New & Complete Method For The Banjo - 1865 (banjo tabs, pdf + mp3)
Here is a complete tablature transcription of Frank B. Converse's New & Complete Method For The Banjo from 1865! The original book was published in standard notation for a lower tuning. I have transposed these a minor third up from the original book so they sit perfectly on a modern banjo in C tuning (gCGBD) or G tuning (gDGBD). These are a delight to play and come in a mix of stroke style as well as guitar style. Stroke style is very much like what we call clawhammer today. Guitar style is very much like classical guitar or fingerstyle playing. There are 80 instrumental solos total in this book! Here is the list of titles included:
Banjo Style
- Exercises
- Juba
- Old Seventy-Six
- Ramsey’s Jig
- Hard Times
- Rural Walk Around
- Silver Lake Waltz
- Bully For All
- Walk Into The Parlor
- Philadelphia Jig
- Luke West’s Walk Around
- Lynchburg Town
- Spring Jig
- Money Musk
- Jordon
- St. Patrick’s Day
- Whack Row De Dow
- Cruelty To Johnny
- Scotch Air
- Antietam Jig
- Sprig Of Shelalah
- Oregon Reel
- The Girl I Left Behind Me
- Irishman’s Shanty
- Antipat Jig
- Abraham’s Daughter
- Come Plum Gum Jig
- John Anderson Jig
- Blue Eagle Jail
- Blarney Jig
- Mrs. Grundy
- Pea Nut Gal
- Charlie Is My Darling
- Mickey Malooney
Guitar style
- Guitar Style Exercises
- New York March
- Diadem Gallopade
- Lilly Polka
- La Mexicana Waltz
- Victory March
- Fanny Polka
- May Polka
- O Native Scenes
- Flower Waltz
- March From Norma
- Daisey Polka
- Funeral March
Miscellaneous
- Matt Peel’s Walk Around
- Operatic Jig
- Brighton
- Foster’s Jig
- Irish Jig
- Luke West’s Walk Around
- Wait For The Wagon Jig
- Cotton Pod Jig
- Barley Reel
- Briggs’ Favorite Jig
- Briggs’ Jig Varied
- Odd Fellows March
- Peel’s Clog Dance
- Root Hog Or Die
- Whole Hog Or None
- Willie We Have Missed You
- The Lion
- Beacon Jig
- Rattlesnake Jig
- Clog Hornpipe
- The Cuckoo
- Fuller’s Favorite Reel
- Snodgrass’ Favorite Jig
- Arkansas Traveller
- Cupid’s Dream Waltz
- Calabra Waltz
- The Hope Waltz
- Fairy Waltz
- Coral Polka
- Rainbow Schottische
- Camille Polka
- Home Sweet Home
- Marseillaise Hymn
There is also a folder of mp3s of my computer playing back each tune so you can hear how they sound while you're learning them. I hope you enjoy playing these!
~Kyle
Version 1, 10/21/22 - 20 tunes
Version 2, 7/12/24 - all 80 tunes completed
Kyle Gray Young is a fiscal year 2024 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.