Pipes & Banjo-A Different Approach

[Ed Harrison]

Here's a set of tunes that has made a big hit with the "old time claw hammer banjo pickers" on the banjo hangout forum. Two wonderful musicians:
Fred Morrison - Uilleann pipes
Bruce Molsky - Banjo

The old time banjo and uilleann pipes go great together. I know many have seen this before, but please do take another look from the driving rhythm that the claw hammer banjo puts in this music. Its hard to get any better in my opinion.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7zmd4rYh1o

How many play the old time banjo in addition to the pipes?
I know Pat Sky and I do.


Enjoy..... Ed

[Thomaston]

I'm also a clawhammer player, but haven't played it much for a year or so now. I LOVED the clip. People at BHO are always going on and on about whether 3-finger style can work with ITM, but to me it's always been old-time frailing that fits so nicely. Especially with hornpipes.
When I first started playing whistle, I dabbled with multi-tracking it with banjo. I need to do more of that. I think Round Peak with low whistle would be incredible if done right.

[Boody]

That was great
We definitely need more banjos around, I think I like them better than bouzouki or mandolin.

[Hans-Joerg]

I learned both. I am a "Non-native-player". By the time I found an interest in "Folk" you could forget about German stuff (dead in Northern Germany) and so my influences were America and Ireland and I learned the two musical instruments that are associated with these countries. I found a few Oldtime tunes that also are listed in O´Neal´s and a few Oldtime tunes with different titles that are very similiar to Irish ones.
If (in clawhammer) you make intensive use of the hammering-on/pulling-off - technique (one each bar; takes a bit of practise), you also can accompany jigs with some good effect.

[Ceann Cromtha]

You're right! Have you heard Eliot Grasso and Dave Cory's album "North by Northwest"? It combines the two wonderfully:

http://cdbaby.com/cd/eliotdave

[maze]

great clip!!! i play with a claw hammer banjo player fairly often here in florida - she and her husband back up their fiddler dynamo son... it is pretty fun, and a fresh ould sound to the irish traditional tunes i think...

[Steve Turner]

That is outstanding playing...both by the piper and banjo player. I love it, and I love the expressions on Freds face...truly a player who feels the music!

[Brazenkane]

..... who woulda guessed music was fun?

[The Sporting Pitchfork]

I went to college with Steve "Sammy" Lind, now the fiddle player with the Foghorn Stringband. Sammy's also a very good banjo player and we both used to wind up in the music building at odd hours of the night. He wound up showing me some Old Time stuff and I'd try to show him some Irish stuff (he didn't pick up very much, though--he was and still is thoroughly dedicated to playing Old Time, even though he loves to listen to Irish music). I remember there was one night where I was playing some reels in G on my flute and he was backing it on banjo and the sound was absolutely incredible!

Eliot & Dave's "North By Northwest" is a great record, but just to be clear, I think Dave plays only tenor banjo on it, not 5-string...

[rgouette]

personally, I don't know how any musician can come away from music like that & not think the pipes rule...

[jdevereux]

I've been wanting to do this for years (flat set and a good banjo player...)! These are the dudes who would do it too. Bruce Molsky is the man-fantastic musician and a super nice guy.

I have to admit I've really been neglecting the pipes in favor the kind of stuff Bruce does, but when you get right down to it, they're basically the same tunes, right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BOsJdv6ZSI

[feadogin]

John Pederson does. Doesn't he play just about everything?

J.