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| Moderated by: Richard Hefner |
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| Blues Banjo - Dock Boggs Style - Beginner Questions - Banjo - Banjo - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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RED Cole Approved
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Hi, my name's RED Cole. I'm a new member from Milwaukee, WI, who's only started playing banjo very recently. Right now I have a Gold Tone 5-string, and am teaching myself using "The How and the Tao of Old-Time Banjo". But I'm really drawn to the Dock Boggs style...I love Old Time and Blues in general, and am much more interested in playing Blues-style banjo than anything else. So, some questions: 1. What books/DVDs should I be looking at? 2. Is it a good idea for me to start out playing the frailing/clawhammer style on the 5-string until I master it, and then start working on 2- or 3-finger picking styles once I can frail a bit? 3. What kind of banjo? Specifically, would one with a resonator be a better idea? Would love to get any advice you can give me. (ps my family started out in N Amer about 150 years ago in the Appalachians of NC, then gradually moved down to the hill country of NE Mississippi, where they still are now. My dad was the first person to move away, to Virginia, where I grew up. So I think I come by my interest in the music of those hills in the 20s and 30s pretty honest. I don't feel much out of place in SW VA at all, even though I do live in Milwaukee, near my wife's Midwestern family, right now. Please, no jokes about Polka Banjos. Well, maybe one or two.) This seems like a great list, from the postings I've read, and I'm glad to be here. RED Cole
____________________ Red Cole |
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Richard Hefner Administrator 
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Hi Red, Your Gold Tone 5-string should be fine for learning whether or not it has a resonator. Later on you'll know whether you want to go with a resonator banjo or an openback on your next banjo. I'm not all that familiar with the style of Dock Boggs but I think he played kind of a variation of clawhammer and used some nonstandard tunings as well. Learning basic clawhammer techniques should be helpful in leading you in that direction. You'll have to eventually decide if you want to go the clawhammer route or bluegrass or some other fingerpicking style, or a combination of different styles. I don't think there's anything wrong with learning many different styles then applying them where appropriate in different situations. Good luck! 
____________________ Richard Hefner Webmaster, ezFolk.com MP3 Page: http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/richardhefner |
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VanBlaricom Approved
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Me - I'm new myself, I just pick dem strings and hpe for the best.
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vrteach Approved 
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It is not quite correct to say that Boggs played in clawhammer. His style was primarily a 3-finger picking, but he did also do down-stroke brushes as part of the tune. His style of playing was his own. One of the two books by Art Rosenbaum (sorry, I forget which one) has a discussion of his "Country Blues" along with tablature. Oh wait, its "The Art of the Mountain Banjo" recently reissued by Mel Bay: http://www.melbay.com/contents.asp?ProductID=96711BCD&Heading=&category=&catID=&head1=&head2=&sub=&sub1=&author=&mode=&base=96711&q=&r=&s=&next= I can't do what Boggs did, so when I do Boggs' tunes & songs I either do plain old clawhammer or I do 2-finger-thumb-lead picking. The 2FTL method gets closer than clawhammer/frailing, but is kind of limited, at least when I do it. For what it's worth, here is my effort at Country Blues using 2 finger picking: http://vrteach.freepgs.com/banjo/index.php?TuneID=57 If you want to sound anything like Boggs, I don't think that bluegrass style lessons would be much help. The rolls taught there are just too smooth. I think it's pretty much the same with frailing--too even a rhythm. There is someone on the banjo hangout who has apparently tabbed out most of Bogg's stuff, and has his effort for sale. I'm not completly sure, but I think its the guy who goes by the name "boxcar": http://www.banjohangout.org/myhangout/home.asp?id=2666 Good luck in your banjo journy, whatever you do, don't forget to have fun and a sense of humor about it. Edit: I missed the part of your question about DVDs. You might want to look at Mike Seeger's series on Southern Banjo Styles. He covers many different styles there. I have them, but I'm afraid that I have not yet learned anything from them. Also, I wouldn't bother worrying about a different banjo right now. Your Gold Tone is fine at this point, particularly if you are heading in the old-time/folk direction. All the above is, of course, just my opinion. Your mileage may vary. Last edited on Thu Nov 29th, 2007 10:04 pm by vrteach ____________________ Erich -- http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/bands/956/ http://vrteach.freepgs.com/banjo/ |
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RED Cole Approved
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Thanks, Erich. That was a huge help, and I followed up on some of your leads. In the meantime, though, I found a new love (the mountain dulcimer) and decided I didn't have enough blues in my soul to do Boggs justice. So, it's off to the dulcimer forums and that high mountain sound for me:-)
____________________ Red Cole |
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Will Approved 
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There's a web site called Blues-Banjo.com, and they have some lessons covering the Dock Boggs style: http://www.blues-banjo.com/index.html
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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| ezFolk Forums > Banjo > Beginner Questions - Banjo > Blues Banjo - Dock Boggs Style | |
