Glory In The Meeting House on 5-string banjo

How do we approximate the microtonal pitches of old Kentucky fiddling on a fretted instrument? "Does Glory In The Meeting House" have a flat 6th? (Hint: NO). If a fiddler plays in E fingering does that mean a banjo player must do the same? Is this video Jody Stecher's application for membership in Slow Talkers of America? These and other questions are answered herein.
Answers not in video:
What is this banjo? It's a 1909 Bacon.
What is the tuning? f# D G C D

[@harperstone4009]

Jody I really treasure these dissertations on the nature of microtonal elements of traditional music. As I was teaching a banjo lesson today, my student was mentioning how she could listen to some banjo music and find it the most moving thing, deeply emotional, while other banjo players made sounds that were unrelenting and difficult to take in a music. She then made the comparison to speech - how some people talk and talk and talk without saying anything of value, while others say a lot with few words. I truly appreciate that you make these videos off the cuff, and take time to pause and find the right words that properly expresses the concept you are trying to convey. I also appreciate all that you have done to preserve the subtle beautiful qualities of traditional American music, and maintain an awareness of its unique microtonal and rhythmic nuances that are so commonly overlooked by others who attempt to play in the tradition. It’s so much easier for us to hear the unorthodox scales on an Oud or veena or something and say ‘that’s microtonal’ while ignoring the rich depth that’s closer to home, or even to listen to it and just assume that in the old recordings they were playing ‘out of tune’, and copy the words, chords, and basic trajectory of melody, ending up with something that is plain and boring and completely fails to capture the magic of the original. Or, as some people do, to try to copy the superficial qualities like the low fidelity of the recording, in an attempt to sound more ‘authentic’, also missing the point of the music… but not you! Your interpretations always sound different from the original but always like they belong in the tradition and sound right unto themselves, and I really appreciate you taking us behind the scenes into the decision making process of an arrangement

[@banjrsolo]

Thank you, Harper. You understand what I am doing and why.

[@writerrad]

Thanks for some real wisdom and thought and contemplation, and of all things on the internet, wondering between different possibilities. I come back to this tune itself because of its great wonder, but also because Baker was not shy to say that he and Monroe developed Jerusalem Ridge as a worked up version of Glory. Your musing and concern on these tunes is gold, Thanks for these gitts.

[@banjrsolo]

Thank you, Tony. It's good to know you and others are enjoying or benefiting from, or just paying a bit of attention to these sporadic videos. Knowing this assures me that I'm not just spewing words and music into the empty air.

[@harryskully]

Thanks Jody, this tune sounds awesome on the banjo. In the UK, devolution refers to the decentralisation of government power to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland assemblies.

[@gadaya]

Well this isn’t boring for me at least! There are many tunes from the old time fiddle repertoire that are “interpreted” as minor tunes (Glory in the meeting house is a good example but there are many more!) maybe because of the influence of Irish fiddling I guess? Anyway my favorite contemporary recording of “Glory in the meeting house” is from Tom Sauber Brad Leftwich and Alice Gerard because they play it with an E major chord on the guitar!

[@banjrsolo]

A good number of "minor" Irish tunes are not strictly minor either. The old fiddlers would typically mix minor, major and as many as 3 different "neutral" thirds in between. Same for sevenths. Yeah, E major would be good! I get a similar effect from having my 5 string tuned to a sweet major third.

[@gadaya]

And that’s a nice banjo version by the way! This is in banjo tuning that Dock Boggs used right?

[@banjrsolo]

Thank you. Yes, this is one of the tunings Dock Boggs used, although it was often a step lower.