I’m kinda fascinated where banjos and singing fit together now. I started my musical life as a singer… who played banjo. But today, I seem to come across many pickers who… well.. just pick.
I can understand this in the bluegrass field. The banjo picker is primarily an instrumentalist, and it makes sense for others, usually the guitarist to take lead vocals. But when I look at the old timey and old country arena, I wonder where most of the singers have gone?
Best styles for singers.
This brings me to another of my questions. What’s the best styles for acompanying singing, especially the singing of the picker?
Obviously Scruggs style three-finger picking is not ideal. Without a guitar or bass to provide the foundation, syncopated rolls sound a little weird. Plus, it’s hard to sing at the same time.
When I first started with the banjo, playing country styles, I began with up-picking – Seeger style. Then I discovered New Lost City Ramblers, and realised I could do way more.
Frailing and drop-thumb.
The obvious route #1 is frailing. Now, I listen to some great modern exponents online. But many seem to be just instrumentalists. Such a shame as there’s a great legacy of fine singers who backed themselves with the same driving overhand style – from Clarence Ashley to Uncle Dave Macon, and many others.
Frailing provides a strong chord structure, then with the drop thumb, exciting instrumental breaks and ornamentation.
Okay, I know there is a great place for such picking without vocals in string bands and dance bands, But more of today’s exponents of banjos and singing should be up front and centre (in my humble opinion).
So what do you think… best style for singers?
Two-finger style
My limited view of two-finger style was that it was where Bill Keith’s amazing performances came from – although he was using three fingers. It seemed he was showing more melodic sophistication to Scruggs style. Wonderful stuff, but I never heard Bill (or anyone else) sing the Sailor’s Hornpipe along with his picking.
Then I started listening more to old time performers like Roscoe Holcomb and other two-finger exponents. Here was a bridge between frailing, up-picking styles and three-finger picking. It seems to be an ideal style for solo singing accompaniment. I’ve started unashamedly working on my style recently – ploughing the two-finger furrow.
What do you think?