GILSAW - for fiddle and clawhammer banjo (tablature)
Below are two versions of the tune "Gilsaw", one for fiddle and the other
for clawhammer banjo. This is the most pleasant tune I have run into in
quite some time.
These are written in ascii -- I see any form of musical notation as
merely a tool to enable one to as quickly as possible get the tune in
their heads -- where it belongs. While the appearance and form of the
transcribed music here departs from "normal", all necessary info is
nonetheless intact and quite easily grasped.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIDDLE
Gilsaw - Key of D
.
,----------------,----------------,----------------,----------------,
|sl-1 | | | |
|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
| ! | | _ | * |
|-!---------O----|-------O--------|-!---O-!--------|-O---O-O-O------|
| O. O O | O O | ! ! O| O O |
|---------------O|---O------------|-O-----O-----O--|-------------O--|
| | O O O| O | |
'----------------'----------------'---------O------'----------------'
O O
__
! !
-O- !
O O
,----------------,----------------,-O--------------,-O--------------,
|hsl-1 | | O O | O . |
|----------------|----------------|---O------------|---O------O-----|
| ! | ! | O O | O ! |
|-!---------O----|-------O-!------|----------------|----------!-----|
| O. O O | O O | O | |
|---------------O|---O------------|----------------|----------------|
| | O | | |
'----------------'----------------'----------------'----------------'
REPEAT
sl-2
! /!
! ! * hsl-2 ** **** *
---,-O----O-O-------,----------------,-------O--------,----------------,
O | !. O | O. O. | O O O | O |
-!-|-O----------O---|-!-------!------|---O-------O----|-------------!--|
\! | | ! ! | O | ! \! |
---|----------------|----------------|---------------O|-O-----O-!------|
| O | | | O O O. |
---|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
| | | | |
---'----------------'----------------'----------------'----------------'
__
sl _ ! !
! ! ! -O- !
! ! O hsl-2 ** O O
,-O---O---O------,----------------,-O--------------,-O--------------,
| | O. O | O O | O . |
|-------------O--|-!------!-------|---O------------|---O------O-----|
| | ! ! | O O | O ! |
|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------!-----|
| O O| | O | |
|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
| | | | |
'----------------'----------------'----------------'----------------'
REPEAT
NOTES:
sl = Slide into the note from the note below
sl-1 = Slide into the A note from string below while droning on the open
A string
sl-2 = Do the slide on the E string only, while your ring finger remains
on the D note on the A string
hsl-1 = While playing the open A string as a drone, play the F# on the
D string with middle finger, then slide up to A, on the D string,
using your ring finger
hsl-2 = While playing the open E string as a drone, play the C on the
A string with middle finger, then slide up to E on the A string
using your ring finger
**** = How to play these first 3 notes:
While playing the open E string as a drone, and with your ring
finger playing the E note on the A string, slide your ring finger
down to the D note then slide it back up to the E note
* = "1/2 trill !
(a.k.a. ! <- this note played quickly
"grace -o-
note) O
! <- main note
!
** = Play open E string and E note on the A string in unison here
. = This dot (above the 3rd measure in the first line) means
"stacatto" -- that is, play the note and very quickly shut it up.
Note: I play this tune in EADA tuning (high to low) for the quite
noticeable sympathetic resonance of the "unused" low string (tuned
up to A). Gotta air a gripe here --- Please use the old tunings! I
see a lot of people, out of laziness or ?, playing things in
classical EADG tuning when it would sound better & often be more
historically appropriate to use a variant tuning.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
BANJO
Tablature for my banjo version of "Gilsaw"
Straight "G" tuning (gdgbd)
sl = slide; t = thumb; h = hammer-on; s = sustain (hold previous note)
t h t h h t t h t h 3
sl _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
,--o-o-:--o-2-o-:,-:-:-o-2-o-:-:-:,-:-2-:--:-:-:---,-2-:-2-5 2-:-:-:,
|--3-3-:--------1|-o-1-------o-:-:|-1---1 -:-1-3---|---3-------3-1-o|
|----o-:---------|-------------o-s| -------2-------|----------------|
|------:---------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
'------o---------'----------------'----------------'----------------'
t h t h h t t t t t t t t
sl _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
,--o-o-:--o-2-o-:,-:-:-o-2-o-12-:-,-9-:-7-:-o-:-7-:,-9-:-7-:-:-o--:-,
|--3-3-:--------1|-o-1----------13|---8---7---7---7|---8---7-8-8--:-|
|----o-:---------|----------------| ---------------|-----------o--:-|
|------:---------|----------------|----------------|--------------:-|
'------o---------'----------------'----------------'--------------o-'
repeat
t t h h t t t t
_ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
,-9-9-:-9-:--9-:,-7-7-:--7-:-:--,-7-7-9-7-:-4-:-,-2-:-o-s-o-o-:-,
|---8-:---10---8|---7-:----7-8--|---------8---5-|---3-------o-:-|
|---o-:---------|-----:---------|---------------|-----------o-:-|
|-----:---------|-----:---------|---------------|-------------:-|
'-----o---------'-----o---------'---------------'-------------o-'
t t t t t t t t t t
_ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
,-9-9-:-9-:--9-:,-7-7-:--7--12-:-,-9-:-7-:-o-:-7-:,-9-:-7-:-:-o--:-,
|---8-:---10---8|---7-:--------13|---8---7---7---7|---8---7-8-8--:-|
|---o-:---------|-----:----------| ---------------|-----------o--:-|
|-----:---------|-----:----------|----------------|--------------:-|
'-----o---------'-----o----------'----------------'--------------o-'
repeat
Note - Sorry that this is shown in the key of G, whereas the fiddle
version above is in D! It just seems to "fit" better better in
D on fiddle and G on banjo.
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