Re: Cross picking on the banjo like gerry oconnor HOW??? is this done an learned
I got an impromptu (and free!) lesson in cross picking from Jesse McReynolds himself backstage at a bluegrass festival in the 1970s. The way he showed me the forward roll on mandolin was to alternate pick direction. So if you're playing the roll on, say, the first three strings, you pick down on 3rd string, up on 2nd, down on 1st, then up on 3rd, down on 2nd, up on 1st, and then down on 3rd, up on 2nd. This gives you a repeatable 8-count for reels, with a 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2 count. Works the same on tenor banjo as on mandolin (or guitar).
Some players favor the sort of sweep picking cited by Gemini, and somewhere there's a book that claims that's how Jesse McReynolds cross picks. But Mr. McReynolds himself showed me the alternating picking.
Re: Cross picking on the banjo like gerry oconnor HOW??? is this done an learned
I play both traditional Irish music on tenor banjo and also bluegrass guitar so I have some experience with this matter. Basically what happens is you play a succession of notes that are in a run of 3, in a piece of music divided into groups of 4. E.G play aae aaf# aag# aaf# aae ,all quavers and divided into gruops of 4 quavers except the last e(crotchet). and play them using a DUDUDUDUDUDUDUD. The crosspicking effect is created by using a binary picking system over three note phrasing. It comes from a fiddle technique known at least in this part of the world as The Georgia Shuffle. The most famous example is probably "Orange Blossom Special" and Glenn Miller used it in "In The Mood" although I'm not sure if he was aware of it. I believe that the technique was banned in a number of fiddle competitions in the US as it was being overused to a great degree. Contrary to popular belief the technique is not that difficult once you've gotten used to it. I should add that on guitar it was Doc Watson's version of Beaumont Rag" that bought the technique to prominence for guitarists.
Re: Cross picking on the banjo like gerry oconnor HOW??? is this done an learned
Will, great post! I love this type of info straight from the horses mouth.
I also got an impromptu (and free) lesson from Doc Watson in the 70's. He didn't show me his cross-picking technique specifically. However he did stress to me the importance of a well devoloped up stroke. He said the most difficult thing for most players is to get comfortable with the accented up stroke in either direction (moving to a higher or lower string). This ability to move the accents around within the measure while staying in the DUDU pattern allows you to create a real swing to your playing. Once I became comfortable with this concept/skill it was easy to start throwing in cross-picked elements in my tunes staying in the DUDU pattern. I learned the cross-pick feel mostly from Norman Blake recordings.
As for Gerry O's cross-picking technique, there's no better source than the man himself. He describes and demonstrates his cross-picking technique very clearly on one of his videos/DVDs. Sorry, I'm not sure which one.
Re: Cross picking on the banjo like gerry oconnor HOW??? is this done an learned
If I remember correctly, Gerry O utilizes a DDU pattern and does a lot of cross-picking patterns across 2 adjacent strings rather than 3. Hitting Down on a string, then down on the next adjacent string above and then up on that same string. Back to the first string, repeat. Very machine gunnish.
Re: Cross picking on the banjo like gerry oconnor HOW??? is this done an learned
The key is to find a pattern that allows you to best move the down beat, regardless of whether it's DUDU or DDU or DUU, and keep that pattern consistant while you're doing it. I think it helps to be picking down on the accented note when possible, but you'll also need to be able to accent an U as well:
X x x x X x x x X x x x X x x x X x etc. I tend toward the DDU across 3 strings because the U gets me headed back to the more distant string faster, but will use DUDUDU if it's on one or two strings only.
Re: Cross picking on the banjo like gerry oconnor HOW??? is this done an learned
Hi Guys I saw gerry o connor last year in cork and he played a bit of the foggy mountain breakdown on tenor banjo and it sounded exactly like a 5 string. Just wondering how he did it. Apart from using different tuning and crosspicking ??
Cross picking on the banjo like gerry oconnor HOW??? is this done an learned
Cross picking on the banjo like gerry oconnor HOW??? is this done an learned
i would love to learn to learn to cross pick would add such variation to my playing!!!!
# Posted on December 18th 2010 by alim010
Re: Cross picking on the banjo like gerry oconnor HOW??? is this done an learned
I got an impromptu (and free!) lesson in cross picking from Jesse McReynolds himself backstage at a bluegrass festival in the 1970s. The way he showed me the forward roll on mandolin was to alternate pick direction. So if you're playing the roll on, say, the first three strings, you pick down on 3rd string, up on 2nd, down on 1st, then up on 3rd, down on 2nd, up on 1st, and then down on 3rd, up on 2nd. This gives you a repeatable 8-count for reels, with a 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2 count. Works the same on tenor banjo as on mandolin (or guitar).
Some players favor the sort of sweep picking cited by Gemini, and somewhere there's a book that claims that's how Jesse McReynolds cross picks. But Mr. McReynolds himself showed me the alternating picking.
Best bet is to learn them all.
# Posted on December 18th 2010 by Will Harmon
Re: Cross picking on the banjo like gerry oconnor HOW??? is this done an learned
I play both traditional Irish music on tenor banjo and also bluegrass guitar so I have some experience with this matter. Basically what happens is you play a succession of notes that are in a run of 3, in a piece of music divided into groups of 4. E.G play aae aaf# aag# aaf# aae ,all quavers and divided into gruops of 4 quavers except the last e(crotchet). and play them using a DUDUDUDUDUDUDUD. The crosspicking effect is created by using a binary picking system over three note phrasing. It comes from a fiddle technique known at least in this part of the world as The Georgia Shuffle. The most famous example is probably "Orange Blossom Special" and Glenn Miller used it in "In The Mood" although I'm not sure if he was aware of it. I believe that the technique was banned in a number of fiddle competitions in the US as it was being overused to a great degree. Contrary to popular belief the technique is not that difficult once you've gotten used to it. I should add that on guitar it was Doc Watson's version of Beaumont Rag" that bought the technique to prominence for guitarists.
# Posted on December 19th 2010 by Tony O'Rourke
Re: Cross picking on the banjo like gerry oconnor HOW??? is this done an learned
Will, great post! I love this type of info straight from the horses mouth.
I also got an impromptu (and free) lesson from Doc Watson in the 70's. He didn't show me his cross-picking technique specifically. However he did stress to me the importance of a well devoloped up stroke. He said the most difficult thing for most players is to get comfortable with the accented up stroke in either direction (moving to a higher or lower string). This ability to move the accents around within the measure while staying in the DUDU pattern allows you to create a real swing to your playing. Once I became comfortable with this concept/skill it was easy to start throwing in cross-picked elements in my tunes staying in the DUDU pattern. I learned the cross-pick feel mostly from Norman Blake recordings.
As for Gerry O's cross-picking technique, there's no better source than the man himself. He describes and demonstrates his cross-picking technique very clearly on one of his videos/DVDs. Sorry, I'm not sure which one.
# Posted on December 20th 2010 by Tusong200
Re: Cross picking on the banjo like gerry oconnor HOW??? is this done an learned
If I remember correctly, Gerry O utilizes a DDU pattern and does a lot of cross-picking patterns across 2 adjacent strings rather than 3. Hitting Down on a string, then down on the next adjacent string above and then up on that same string. Back to the first string, repeat. Very machine gunnish.
# Posted on December 20th 2010 by Tusong200
Re: Cross picking on the banjo like gerry oconnor HOW??? is this done an learned
The key is to find a pattern that allows you to best move the down beat, regardless of whether it's DUDU or DDU or DUU, and keep that pattern consistant while you're doing it. I think it helps to be picking down on the accented note when possible, but you'll also need to be able to accent an U as well:
X x x x X x x x X x x x X x x x X x etc. I tend toward the DDU across 3 strings because the U gets me headed back to the more distant string faster, but will use DUDUDU if it's on one or two strings only.
# Posted on December 22nd 2010 by Steven Hawson
Re: Cross picking on the banjo like gerry oconnor HOW??? is this done an learned
Hi Guys I saw gerry o connor last year in cork and he played a bit of the foggy mountain breakdown on tenor banjo and it sounded exactly like a 5 string. Just wondering how he did it. Apart from using different tuning and crosspicking ??
# Posted on April 4th 2012 by Pa banjoboy