Wet evening around here. My walk with the Newfs this evening was shorter than usual. Neither the dogs nor I were interested in walking around outside for long. This seemed like a good evening to  sit back and learn a new tune on the banjo.

Perhaps I should say learn an old tune, because the one I decided to work on – Cumberland Gap – has been around for a while. It was first recorded in the 20s but it may have been played back in the late 1800s.  Cumberland Gap is a pass in the Appalachian Mountains.

There are many versions of the tune, and there is even a specialty banjo tuning known as Cumberland Gap tuning. I was working on a version in D – that is, with my banjo tuned to double C tuning, with a capo on the 2nd fret.

Here are some of the different takes on this tune I’ve selected from YouTube.

I really like this performance by Frank Fairfield…

Clifton Hicks does a great job on this tune too. He uses his thumb and index finger to pick the banjo rather than playing clawhammer…

Now for something completely different, check out Bad Bad Whiskey…