romulus - sufjan stevens - banjo

[madmonkeyness]

I got the main thing down, just can't get the picking in between chords right.

[madmonkeyness]

Love it, good job bro.

[brucelit]

hi Joe, What tunning are you using on this song? Because the closest i found is gEAC#E with a capo on the first fret. I'm tring to play the chords and figure out how they blend. I'm still wondering where the D and Am chords are placed??

[joeburton77]

@brucelit hi there, tuning is standard banjo tuning DGBD (top four strings) and I have a capo on the 8th i think - i dont ever touch the 5th string

chords are played in this order:

G 0000

D 0230

Am 2210

C 2012

hope that helps, and I think I play it all with my thumb

let me know if you have any more queries

Joe

[Cowzer09]

Do you use picks in your cover or no?

[Cowzer09]

Is it it just strumming or picking some?

[joeburton77]

@Cowzer09 sort of a combination between picking and strumming really, and I don't use picks, just my fingernails

cheers

joe

[brucelit]

@joeburton77

Do you use drop thumb on the 5th string or play only with strums and downward picks ?

[cheddercheesyfun]

this is really great. do you think you could make a tab or maybe a how to video? this is awesome and i really want to learn on my banjo!!

[joeburton77]

@cheddercheesyfunhi, it's

G, D, Am, C repeated

capo wherever it suits plus use a couple of hammer ons with second finger mainly.. fairly straight forward

hope that helps

joe

[cheddercheesyfun]

this is really great. do you think you could make a tab or maybe a how to video? this is awesome and i really want to learn on my banjo!!

[pinkgirldee]

wonderful<3

[Swinnoz]

This is beautiful, best banjo version I've heard. Any chance of the tab or at least the chord fingering?

[chuckifer]

this is terrific. great vocals.

[joeburton77]

hi, it's

G, D, Am, C repeated

capo wherever it suits

hope that helps

joe

[kerlchen6]

wonderful version! thanks joe

[MountainMinor1]

nice work

[joeburton77]

thanks, I am not really sure about different styles on the banjo as I am just learning myself - this is a five string rover banjo

[faheyfan]

just to let you guys know, this isnt really a style of banjo playing, just kind of strumming... doesnt make it any less awesome though!!

between the two you mentioned, clawhammer is closer to this kind of music... really nice by the way, i love sufjan so much

[yaycelesteyay]

I really love this.

I'm a big sufjan fan :))

just wondering... is playing the banjo difficult?

[joeburton77]

thanks, and no, not too difficult.. I play guitar too so it was fairly easy to pick up after that.. banjo has fewers strings to worry about and some fairly simple chords

[zombies8mynabrz]

hey everybody... i love hearing about people playing banjo, it is the unsung hero of stringed instruments and hands down the most beautiful. great perfomance of romulus... you do more justice to it than sufjan himself.

[joeburton77]

thanks, and for subscribing too!

cheers

joe

[leeortz1]

Joe, my died about a year ago, and this song brings it all home. What a great performance. It is hard to listen to it for the reason I told you above, but amazing performance again.

[joeburton77]

thanks, always looking for new bands! I'll definately check them out - I loved your black eyed dog on the mandolin by the way.. almost bought one of those recently! all the best

Joe

[marshtin]

I'm getting a banjo soon, and I'll be sure to learn some Sufjan Stevens and Sam Beam!

[joeburton77]

good decision, they are a lot of fun!

[marshtin]

Bought a fender FB-54 5string from Ebay just a few minutes ago(!) Looking forward to trying it out. Thanks for posting banjo vids!

[khanyu2003]

man, what you are doing is great. I would like to play music such as sufjan and sam beam, do you have tips for beginner on acoustic guitar?

[joeburton77]

thanks, I'm glad you liked it. there are lots of songs by iron and wine and sufjan which are quite simple, ie. just a few chords, if you google search for tabs for these artists you should find lots. a capo is also a good idea for there songs. thanks for listening

[rannulf]

I believe I have and internet crush on you. I detect a UK accent. You a fan of Will Oldham.

[joeburton77]

yup, from the UK, living in nz the last four years though .. not heard of will oldham..I'll check him out! :)

[siahdaneh]

Beautiful! I guess we've all been expecting this one...

Congratulations on the banjo; you're really coming along fantastic. How about Sufjan's "The worst christmas ever", I think you'd like it. Also, have you tried any "Be Good Tanyas" covers; I have to show some Canadian patriotism!

[joeburton77]

thanks very much! still getting to grips with the banjo but it is good fun and something a bit different! thanks also for the song suggestions, I'll check them out. I am going to canada for new years, whistler, can't wait - i love it there!!

[siahdaneh]

The "Tanyas" are based in Vancouver I think, so you may be able to find them there if you are interested. If you are heading as far as Toronto, drop by my restaurant, the meal's on me.

[joeburton77]

listened to some 'tanya's' stuff yesterday.. really great music.. am looking forward to getting into them a bit more.. thanks for the invite too, although, alas, won't likely be making it to toronto, maybe one day!

[ficklampa1]

you should come with every picninc/campfire set on the market=)

[joeburton77]

haha.. thanks!!

[MrColtin]

awesome.. i've been waiting for this one. have you done john wayne gacy, jr. yet? if not, i hope you do soon.

[joeburton77]

not yet, will do soon though!! thanks

[campfirestring]

cant get enough man. sweet job.

[zzzzzzzzap]

Wonderful Joe. Was this the tune you put in a request for? I promise I'll check it out. Re: your performance.. WOW! You're a banjo-ist too!?! Love it! Peace

[nubbs]

perfect