Learning the tunes- Hints and tips

Now that you have learned some basic Reno licks and theory, you’re ready to tackle those great tunes.  Here I will discuss some hints and tips on some of Don’s most famous tunes.  This should give you a better insight into Don’s style and his way of thinking on these tunes.  Hopefully it will help you to figure out your favorite Reno arrangements and to create your own.

"Follow The Leader"

This is one of Don’s most popular tunes.  It’s a little bit Bluegrass Breakdown, Foggy Mt. Breakdown and part Cincinnati Rag.  It has it all, single string, unique rolls, and unique chord positions.  It can also contain the brush technique if desired.  Don’t limit yourself by copying the original version note for note.  This tune is perfect for experimenting with different licks and techniques.  This is exactly what Don did to compose this tune.  He was just “messing around” putting things together and came up with “Follow The Leader”.  As for the original recording you’ll notice that it is about 1 fret higher in tuning than standard 440.  His later version from the 70’s is in standard tuning.  The original was much faster than his later version as well.  I have many live versions of Don doing this tune and he never did it as fast as the original recording.  I have feeling that the original was “sped up” after recording it.  This may have been done to give it more “punch”.  This would account for the higher pitch as well.  I may be wrong because Reno could have done it as fast as he wanted to.  So, don’t feel too bad if you can’t get it up to speed with the original.  You can always play along with the later version.

"Green Mt. Hop"

Ah here’s a real Reno classic.  This is actually Don’s reworking of Black Mt. Rag.  Don also recorded this song by himself.  Meaning he played all the instruments.  That alone is a major accomplishment.  The song is in “D” tuning.  The original has the 5^th string tuned to “A”.  His later versions he tuned is 5^th string down to “F#”.  To me, tuning the 5^th string down takes a little bit of the “edge” or “bite” out of the song.  You decide which you like best.  Of course the main question is “How is he doing that crazy part?”  It is done by doing a triple pull off on the first string.  That’s right I said TRIPLE pull off!!  It’s tough and will take some practice to get it right.  You pull off from the 4^th to the 3^rd  to the 2^nd to an open 1^st  string.  Don also uses a triple pull off in later versions of Charlotte Breakdown.

"Dixie Breakdown" / "Banjo Special"

 I grouped these tunes together because the main structure of the two tunes are built on the “Dixie Breakdown” roll that we discussed earlier in the workshop.  Dixie Breakdown is kind of a stepping stone the “finger buster” Banjo Special.  The original Dixie Breakdown was done in “A” with a capo in the second fret of course.  Capo you say? Yes, he used the capo.  Dixie Breakdown is very straight forward.  The bridge progresses through G, C, G, and D.  But Banjo Special is a little more difficult to say the least.  The bridge progresses through E, A, D using the same chord shapes and the same roll as Dixie Breakdown.  That’s where the similarities stop.  It is amazing that Don could play so many different versions non-stop without messing up.  Yet even more amazing is the fact that Don still did not exhaust his bag of tricks because he could have easily done a single string break or all brush technique break.  Also noticeable is the great drive that Don put into the original recording.  It is one of his best recordings period.  The possibilities are endless with both of these tunes for improvising. 

"Crazy Finger Blues"

This is one that has been overlooked by most pickers.  I think in part because people can’t figure out what Don is doing.  It basically it’s another “Boogie” tune in the tradition of Tennessee Stomp, Double Banjo Blues, and Banjo Riff.  This time it is in the key of “E”.  Most people think Don is tuned in “D” tuning for this tune.  They are both wrong and right.  Let me explain.  If you play in “D” tuning often, you’ll notice the same type rolls and licks in Crazy Finger Blues but it’s in the key of “E”.  How is this done?  You can tune a banjo to open “E” instead of open “D”.  Open “E” is just a matter of tuning your banjo strings two frets higher up from open “D”.  So instead of using F#, D, F#, A, D, you tune it to G#, E, G#, B, E.  This is a great tuning to try new things in the key of “E”.  But, the trick to playing Crazy Finger Blues is that the 1^st is not tuned to “E”.  It is tuned to C#.  So to play Crazy Finger Blues you tune to G#, E, G#, B, C#.  This is what gives the tune such an unusual sound.  Now the question is, how does he do that “crazy riff” part?  It is actually a lot easier than it sounds.  The tuning is the trick to the sound.  The riff is done by pulling off from the 3^rd fret to an open string starting on the 1^st string, then the 2^nd string,  then the 3^rd, and the 4^th.  All pull off’s are made from the third fret.  Open strings are hit after each pull off.  It is hard to explain but hopefully with a keen ear you can get the right flow to it.  You can also start the first pull off on the 2^nd string at the 5^th fret instead of on the 1^st string at the 3^rd fret.  Experiment with it and you’ll have “crazy fingers” in no time!

Tunes Done With The Capo

There are a lot of non-instrumental songs that Don did with the use of the capo.  But we’ll focus on the instrumentals.  As discussed earlier Don abandoned the capo completely in the late sixties.

  "Charlotte Breakdown"

This is actually a straight forward tune for a Reno composition.  The chord structure is very simple, G, C, G, and D.  It is a lot like Shucking The Corn.  But what makes this simple tune different is that on the original version Don put the capo on at the 7^th fret to play in the key of “D”.  This was very unusual even for a diehard capo user.  It gave the tune a very different sound from his later versions in the key of “G”.  His later “G” versions had many more tricks and Reno-vations but, the capoed version is great in its simplicity.  It’s almost like a totally different tune.  Try them both.

"Dixie Breakdown"

As mentioned before the original version of Dixie Breakdown was done in “A” with the use of a capo.  This may have been done because of the twin fiddle work.  It would have been easier to play twin fiddles in the key of “A”.  Also it adds to the “old breakdown” feel to the tune.  His later versions were in “G” with much more advanced Reno work.

  "Down On The Farm"

This is of course Whoa Mule Whoa.  Don would often change the names of tunes.  This is actually simple compared to wild versions that Raymond Fairchild has made popular.  But if you listen to Don’s version you can hear where Raymond got the idea for his “slipping and sliding” licks.  In one break Don does very similar type licks.  Don plays this out of the “C” position with the capo on the second fret.  This was probably done because Don did a lot of tunes in the key of “A” with capo on the Wanted album which this song appears.

"San Antonio Rose"

Another great tune also played in the “C” position with the capo on the 2^nd fret.  This was also on the Wanted album. 

 "Five By Eight"

This is one of my favorite Reno tunes.  It is played in the key of “A” with the capo in the 2^nd fret of course.  Again the reason for the capo is probably to complement the eight string fiddle work by the great Benny Martin.  A lot of the walking up and down the neck on the bridge are variations of the positions discussed earlier in the workshop.

To be continued