Banjo Tabs are NOT Traditional

This video discusses the perceived shortcomings of using tablature (TAB) for learning and playing traditional banjo music. The presenter argues that relying on TAB can hinder proper technique and overall musicality, contrasting it with other learning methods. Several links are provided for a banjo heritage course, online community, merchandise, music streaming, and donation platforms.

This YouTube video features Clifton Hicks performing the song "Shaving a Dead Man," learned from Oscar Wright. The song is presented as a Black banjo song similar to "Georgie Buck," with the original lyrics lost. Hicks plays an 1888 Thompson & Odell "The Luscomb" banjo tuned to fG♯C♯G♯C♯, an alternative to the standard g♯BEBE tuning. The description also provides numerous links to the artist's Patreon, website, merchandise, streaming platforms (Bandcamp, Spotify, iTunes), and donation options, including PayPal and YouTube channel memberships. Hashtags like #cliftonhicks, #banjoheritage, #banjo, #bluegrass, and #americana are included.

This video features Clifton Hicks playing the banjo piece "East Virginia." While the description details the historical migration of settlers that the song represents, the primary focus of the content is a musical performance. Hicks explains his banjo tuning and mentions alternative tunings, while also promoting his various online platforms for music, merchandise, and community engagement, including Patreon, SubscribeStar, Bandcamp, Spotify, and iTunes.

This YouTube video features Clifton Hicks performing a rendition of the traditional folk song "Cumberland Gap." Hicks learned this specific arrangement from a recording by Lee Sexton. He plays on a 1910 Weymann "Keystone State" banjo, which is tuned to approximately fDGCD. The description includes the lyrics to the song, as well as extensive promotional links for Hicks' Patreon, Banjo Heritage online course and forums, merchandise, streaming music on Bandcamp, Spotify, and iTunes, and donation options via PayPal and Venmo. The video also highlights a YouTube membership for the Banjo Heritage channel.

This video appears to be a banjo performance featuring a song titled "High Sheriff." The description mentions the song's origins and the specific banjo used, an 1888 Luscomb banjo tuned to fCFAC. The performer, Clifton Hicks, provides links to his Patreon, website, merchandise, and streaming platforms. While the title "High Sheriff and the deputy riding down the road after me..." might evoke imagery of pursuit, the content itself is focused on traditional music and banjo playing, not firearms.

This video features Clifton Hicks playing "Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down" on an 1888 Thompson & Odell "The Luscomb" banjo. He notes his arrangement and tuning are original and likely differ from the Frank Proffitt recording he learned it from. The banjo is tuned a few frets below f♯DGAD and is strung with Aquila NEW Nylgut strings, using a Morley style bridge by Joel Hooks. The description provides extensive links for fans to support Clifton Hicks through Patreon, SubscribeStar, Banjo Heritage, Bandcamp, Spotify, iTunes, PayPal, Venmo, and YouTube channel memberships, along with promoting merchandise.

This video is a banjo performance of a song titled 'Ballad of Kyle Rittenhouse' by Clifton Hicks. The description provides links to the artist's Patreon, merch store, PayPal, Venmo, Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp, SubscribeStar, and YouTube channel memberships. It also includes a list of hashtags related to various music genres and the subject matter of the song. The song's title and hashtags directly reference Kyle Rittenhouse and related themes.

This video features Clifton Hicks performing 'Cold Blows the Wind' on a 5-string banjo using the clawhammer technique. The performance is set against a stark, black-and-white woodland backdrop, with the artist adopting a historical frontier persona. The song's narrative unfolds through somber vocals, detailing a lover's mourning at a grave and a spectral warning from the deceased.

This video features Clifton Hicks performing 'Ballad of Bloody Bill Anderson' on a banjo, detailing the historical figure's violent exploits. The performance highlights advanced clawhammer banjo techniques and deep knowledge of American folk music and Civil War lore. The song's narrative covers Anderson's arrival, a fierce battle, his death, and the grim aftermath, including the display of his head and pistols marked with his kills.

Clifton Hicks performs the traditional folk song 'Moonshiner' on a 5-string banjo using a clawhammer technique. The song details a life dedicated to moonshining, sustained by whiskey and beer over twenty-one years. The performance features an instrumental introduction before the vocal verses begin.