Clifton Hicks: Fretted vs Fretless Banjos & Stylistic Embellishments

Banjo Heritage 👉 / cliftonhicks
00:00 Intro performance - All You Fascists/Washington Blues ~ fCFAC
Fretted vs. Fretless Banjos & Stylistic Embellishments
Bandcamp: cliftonhicks.bandcamp.com
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Oldtime banjo close ups and demonstrations of overhand, clawhammer, two finger, thumb lead, 2 finger, frailing and stroke styles plus traditional southern Appalachian mountain hoedown and early minstrel show techniques. History, anthropology, folklore, research and musicology including breakdowns, blues, waltz pieces, tin pan alley, some Afro-Caribbean and West African history, occasional Cajun and zydeco references, also Métis, Creole, Melungeon and indigenous North American music traditions. Mountain music, southern culture. George Gibson, Ernie Williams, Cousin Emmy, Dock Boggs, Rufus Crisp, Virgil Anderson, Lily May Ledford, Roscoe Holcomb, Tab Ward, Frank Proffitt, Tommy Jarrell, Kyle Creed, Lee Sexton, Morgan Sexton, Lead Belly, Pete Steele, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, JD Crowe, Clarence Ashley, Fred Cockerham, Dwight Diller, Gaither Carlton, John Snipes, Dink Roberts, Clifford Essex, Joe Sweeney, Archibald Ferguson, Dan Emmett, John Hartford, Picayune Butler, Gus Cannon, Art Rosenbaum, Grandpa Jones, Snuffy Jenkins, Buell Kazee, Bascam Lamar Lunsford, Uncle Dave Macon, Tommy Makem, Luke Kelly, Charlie Poole, Ola Belle Reed, BF Shelton, Hobart Smith, Samantha Bumgarner, Peggy Seeger, Mike Seeger, Jean Ritchie, Ralph Stanley, Odell Thompson, Wade Ward, Hedy West, Fred McDowell, Uncle Homer Walker, Mississippi John Hurt old time, folk, trad roots pickers songsters. #banjo #oldtimemusic #history Riley Baugus, Dirk Powell, Gillian Welch, Maybelle Carter Family. Morgan Sexton, Black Banjo Songsters, Lee Sexton, Clyde Troxell, Blanche Coldiron, Banjo Bill Cornett.

[@MrAsda64]

That Lincoln Brigade hat is amazing No Pasaran

[@herdfan697278]

I love your banjo picking regardless of which instrument you use!

[@banjomikeevans3121]

You sir, are a damn national treasure. These new Q&A videos are great. Im sure that I speak for a volume of the folk/banjo community when I say that we are happy you are sharing the wealth of knowledge that you have

[@CliftonHicksbanjo]

Thanks, Banjo Mike. The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive... standing by for the Old Guard's counter-attack!

[@harvdog5669]

@@CliftonHicksbanjo Hello Mr. Hicks,, In figuring out what type of banjo I would like. Could you please do a video on , what a Resenator Banjo would sound like, playing it with nylon strings. That would help me figure if I need a open back banjo or a Resenator Banjo with nylon strings.. could you possibly help with this. Maybe others would like to know too.. Thankyou, your fan. Harvey

[@CliftonHicksbanjo]

@@harvdog5669 here's a 1940s resonator banjo with La Bella nylon strings: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4G5e6yterWld7s

[@adamgerald849]

Thanks Clifton. This was basically my thoughts as well, but I'm glad to get your opinion on subjects like this. I just ordered a West Virginia mountain banjo off of eBay the other day because of your mountain banjo videos. I learned Sourwood Mountain from you and can't wait to play it without frets. I plan on making my own mountain banjos eventually and I figured it would do me well to buy one from someone who knows what they're doing and that way I have something to go off of in the future. Your broad wealth of knowledge on Banjos has been invaluable and I have really enjoyed learning from you.

[@robkunkel8833]

"He had a style. He was just a dude." .(Smile) Something I've wanted to say but don't dare. I have a fretless (11") and a fretted (12"), both Deering Goodtimes. I bought them to have to close comparisons since these were first pretty good banjos. I feel drawn to the fretless sometimnes but really I want to hear my 11" which feels more compact. I must admit the fretted (12") for me is a more serious instrument. Thanks again.

[@joeycovington4681]

Great video. Thanks.

[@EllaNorse]

LOL Totally slowed you down when you said that @ 6:45 . Don't even play banjo but this is fascinating.

[@rtuckerclinton]

I took the frets off an old classical guitar to try to get the quarter tones in a lot of middle eastern and Indian music, the short slides you’re doing seem to play around with those a bit, I wonder if just pulling the frets off an old cheap banjo would work as wel, I will say that chords become impossible almost to play in tune because the fingers can’t squish up enough to align properly, so it’s a purely melodic instrument now though I’m by no means an expert at playing a fretless instrument or I’d have bought a real one 😅, I would be curious if it’d work on a banjo with the steel strings tho. Great video thanks! 🙏

[@BRIAN_IVERSON_20]

what’s the song in the beginning?

[@MsTubbytube]

your embellish is your voice

[@briarroot]

That "Bound to Lose"; wasn't that a Woody Guthrie tune?

[@ProfesserLuigi]

Seems based off Cannonball by the Carter Family.

[@briarroot]

@@ProfesserLuigi Since they were Woody's teachers, no surprise.

[@wewearmaskshere2577]

❤❤❤

[@MrPanchoak]

That is pretty

[@willnot5687]

You got family in ohio my mom is a Hicks