Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Same Song?

#1

Is it just me or is Promontory from Last of the Mohicans (Gael?), Swallowtail Jig and Irish Washerwoman, pretty much the same song? I think I’ve even heard another song that sounds very similar.

#2

I’m hearing three distinctly different melodies.
there are some similarities in “feel” though.

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#3

Hi @maggie.williams1 All three have a similar lilt (phrasing) but as Dave say’s three different melodies. Promontory repeats the same little phrase over and over like an old LP record stuck in a groove…

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#4

Don’t know promontory, but Irish washerwoman and swallowtail jig are both jigs but are different tunes. They are in G and em which explains some similarity

#5

I like them all and yes, they are different and I want to add a couple of them to my repertoire. I was just wondering really if anyone else had noticed the similarity.

It’s funny, sometimes I’ll just start up the last scene in Last of the Mohicans to hear Promontory and see those guys running up the mountain and the fight scenes. It’s just bad ass and uplifting somehow.

#6

And I’d add Banish Misfortune to this list, which which really sounds like Swallowtail Jig

#7

You could learn them all and play them as an irish tune set

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#8

@Maggie Your love for all these Irish tunes you should have gone for the Irish Tenor Banjo and a Blue Chip Flat Pick and tried your hand at these lessons. Lisa is my other great teacher almost as good as Ben but much better looking and check out her gorgeous red hair.

@BanjoBen I bet you wished you had hair like this.

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#9

Bluegrass is my fav, but these Irish jigs and reels and laments and all are such love lovely diversions for a change now and then don’t ya think?

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#10

I can still get it done with a 5 string and finger picks. I have a nice Banish Misfortune I’m working on.

I used to have hair like that. Still do… with a little chemical help that is.

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#11

Just had a though @Maggie you can learn these on your new mandolin, same tuning.

Try this one

#12

Ya see… What is it they say about great minds?

I go to Seattle on the 22nd for a fortnight and I’ll take the Mandolin with me to get started with @BanjoBen beginner track.

So, you’re saying that mandolin and tenor banjo have the same tuning? And the same number of (sets of) strings? How cool is that? I’ll try it out. Thanks for that.

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#13

Hi @Maggie for Irish tenor banjo the tuning is the same as a mando uses for bluegrass. The tenor banjo only has four strings mandolin has eight strings tuned in pairs.

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#14

Yes, I also love irish music and Celtic music in general, actually most of my fiddle repertoire is Celtic with a few bluegrass tunes

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#15

Isn’t this the online academy of irish music?

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#16

Yes @K_G I am trying to persuade them to get Lisa back to do more lessons (Intermediate & advanced)

#17

Cool, I’m not a member there but have checked them out, you could use Paddy Cummins’ mando lessons as their same tuning just a thought anyway, I love the sound of tenor banjo wish I had one

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#18

Hi @K_G I have gone through Paddy’s lessons. he doesn’t explain things in the same amount of detail as Lisa and his strong Irish accent makes it difficult to understand what he is saying most of the time.

#19

Yeah, but it sure is fun to listen to! I am curious how do those lessons and the website compare to this one (I think this comparison is ok since it’s not a direct competitor) e.g. do they charge much more per instrument? Is it easy to use? Are the lessons good quality? Also what are your personal impressions of it in general? (Told you I was curious :wink:)

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#20

You play fiddle too? That’s so neat.