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Clifton Hicks

Clifton Hicks

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Clifton Hicks posts

"Hand Me Down My Old Suitcase" Lesson

gCGCD (relative), fB♭FB♭C (actual) AKA 'Hook & Line' or 'Double C' tuning.

The album, Banjer Days, on which you can find George Gibson's "Hand Me Down My Old Suitcase,"  is avail...

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John Harrod on Black Kentucky Fiddlers

I wanted to share this great interview of John Harrod with as many people as possible. Great oral history with plenty of field recordings sampled between talking.

"John Harrod has documented,...

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Three Cheap Banjos

S.S. Stewart '2nd Grade' w/ 10" & 24" scale, c. 1890.

S.S. Stewart '2nd Grade' w/ fancy rosewood, c. 1890.

A.C. Fairbanks 'H.C. Barnes' rare banjo, 1890s.

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How to Drop-Thumb


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Hand Me Down My Old Suitcase | Performance

 [gCGCD down-tuned considerably] I learned this song from George R. Gibson who learned it from his father, Mal Gibson in Knott County, KY about 1950. 

Hand me down my old suitcase&n...

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George Gibson | "Darling Cora"

George R. Gibson demonstrates his two-finger approach to the classic Appalachian banjo song, "Darling Cora" at this year's Cowan Creek Mountain Music School. Gibson (b. 1938 in a log house at Bath,...

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Overhand Banjo Elements 2

01:03  "Brush"

03:22  "Walking the Fingerboard"

05:16  "Double Shuffle" ("open string pull-off" or "alternate string pull-off")

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Bo Wilkey | "Big Bee Suck the Pumpkin Stem" (traditional 3-finger)

I thought I'd share this recent video I took of three-finger picker Bo Wilkey from Athens, GA.

Wilkey learned this piece from a record of Peggy and Mike Seeger. The Seegers learned it from a ...

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Traditional Overhand Elements 1

01:45  "Bend" (AKA "choke" or "slur")

04:25  "Slow Drag"

06:34  "Galax Lick" and "Double Thumb"

09:07  "Double Note"

11:34  "Slide Reach" and "Short...

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"Trouble On My Mind" | Close Up

 fCFAC (actual), gDGBD (relative) 

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Fine 1870s Flush-Fret Banjo

Here we have a really lovely old flush fretted banjo probably made in New York around 1870. Early iron hardware, oak rim, mahogany neck, birds eye maple fingerboard.  

Thanks to Gamut Mu...

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"Trouble On My Mind" | Lesson

fCFAC (actual), gDGBD (relative) aka "Standard" or "Banjo" tuning.

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1870s Flush-Fret Banjo | Preview

It's been a busy spring here and I've only recently gotten this interesting older banjo set up. The sun was already going down as we started to film this, so I just recorded a two-minute instrument...

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Jerron 'Blind Boy' Paxton at Paste Studio NYC

I wanted to share this short concert with multi-instrumentalist Jerron Paxton. He starts of with an interesting traditional banjo song, then on to a "classic" guitar style banjo piece, then another...

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Stewart "Universal Favorite" No. 1

Here's a fully restored S. S. Stewart "Universal Favorite" banjo made in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the 1890s. This was Stewart's mid range model (made in No.1, No. 2 or No. 3 style) markete...

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Goat Skin Banjo Head Update & Discussion

Several people asked me to give an update on how my new goat skin banjo head turned out, so here it is. In this video I'll discuss some more tricks when dealing with natural skin heads and also exp...

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1867 Dobson Minstrel Banjo Signed "Eddie Fox!"

https://patreon.com/cliftonhicks

This is an original 1867 patent Dobson banjo made in in New York. These were marketed...

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"Trouble on My Mind" | Peformance

"Trouble on My Mind" played on an original 1867 patent Dobson banjo tuned gDGBD, relative (actual: eBEA♭B 432 Hz). I learned this song from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. I'm not sure w...

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Mounting a Skin Banjo Head

One important detail that I left out: When first putting the flesh hoop on, be sure to push it down at least a few millimeters before mounting the tension hoop over it and pulling your hide through...

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Brogan Boots & Leggings | Close Up


fCFAC (actual), gDGBD (relative)

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Brogan Boots & Leggings | Lesson

fCFAC (actual), gDGBD (relative)

In this video I briefly discuss what we've learned about the history of the song "Old Shoe Boots and Leggins" AKA "Old Shoes and Leggins" AKA "Old Man From Ov...

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Brogan Boots & Leggins | Performance

gDGBD (relative) AKA Standard or Cripple Creek tuning.

I learned this song from a recording of prolific folk singer and labor union activist Aunt Molly Jackson available here: 2019-03-23 19:18:55 +0000 UTC View Post

Undone in Sorrow | Close-Up (gDGBD)

 gDGBD (relative), fCFAC (actual) A.K.A. "Standard" or "Cripple Creek" tuning. 

This video demonstrates how I play Ola Belle Reed's "Undone in Sorrow" out of standard tuning. First ...

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"Undone in Sorrow" (by Ola Belle Reed) Lesson/Discussion

Gourd banjo is tuned gDGBD (relative), fCFAC (actual). Resonator banjo is tuned fDGCD (relative).

<...

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#18: Early Gourd Banjo

Here's my second attempt at an early (18th century style) gourd banjo. Unlike the last gourd banjo I bu...

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Banjo #18 Progress

Howdy everyone. Just wanted to share a couple of quick shots of my latest build. I'm doing this for an 18th century historical interpreter who requested a "playable, five-string gourd banjo" that w...

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Black Velvet Band | Performance

Thanks to Daniel Hester for inspiring me to record this song, which I learned from Irish banjoist Luke Kelly. You can see Hester's performance here: 2019-02-25 03:20:25 +0000 UTC View Post

Banjo Heritage: 1-Year Anniversary!

One of our esteemed members recently reminded me that it's been exactly twelve months since we started this thing! I struggled for a while to come up with something special to say or do; in the end...

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Prodigal Son | Close-Up

f#DGAD relative (eCFGC actual) AKA "Dock Boggs" or "Southern Texas" tuning. 2019-02-15 15:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post

Prodigal Son | Lesson

 f#DGAD relative (eCFGC actual) AKA "Dock Boggs" or "Southern Texas" tuning. 2019-02-15 13:59:01 +0000 UTC View Post