# Favorite songs to play



## dVEC (Dec 2, 2008)

So I just recently moved on up from doing percussion (mostly drum kits made out of trash, and washboard) to learning the banjo. I'm wondering what are some folks' favorite songs to play, cuz I'm looking for ideas of which ones to learn or just check out if I don't know 'em. I'll throw out a few of my faves (I don't know all of these yet, but I'm workin' on it):

Rocky Top
World Turned Upside Down
Copper Kettle
Shawneetown
Round and Round Hitler's Grave (same chords/tune as Old Joe Clark)
Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys
Friends in Low Places
Salty Dog Blues
Pretty Boy Floyd


And surely lots more but those pop to mind right now.


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## Spinelli (Dec 3, 2008)

You called it, mines old joe clark. How the fuck do you get the strings in tune on a banjo, mine allways snap before I get to the right octave, and its allways an octave low. I blew three sets of strings and I'm sick of wasting money.


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## macks (Dec 3, 2008)

you might have something wrong with the banjo.. I'd check the spots where the strings touch and see if there's any protruding metal edges, and file them down if so. i had that happen to a bass guitar of once, and believe you me bass strings are a lot more expensive than banjo strings.. resorted to using an A string for the low E in the middle of a few shows.

my favorite banjo tunes..

big rock candy mountain!
sandy boys
fly away
cripple creek
worried man blues

banjo rules!


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## bikegeek666 (Dec 3, 2008)

on banjo i tend to bang around on a few songs in "sawmill" tuning...you tune the b string half a step up to c. 

the coo-coo bird
pretty polly
little sadie
shady grove
the butcher boy (as done by buell kazee on harry smith's anthology of american folk music)

in standard tuning i like
handsome molly
waterbound

and strumming chords to songs i know from guitar...

waiting around to die
jesse james

oh, i like capoing on the 5th fret but leaving the 5th string open, and playing 'hallelujah", the leonard cohen song.

ummm...i always have a hard time of thinking about this. every time i pick up an instrument i have to have other people prompt me in order to think of songs to play.

what style of banjo are you learning?


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## macks (Dec 3, 2008)

ooh yeah, I forgot Jesse James. 

and I've got to learn shady grove, that song is great.


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## dVEC (Dec 4, 2008)

These are really great songs, i'd forgotten about some of them. Let's keep this goin.

I'm mostly learning fingerpickin' stuff, simply because that's what I know from other folks around me.


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## bikegeek666 (Dec 4, 2008)

ah, cool, i play clawhammer on the old-time stuff and whenever i'm messing around. and i love the sound of clawhammer, but getting the hang of some techniques, like drop thumb, is sort of tough.


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## macks (Dec 5, 2008)

yeah t-claw from olympia was showing me how to drop-thumb at folklife this year, that shit's sort of tough to get down. something to work on. sounds mighty fine though.

i like clawhammer too, but recently got some fingerpicks and was thinking about learning some of that picking stuff, sometimes those rolls just sound so rad!


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## bikegeek666 (Dec 7, 2008)

the other night this dude told me to keep your lead finger on the 1st string and start your thumb on the 5th string and pluck all the way down the second string and back with the thumb and just do that to practice the semi-finger picking style of drop thumb.


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## Spinelli (Dec 8, 2008)

big rock candy mountain! fuck yeah!


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