Banjo Billy
Old time music is all about discovery. The search for new tunes and players is as intriguing as playing the music yourself…and sometimes more so. This search and desire is what brought me to the front door of “Banjo” Billy Mathews’ cabin. There are…
Making a Gourd Banjo – Colin Blair
Making a Gourd Banjo by Colin Blair The gourd banjo was one of those things that could have been forgotten. It teetered on the edge of awareness for the last century. Outshined by its finely carved, pearly-hewn offspring, which was so readily accepted by…
A Fiddle Tune For Banjo – Andy Ploof
Here is a tune that I originally learned on the guitar from the “Blake & Rice” album. The tune is in the key of D and I arranged it for the banjo in G tuning with the high string capoed or tuned to an…
Hawaiian Lap Steel – Mark Byrnes
The Hawaiian Lap Steel: History, Tuning and Players By Mark Byrnes This is the second part of a three part series discussing the instruments, music and culture of the Hawaiian Islands and the effect that it has had on popular music and culture. In…
Uke History – Mark Byrnes
A Brief History of the Instruments and Music of Hawaii This will be a three part feature studying the instruments, music, and culture of the Hawaiian Islands. We will take you to a mystical and magical land, one that is considered paradise, where traditional…
