Clifton Hicks

1920s Washburn Style C "Donut" Banjo

This unusual instrument consists of a 1920s Washburn (Lyon & Healy) Style C tenor banjo pot mated to a circa 1970 custom bluegrass neck.

2022-10-28 15:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post

Muddy Road - Performance (gourd banjo)

I learned "Muddy Road" from a 1960s recording of Claude Wolfenbarger of Grainger County, Tennessee. This song is known by various titles, including "County Jail," "Fall On My Knees," and "Lonesome Road." 

My instrument is a traditional gourd banjo handmade by myself. My tuning is dADF♯A ~ gDGBD.

2022-10-21 15:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post

Part 2: Harvesting Banjo Gourds

Watch us pick, clean, and start curing our hard shell gourds. We'll leave them on the porch for a few more nights, but will move them indoors before the hard frost sets in. In 8 or 10 months, these heirloom Martin gourds will be ready to turn into banjos, birdhouses, bowls, bottles, and anything else we can think of.

Part 1: Growing Banjo Gourds

In this video I talk a little about the heirloom gourds we raise every year for banjo building, and how to select a site for planting them. Expect another video on my curing process.

Alabama Bound - Lesson

In this video I explain how to play my original banjo arrangement of "Alabama Bound" using traditional two-finger as well as overhand (clawhammer) techniques.  

I derived my version from old recordings of "Papa" Charlie Jackson and Huddie "Lead Belly" Ledbetter. My instrument is an 1888 Thompson & Odell 1st model "The Luscomb" ban...

"Alabama Bound" Performance

My grandfather (Aaron Mayo Moore, 1923-1990) was a migrant farm worker from Alabama. Although I never heard him sing it, I suspect he would've been familiar with this popular folk song.   

I learned "Alabama Bound" from recordings of Lead Belly, Papa Charlie Jackson, and two young banjo students who played it for me on their guit...

"William Hall" Lesson

I learned this rare, early ballad from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. Gibson said he learned it from Orgus "Gran" Hudson, also of Knott County, about 1960.

Cassette tape recordings of Hudson do exist; however, they've not yet been published or digitized.

2022-09-16 15:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post

"William Hall" Performance

I learned "William Hall" from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. Gibson told me he'd learned it from Orgus "Gran" Hudson (also of Knott County) circa 1960.

My instrument is a 1940s Bacon "Belmont" banjo (made by Gretsch) tuned fCFAC ~ gDGBD. I'm using La Bella No. 17 nylon strings and a solid maple bridge by Joel Hooks.

"Coon Hunt Walkaround" Lesson

My tuning is eAEG#B (actual) ~ gCGBD (relative). This tune first appears in one of Frank Converse's banjo tutors dating to the 1860s. I first heard it played at a Civil War reenactment in Florida, circa 1999. My own version, developed by ear, is similar to Converse's original notation.

2022-08-26 15:00:10 +0000 UTC View Post

"Coon Hunt Walk Around" Performance (instrumental)

I learned "Coon Hunt Walk Around" from Banjo Without a Master by Frank Converse (1865). My instrument is an 1880s Buckbee banjo with an 1886 Hoseus (or 1903 Farmer?) tone ring. Tuning is ~ 3 frets below gCGBD.

Stay tuned for the lesson video with 2-finger and overhand tab...

"Will the Weaver" Lesson - gDGBD

I learned "Will the Weaver" from a 1920s recording of Charlie Parker & Mack Woolbright. My instrument is an 1888 Cubley banjo tuned ~ gDGBD.  

...

"Midnight Special" Performance (Feat. Aaron Stevens)

We learned "Midnight Special" from a recording of Huddie William "Lead Beally" Ledbetter.  Aaron Stephens of Monteagle, Tennessee, on 1920s Cincinnatus guitar. My instrument is an 1888 Thompson & odell "The Luscomb" banjo tuned eBEG♯B ~ gDGBD.

Yonder come Miss Rosie
How in the world did you know?
By the way she's walking<...

"Ruby Ridge" Lesson

Peter Rowan recorded "Ruby Ridge" on his 1996 album, Bluegrass Boy. My instrument is an 1888 Thompson & Odell "The Luscomb" banjo tuned eBEG♯B ~ gDGBD.

Download 8.5" x 11" Tablature 👇

"Will the Weaver" Performance

I learned "Will the Weaver" from a 1920s recording of Charlie Parker & Mack Woolbright. My instrument is an 1888 Cubley banjo tuned ~ gDGBD.

"Son O son go home and love her 

Do not find no fault above her, 

But if she will not do well, 

Pick up a stick and beat her well!"

He went home a...

"You Don't Know My Darling" Lesson - gCGBD

I learned "You Don't Know My Darling" from a recording of John Snipes of Chatham County, North Carolina. Another recording of Snipes performing this tune exists under the title "Hello My Darling."  The pattern used here is similar to that used by Dock Boggs in "Banjo Clog."

My instrument is a 1940s (Gretsch) Bacon "Belmont" banjo tune...

"Ruby Ridge" by Peter Rowan

I learned "Ruby Ridge" by Peter Rowan from his 1996 album, Bluegrass Boy.

My instrument is an 1886 Buckbee archtop banjo tuned fCFAC ~ gDGBD. Lesson & tab coming soon!

I'll tell you a story not long ago

High on a mountain in Idaho,

In Idaho I was living free<...

1903 William Farmer-style Tone Ring (archtop banjo)

^ Single brass wire tone ring by Mark Ralston of Yellowstone Je...

"Don't Go Riding Down That Old Texas Trail" Lesson

I learned "Don't Go Riding Down That Old Texas Trail" (gDGBD) from a recording of Lawrence Eller (banjo & vocals), Vaughn Eller (guitar), and Ross Brown (fiddle). 

Download 8.5" x 11" Tablature 👇

"Don't Go Riding Down That Old Texas Trail" Performance (gDGBD)

I learned "Don't Go Riding Down That Old Texas Trail" (gDGBD) from a recording of Lawrence Eller (banjo & vocals), Vaughn Eller (guitar), and Ross Brown (fiddle). 

Recorded in 1978 near Hiawassee, Towns County, Georgia, by Arthur S. Rosenbaum.  

My instrument is a 1880s Cubley banjo tuned fCFAC ~ gDGBD. 

...

"You Don't Know My Darling" Performance (John Snipes)

I learned "You Don't Know My Darling" (You Don't Know My Babe" from a recording of John Snipes of Orange County, North Carolina. My instrument is an 1880s E.J. Cubley banjo tuned eAEG♯B ~ gCGBD.  

--------------------------------------------------------------

You don't know my darling you don't know my babe (x2)  

<...

"Sally Brown" Lesson

I learned "Sally Brown" from 1980s recording of Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, and Christy Moore. My instrument is a 1940s Bacon "Belmont" banjo tuned ~ gCGCD.  

I shipped on board of a Liverpool liner 

Way, hey, roll and go!  2022-05-20 15:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post

"Sally Brown" Performance

I learned "Sally Brown" from 1980s recording of Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, and Christy Moore. My instrument is a 1940s Bacon "Belmont" banjo tuned fA#FA#C ~ gCGCD.  

I shipped on board of a Liverpool liner 

Way, hey, roll and go! 

So we rolled all night and we rolled till the day 

But I spen...

1888 E.J. Cubley Banjo

E.J. Cubley manufactured banjos in Ravenswood, Illinois (Chicago) between 1881 and 1891. While many Cubleys appear to be copies of Buckbee and Dobson designs, this example borrows heavily from J.F. Luscomb's 1st model banjo, patented in August of 1888.

The metal dowel inside the pot appears to have been an original idea, as this feature wa...

"I'm Dying, Mother" Performance (Two Finger)

I learned "I'm Dying, Mother" from a recording of Bert Hare. My instrument is a 1940s Bacon "Belmont" banjo (made by Gretsch) tuned ~ fDGCD.  

One summer eve as the sun was setting 

The wind blew soft and cold, 

A young man lay on a bed of fever 

And the tears stood in his eyes.  

"Indian Tribes of Tennessee" Lesson

Played on a 1940s (Gretsch) Bacon "Belmont" banjo tuned eAEAB ~ gCGCD. I learned "Indian Tribes of Tennessee" from recordings of Addie Graham, L.P. Carlock, Dee Hicks, and Bessford Hicks. Alternate titles include "The Cumberland," "Old Cumberland Land," and "Pioneer's Letter." It's mention of indigenous society in eastern Tennessee suggests the ...

"Brother Green" (The Dying Soldier) Lesson

I learned "brother Green" (The Dying Soldier) from a recording of Rev. Buell Kazee of Magoffin County, Kentucky. My instrument is a 1940s Gretsch Bacon "Belmont" banjo tuned fCFAC ~ gDGBD.

Download 8.5" x 11" Tablature 👇

1940s Bacon "Belmont" by Gretsch

When the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 swept up the east coast it wiped out Fred Bacon's state-of-the-art banjo factory in Groton, Connecticut. By 1939 Gretsch was producing Bacon & Day banjos under license, and by the end of 1940 had bought the Bacon name as well.  

This Bacon "Belmont" banjo was produced by Gretsch between...

"Wild Bill Jones" Banjo-Guitar Lesson

I learned this 6-string banjo version of "Wild Bill Jones" from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. My instrument is a 1960s Harmony guitar tuned DADGAD.

Download 8.5" x 11" Tablature 👇

The Dying Soldier (Brother Green) Performance

I learned "Brother Green" (The Dying Soldier) from a 1920s recording of Rev. Buell Kazee of Magoffin County, Kentucky. My instrument is an 1888 Thompson & Odell "The Luscomb" banjo tuned eBEG♯B (three frets below gDGBD).

Oh brother Green come kneel by me 

For I am shot and bleeding, 

Now I must die no more to ...

"Wild Bill Jones" Performance (guitar, DADGAD)

I learned "Wild Bill Jones" from George Gibson of Knott County, Kentucky. George played it on a 6-string guitar-banjo tuned DADGAD, with a worn-out 4th string in place of his 6th string.   

I've attempted to reproduce Gibson's method as closely as possible, including his instrumental run. Note, however, that George uses a three-f...