (modified version)
Alex Hassilev
Roger McGuinn
Hedy West
Peggy Seeger
Dave Sear
Joe Jaffe
Sandy Bull (early)
Billy Faier (modified)
Bill Vandever (sp)
Eddie Mann

There are more who I can’t think of now.

Some are on YouTube

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: gillymor
Date: 23 Apr 22 - 06:39 PM

As far as I'm concerned, Frank, you can elongate this thread all you want. I'm a lifelong fan of Pete and I'm really enjoying your posts to it.

P.S. If you're looking for another subject to teach I've always wanted to delve more deeply into Western Swing backup guitar, if that's an area of interest for you. Thanks.

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: PHJim
Date: 24 Apr 22 - 09:49 AM

Stringsinger, You probably know this, but Earl switched to putting his head through the strap and having it on his left shoulder after he left Flatt & Scruggs. He was asked by a BNL interviewer why he made the switch. He explained that when he played with Bill Monroe and Lester, he wore a hat, but when he played with his sons, he abandoned the hat and could get the strap over his head.

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: Stringsinger
Date: 24 Apr 22 - 10:31 AM

Gillymor, thank you. I've been a fan of Bob Wills, Asleep at the Wheel and
the individual players of Southwestern Swing. Eldon Shamblin is a guitarist who
is not as known as he should be. Leon Macauliffe is legendary..."Take it away Leon!"
Johnny Gimble has defined Western swing on the fiddle. Smokey Montgomery played plectrum banjo in Will's band. On YouTube, you can see the Bob Wills contest coming from Texas.
A lot of young people are playing the great songs of Wills.

The song that started it was Will's "Faded Love" a slowed down musical version of "Little Old Sod Shanty on the Plain" or Fiddlin' John Carson's version "Little Old Log Cabin on the Plain"which was a big hit the 20's at the fiddle contests in Atlanta.

Wills also attributes his inspiration from Emmett Miller from South Georgia.
Miller who billed himself as the Minstrel Man was a unique yodeler whose version of
"The Lovesick Blues" was copied by Hank Williams.

In Los Angeles, Pete took me to the Riverside Rancho to meet Merle Travis
Merle was playing Southwestern Swing, a staple of country music.
He was honored to meet Pete and we had a pleasant conversation.

Country swing has always been popular. In the Forties, Will's band was more successful
in popularity than many of the Northern swing bands, Benny Goodman, the Dorseys, of course in the Texas, Oklahoma area.

Will's borrowed from the folk tradition in all of his songs. "Goin' Back to Tulsa" was based on the folk tune "Devilish Mary". "Jesse's Polka" was part of the Mexican Norteno dance music of New Mexico. "The Girl I Left Behind Me" and "Red River Valley" were swung and made danceable. "Cotton Eyed Joe", a staple of southwestern dance halls is another.

At our School Mick Kinney, a local fiddler and stringed musician teaches Southwestern Swing in an ensemble class. (A little plug for our school). Mick is a hot fiddler.

Southwestern Swing is often overlooked in jazz circles but Hank Garland and George Barnes are two crossover guitarists who are at home in country and jazz styles as are so many Nashville Cats, today.

Subject: RE: Play Banjo Pete Seeger Style - from Frank Hamilton
From: Stringsinger
Date: 24 Apr 22 - 11:11 AM

PHJim, I didn't know that.

I do know that Both Earl and Chet had scoliosis from hanging those instruments over their necks. It's a guitar and banjo picker occupational hazard.