Shortenin' Bread on fretless banjo (from the singing of Ora Dell Graham)

A young black girl was recorded singing this tune. She's singing it in D but I recently found that playing in gDGCD (sawmill) with the tonal center on D opened up a lot of possibilities. Just learning how to use this fretless. Pardon my mistakes. It's got a lovely sound... Echoes of the plantation, Reconstruction, Jim Crow... The Middle Passage.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Shortenin' Bread
• Black Banjo
• Old Time
• Fretless Banjo
• Reiter
• Black Songsters
• Solo Banjo

[rgoad]

Just learning? I love the way you lose yourself in the rhythm and explore the alternative patterns. Very meditative.

[Blkbanjoman]

@rgoad This is a very meditative instrument for me. It speaks to me not from the old timey place but from a very African and Caribbean place. The old timey sound is just another beautiful spice... the meditative quality of the drones just sends me...

[Blkbanjoman]

Gotta work on keeping my tempo in tact! LOL.

[aoscruggs49]

What is sawmill D? I might try this on a hammered dulcimer and/or mandolin

[Blkbanjoman]

@aoscruggs49 Oops! I meant G sawmill (gDGCD) with the tonal center on D. The original recording hovers around D. But that C on the second string allows a player that really knows what going on (not me!) to slide up to the D (the same note on the open 1st string). It's a great tune and really speaks to me. (Can you tell I'm new at this stuff.. LOL) Thanks for posting. Dulcimer is awesome!

[BUTCHYG1]

You're really comin' along my brother. The Ancestors are dancing and singing.....

[Blkbanjoman]

@FUNNYLOL19 Okay... do we know each other? LOL.