Clifton Hicks

Early 1900s S.S. Stewart "The Amateur" Grade 2 Banjo

Video of the other "Amateur" we featured last year 👉 https://youtu.be/xilUy0SPIQU

2021-07-30 15:31:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Rare Mountain Banjos of Kentucky & West Virginia

In this video I demonstrate two of my latest mountain banjo builds: a rare, hexagonal type that emerged in Kentucky before World War 1; and another type linked to Bluefield, West Virginia and the G...

"Sourwood Mountain" Lesson

gDGBD relative ≈ fCFAC actual. I learned Sourwood Mountain from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. George played it using a relatively heavy overhand style, and my version is very similar. ...

"Sourwood Mountain" Performance (WV Mountain Banjo)

gDGBD - I learned "Sourwood Mountain" from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. My instrument is a West Virginia-style mountain banjo, handmade by myself after an example made by the father of ...

Every Tab So Far

Updated periodically. If you can't find the tab you're looking for, use the search box or contact Clif directly.
2021-07-08 19:39:30 +0000 UTC View Post

Building a Hexagonal Kentucky Mountain Banjo

I refer to these instruments as "Kentucky" mountain banjos because most seem to have been made in the e...

"I'm Bound to Ride" Lesson

fB♭FB♭C (gCGCD relative). I learned this song from Josh Hayes of Watauga County, North Carolina. Josh probably learned it from recordings of Carter and Ralph Stanley. 

2021-06-25 15:30:59 +0000 UTC View Post

"Bound to Ride" Performance

fB♭FB♭C actual (gCGCD relative). I learned this song from Josh Hayes of Watauga County, North Carolina. Josh probably learned it from recordings of Carter and Ralph Stanley. In this video, I de...

Banjo Heritage Bibliography (Reading List)

Below is a list of articles, essays, and books that are relevant to our understanding of early banjo hi...

Rare Recordings of George Gibson (Summer, 2013)

These recordings were made by Garrett Faulkner during an interview with banjoist and historian, George R. Gibson, at his home in Knott County, Kentucky.

"In the Pines" Lesson

I learned to play "In the Pines" on the banjo from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. Gibson's tuning was close to f#DF#AD; however, my arrangement of the piece (though similar to Gibson's) i...

"Trifling Woman" Lesson

gDGBD. I learned "Trifling Woman" from Josh Hayes of Watauga County, North Carolina. Hayes learned it from the 1960s Smithsonian recording of Frank Proffitt (also of Watauga County). This is my own...

"In the Pines" Performance

I learned "In the Pines" from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky, who tuned his banjo f♯DF♯AD. Here, I play my own version in the related tuning gCGCD.

My instrument is a ...

"Unquiet Grave" Lesson

I learned "Unquiet Grave" (Cold Blows the Wind, Child 78) from a 1960s recording of Hedy West & Doc Watson. This is an original arrangement for two finger banjo in 3/4 time.

gDGCD relati...

"East Kentucky Banjo" by George Gibson

Attached below you will find a rough draft of a banjo tutor written by George Gibson in the 1990s. In it, George describes in great detail several of the playing styles and techniques which he obse...

c. 1890 "Dobson" (Buckbee) with Silver Bell tone ring.

This unmarked "Dobson" has an unusual 12-inch rim, new goatskin head, new Five Star tuners, reproduction No-Knot tailpiece, and a Clifford Essex bridge. All Dobson banjos (even the "Silver Bell" mo...

"Jay Gould's Daughter" Lesson

f♯DF♯AD - I learned this song from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. In this tutorial I explain the history behind the song, and how the tune is played using traditional overhand (clawha...

5-String Gourd Banjo Build

Demonstration of 1840s-style gourd banjo built entirely with traditional hand tools.

2021-04-20 15:31:19 +0000 UTC View Post

"Trifling Woman" Performance (Gourd Banjo)

I learned "Trifling Woman" from Josh Hayes of Watauga County, North Carolina. Josh learned it from the original recording by Frank Proffitt. My instrument is a 5-string gourd banjo, handmade by mys...

"Coke Oven March" Lesson

I learned "Coke Oven March" from a 1960s recording of Dock Boggs made by Mike Seeger for the Smithsonian. Dock learned the tune from a cheap wind-up music box purchased while he was working at an i...

Early 1900s Lyron & Healy Banjo

George Washburn Lyon and Patrick Healy began manufacturing banjos in Chicago, Illinois during the early 1880s. They quickly became one the world's leading musical instrument suppliers, and were a m...

"Bonnie George Campbell" Performance

gDGBD relative (d♯B♭D♯GB♭ actual). I learned "Bonnie George Campbell" from a recording of Bascom Lamar Lunsford. Frank Proffitt recorded it as "Bonnie James Campbell." Lunsford thought this...

"I've Always Been a Rambler" Lesson

f♯DF♯AD - I learned "Always Been a Rambler" from Josh Hayes of Watauga County, North Carolina. This piece was recorded by Grayson & Whitter, Ralph Stanley, and many others.

2021-03-26 15:30:00 +0000 UTC View Post

"I've Always Been a Rambler" Performance

f♯DF♯AD I learned this song from Josh Hayes of Watauga County, North Carolina, who probably learned it from the 1920s recording of Grayson & Whitter. The song was also recorded by Ralph Sta...

Banjo Tuner Maintenance

This video introduces the four common types of banjo tuning pegs, and explains how to keep them turning smoothly.

Banjo Heritage: The Unlikely Survival of a Southern Folkway

George Gibson and I were recently interviewed by Nissim Lebovits for Symposeum Magazine. We went pretty deep into the history and present condition of banjo culture, and I think many here will find...

"Going to Georgia" Lesson

gDGBD. In this video I demonstrate my take on Lawrence Eller's "Going to Georgia," and discuss a little bit of the history of the song and Eller's recordings which were collected by Art Rosenbaum i...

"Unquiet Grave" Performance

gDGCD - I learned "Unquiet Grave" (Cold Blows the Wind, Child 78, Roud 51) from a 1960s recording of Hedy West from Cartersville, Georgia.

Cold blows the wind my true love 

Cold bl...

"I'm Going to Georgia" Performance

I learned "I'm Going to Georgia" from 1980s recordings of Lawrence Eller collected by Art Rosenbaum in Towns County, Georgia. At the end of one recording Eller says, "That's a good old tune. I lear...

1919 Vega Fairbanks "Regent" Banjo

In 1904 the A.C. Fairbanks banjo factory in Boston was destroyed by fire. Shortly thereafter Fairbanks was bought out by The Vega Company, then manufacturing guitars in New York.  

This ...