Vanessa Novak

1903 -
BANJO
No 858
The OldestFrettedInstrumentMagazineIn The World
-
2010
MANDOLIN
GUITAR
Summer2010
f,4.00
**
VanessaNovak
This issueseesthe launch of a brand new banjo from Clifford Essex
'Tlte Clifford EssexGuntbler'
fuLusic
in tfüsissuc
Guitar: (Notation & Tab.): Aria (Logt); Mandolin: Kiuawiak (WieniawslE);
Plec. Banjo: Nice andEasyBanjo Bluesin C (Mullen); Banjo: BerkeleyMarch (Brooks& Denton);
Ukulele Quartet: (Tab.) SpanishPavan(Praetorizs/; BluegrassMdln: Clinch Mountain Backstep
CONTENTS
News from America
34
Herb Ellis: Obituary
35
Diz Disley: Obituary
My Visit to the UK (Part I )
36
GeorgetteTwain
The Public Image of the Banjo 37
(Part l) Gordon Dando
The Jau, Guitar (Part I )
38
Phil Jones
Music in Schools
38
The Meerkats
Pop Rhythms for Bass Guitar
39
(Part 6) Bert Rodson
From a Bath Chair
40
RichardIneson
Backwell Banjo Rally
41
News from Germany
Hans-WernerGrünewald
42
VanessaNovak (Cover Picture) 43
Clawhammer Banjo
44
Roger Young
The Ukulele Family
45
Rob MacKillop
Music Supplement:
SpanishPavan(Praetorius)
46
UkuleleQuartet
Niceand EasyBanjo Bluesin C
47
(RogerR. Mullen) PlecffumBanjo
Kuiawiak (WieniawskylMandolin 48
Aria (Logt) Guitarwith tablature 49
BerkeleyMarch (Brooksand
50
Denton) Banjo
Clinch MountainBackstep
51
(Trad.Arr. JohnBaldry) Mandolin
Mandolin in the Mode
52
John Baldry
The Oslo Mandolin Orchestra 52
ReidarFalch
Diminished 7th Chords
53
(Part l) Mike Taylor
Only One Pair of Hands (CD) 53
Review by Rob MacKillop
Chord Melody for Tenor Bjo. 54
Bill Somerville
Django Technique (Part 6)
55
Don Roberts
The Classical Banjo
56
Rob MacKillop
BMG Tape Club
57
John Marsden
The Gambler
58
The London Banjo Club
60
By the Way
6l
David Wade
Focus on Folk
62
Patsy Bentley
Correspondence
62
Teachers addresses
64
/903
-fandd Aoreddtfrp Sea
20/ü
PT]BLISHEDIN MARCH, JUNE, SEPTEMBERand DECEMBER
BY CLIFFORD ESSEXMUSIC CO., LTD.
7 ROSE WALK, WICKEN GREEN, FAKENIIIAM,
NORFOLK, NRitl 7QG
Tel - 01485529323 Email - cliffordessex@msn.com
EDITED BY CLEM WCKERY
The Editor does not necessarilyagreewith the opinions expressedby his contributors.
All itemsofferedfor inclusion in the next issuemustanive at the addressaboveby 12thAugust.
All articlesandmusicin BMG arethe copyrightof the authorsunlessotherwisestated,andno material
may be copiedin any form, or for any purposewithoutprior permissionfrom the owner.
Applicationfor permission
mustbe madein thefirst instance
to theEditorof BMG.
No. 858
Summer 2010
Notes ond Commentsby the Editor
Back in the seventies Clifford Essex Music Co., Ltd., under the
directorship of Kevin Keogh decided to manufactureonce again their
popular pre-war banjo 'The Regal'. Having sold off all the CE music
rights, the company was already in deep financial trouble, and sadly,
this bold new venture failed, with the result that the Clifford Essex
Company,albeit temporarily, went down, taking BMG with it.
We thought long and hard about making our original range of quality
banjos but eventually we decidedagainstit. What would be the point?
It has all been done before, we needed something different,
revolutionary, new and exciting with a great tone. Clifford Essex
fretted instruments are highly rated all over the world, we knew we
had to come up with something very special indeed. After two years
of development and research we are proud to launch the first
completely new Clifford Essex banjo for seventy five years: 'The
Clifford EssexGambler'. The craftsmanshipis secondto none and the
Brazilian ebony tone ring gives the instrument a sparkle the likes of
which I have never heardbefore. Seepages58 and 59 for details.
So Clifford EssexMusic Co., Ltd. really is back in businessagain. In
addition to our new banjo, - available as a Fingerstyle,Plectrum, or
Tenor model, - our music catalogue is growing fast and we are
adding more productsand accessoriesto our web site all the time.
For years banjoists have been asking for some of the Joe Morley and
Ragtime favourites to be made available to tablature readers, so
Clifford Essex is gradually publishing such titles in dual form. That
is, staves showing Notation (with fingering) above the Tablature.
Recent additions to the catalogue include two Ragtime titles:
'Dimples' and oEatin' Time',
and two Morley solos: 'Mister Punch'
'Pussyfoot
and
Parade'. The sameformat is used for ClassicalGuitar
music, and lists can be seenon our website,www.cliffordessex.net
B.Df.G.
Summer2010
That must have
been deliberate
were
as we
informed
that
visitors could not
try
the
instruments.
What kind of
is
marketing
that?
One instrument
T a n g l e w o ohda s
be
to
TMAS-NAT mentioned: an
n239ss
A-style mandolin
which was artificially aged. The
finish looked as if the instrument
was from the early 20th century,
were scratches, dings,
there
dongs, and even artificial
wormholes....(I kid you not!)
I know that there is a market for
artificially aged instruments in
the electric guitar department,
but mandolins! Maybe I am just
old-fashioned.
I have saved my personal
favourite for the end of mY
Breedlove (http:ll
revlew.
breedlovemusic.com) showed
three mandolins: two Quartz
models and a Premier FF which
is an all solid wood blonde
beauty, basically an F-style but
with a new design. Tone and
volume
were outstanding, a
deep throaty voice with lots of
bark and bass, good for
bluegrass, for folk, for jut.
That mandolin really sparkedmy
interest! Unfortunately, as yet
there is no photo available of the
PremierFF .
NEWS FROM GERN,TAI\TY
by Hans-Werner Grünewald
In March this year
it was again time
Here I must praise Martin. In
contrast to some other exhibitors
for the Musikmesse in Frankfurt,
they are very open and friendly,
the world's greatest music
visitors are allowed to test all
fair. My first impression when I
the guitars shown on the stand,
enteredthe halls was much more
even the most expensive ones!
space than last year.'The aisles
Diane Ponzio, American singer/
were wider, there seemed to be
songwriter and Martin endorser
(www.dianeponzio.com)
gave a
fewer visitors,
even some
gaps between the stalls could be
short concert. That lady is
seen. So the economical crisis
simply fantastic. Great lyrics,
has reached the music business perfect music, great voice, and
as well. I wondered whether this
an
unbeatable
stage
performance.
would have an impact on a niche
If Diane ever
marketlike mandolins...
tours the UK, try to get tickets.
Loyal exhibitors like Saga
She has such a great sense of
Musical
Instruments
humour, her 'Blues Song'
(www.sagamusic.com) had the
culminates in the words: "All
same stand as every year, with a
these blues songs sound the
full
range of stringed
same to me". . .. Diane, I love
your show!
instruments and the complete
Kentucky line of mandolins
But mainly I had come to see
including the new revived
and test new instruments, and
flagshipKMl500.
there were some interesting
mandolins on display.
Larrivde (www.larrivee.com)
showed a new A-style mando
named A34 (with oval hole). It
presented a very nice woody
tone, even good for chops,
(despite the oval hole). Nice
KMl500
workmanship,
a fine instrument
Headstock
with a recommendedretail price
of US-$ 2889.
There were good instruments in
the lower price levels as well. A
distributor showed among others
some Tanglewood mandolins
Another good reasonto make a
'Tora
(www.tanglewoodguitars.co.uk).
stopat Saga'sstandis the
Unfortunately
all of them were
Tora Boys', a bluegrassband
formed of Saga employees. not tuned (sloppy strings!!) but
their overall appearance left a
Those gentlemanhad great fun
good impression. I liked in
andtheir excitementinfectedthe
particular
TMAS-NAT , an all
restof us. Greatshowboys!
solid mahogany A-style mando.
The next stall I visited
The
RRP of f239.95 seemsvery
was
Martin
Guitars
reasonableto me.
(www.maninguitar.com).
Martin had discontinuedmaking Another multi-brand distributor Other mandolins by Breedlove. Thefirst
mandolinsin the 1990s,but their showed Stanford mandolins, all letter refers to the boÜ shape, and the
with sloppy strings.
second to the soundhole type.
guitars arealwaysworth a look.
B.Lf .Gt.
Summer 2010
Jean-ClaudeEscudie, Breedlove
Sales &, Marketing Manager
informed me of the new bridge
desigtr which has been
developed by Kim Breedlove
himself. They do not have
thumb wheels but small screws
adjust the heights with a small
tee wrench from the top.
Such a little detail fuither
improves the tone; the transfer
of vibrations from the strings to
the instrument's top is less
muted as there is less metal. So
again,the Musikmesse showed a
number of interestingnew items,
and I had a lot of entertainment.
It was well worth the visit.
This Issue'sCoverPicture
Vanessa
Novak
It was during a mandolin
workshop with Jesper RübnerPetersen, when I first met
Vanessa.
When we introduced ourselves
she confessed, whimsically
smiling, that she had never
touched a mandolin before. She
presented herself as a singer/
songwriter, singing and playing
the guitar. She simply wanted to
extend her musical spectrum for
future songs.
That made me curious and so I
went to see her perform in the
regional folk clubs. Her
programme consists of her own
compositions, she sings and
accompanies herself with the
guitar.
I was very impressed by her
voice, by her lyrics (all in
English) and by her discreetwell
balanced guitar playing. ln 2009
she finally released her CD
'Traveling Heart'
with eleven
songs on subjects such as
affection and rejection and what
is felt, but never said. That CD
has gained considerable
attention in Germdfly, not only
has a regional newspaper
published an extensive review
with photos in its weekend
supplement, but also the much
respected bi-monthly magazine
'Akustik-Gitarre' published
a
short positive review. On behalf
of BMG I had the opportunity to
ask her about her musical career:
BMG: Vanessa, when did you
start playing music?
Vanessa: I think I was about 14
years old when I started to play
guitar. Before that I played piano
for about 3 years and tortured
my teachers because I never
really practised and played by
ear and improvised.
BMG: In your Myspace site
( h t t p : / / w w w . m y s p a c e .c o m /
vanessanovak) you mention a
whole list of musicians who
influenced you. Who is, or was
your main influence?
Vanessa: That's a hard question
to answer. You see, when I was
14 there was a big difference
between the music which
influenced me then to now. My
first influence I would s&y,
would have to be Dolly Parton
or Johnny Cash. My parents
listened to their music. I
remember when I was about
five years old, I listened to a
Dolly Parton song called
'Melina'. It was
all about a girl
who wanted to have wings and
fly like a butterfly and then the
angels fulfilled her wish and she
died! What a song for a five
year old to hear! I startedto cry,
my Mom was taking a nap on
the couch, she started to laugh
and explained to me that this
was 'just a song!'
For the
record, my music is not country
music but country influenced.
BMG: When you are writing a
43
new songwhat ,o-6, first the
lyrics or the music?
Vanessa: Sometimes the music
and words come together.I don't
write poems and then evenfually
compose a song, but I write
down words or sentences,little
ideas. This sometimes annoys
my children, I scribble an idea
on a piece of paper and don't
notice the picture they drew on it
because I'm so focused on the
song.
BMG:
All your lyrics are
written in English, why?
Vanessa: I'm 'almost' a native
speaker. My father was
American and I was born in the
USA. We moved to Germany
when I was a child. When I write
songs I can expressmyself best
in English.
BMG: Your lyrics relate to
affection and feelings. Where do
you get the ideasfrom?
Vanessa: The school of life,
experiencesI have had, and just
stories I figure out. I have to
have a certain emotional feeling
to write about the thoughts in my
mind. Like the song 'Used to be
home'. This came to me almost
immediately when I was
thinking about a friend's
breakup and what she was going
through.
BMG: Which instruments do
you play?
Vanessa: I have a nine-string
Monis Guitar, where the treble
strings were doubled. Since I do
a lot of finger picking I prefer to
play it with 6 strings. My other
guitar is an Alvarez. I also have
a Mandolin, and to be honest, at
the moment I only use it to play
'The L&N don't stop here
anymore'. It sounds very cool
when I play the song with the
mandolin; it gives it a real drive.
BMG: Let's talk aboutyour CD.
I understand that it was
producedby yourself. Could you
tell us more?
44
Vanessa: 'Traveling Heart' was
recordedat a friend's studio. We
started to record, but after a
while I thought that it would be
better to zurange the songs
differently for both guitar and
vocals. So I asked a few
musician I knew if they'd like to
be part of my project. I was
very happy that they contributed.
It is interesting how ä song gets
a totally different character
depending
on
the
instrumentation used.
BMG: Where can our readers
get the CD?
Vanessa: You can contact me
through
my
Website:
www.vanessanovak.de or
www.mvspace.com/
'Traveling
vanesssanovak
B.L{.Cl.
questions to the membership.
One of the best of these is 'The
Banjo Hangout' which you can
fi nd at rvww.bani ohangout.org.
This is not a commercial website
or run as a profit-making
business, but is basically the
dedicated work of one man, Eric
Schlange, who receives
charitable support from
enthusiastic members to help
keep it going. Whilst it has
separate sections which cover
interests as diverse as bluegrass
banjo playing, banjo making,
banjo collecting and so on it
encompassesjust about every
aspect of banjo playing you
could imagine. So, of course,
there is a whole section for
clawhammer players to
Heart' is also availableon CDexchange information and ideas,
Babyor iTunes.
and ask questions with the hope
BMG: What are your plans for
of answers from those more
the future?
knowledgeableand experienced.
Vanessa: Recently I started It provides a convenient
teaching myself Bottleneck environment which brings
Guitar. I really want to pursue newbies together with experts on
this, as I like the Blues. I
a friendly basis to the benefit of
discoveredseveralopen-tunings both.
which puts a whole new But Banjo Hangout is more
perspectiveon my songwriting.
multi-faceted than that. When
And of course, I want to
you become a member you get
improvemy Mandolinplaying!
your own 'member's page' in
which you provide details on
your
particular interests such as,
Clawhammer Banjo
what banjos you have, how long
by Roger Young
you have been playing and other
Mining the Internet
such interesting information. On
(Continuedfrom the Spring issue)
your member's page you can
include photographs to create
DiscussionForums
your
own gallery. You can also
There's always likely to be some
put up your owrr recordings or
degree of overlap in BMG
videos. All of these are
articles, and these Clawhammer
accessibleto your friends on the
columns are no exception,
Banjo Hangout.
becausethe magazine is, by its
They also have a selection of
very nature, a strong source of
classified ads in which members
general information.
offer items for sale. There are
A discussion Forum is like a
currently about 200 banjos on
kind of Internet Club which you
offer, including two Clifford
generally sign up to as a member
Essex instruments as I write (but
y
o
u
r
with
name and Email
of course these may be gone by
address in order to be able to
the time you read this).
join in the discussionsor pose
Summer 2010
In addition there is an extensive
archive of Tabs and lessons,but
of course, not all of these are
clawhammer so you need to be
selective.Similarly there is a big
archive of member's recordings
of their own performances and
the same proviso applies here,
you have to sort out the stuff you
want from all that is available.
On the whole it is an excellent
and invaluable resourceto which
I turn for help frequently. I am a
member, ffid so is Adam Hurt
who goes under the pseudonym
of 'clawhammerist'. But there
are lots of pretty famous banjo
players who are members. Best
thing is to join up and find out
who is there. There are other
more specialised discussion
forums which you will soon
discover among the links offered
on the websitessuggestedabove.
In our next article we'll look
especially at more internet
sources for free tablature and
tuition for players of the
clawhammer banjo .
Tony Trischka
Master Collection of Fiddle
Tunes for Banjo
A very comprehensiverepertoire
book of fiddle
tunes adapted
for banjo, in
easy to read
tablature, by
the renowned
player
and
teacher of the 5
String Banjo,
Tony Trischka.
For the beginner to the advanced
player, this book and its
companionrecordings on2 CD's
will enable players to learn by
example and broaden their
technical range.
f24.99 + f,3.00 P&P
Clifford Essex Music Co., Ltd.
01485 529323.