I was staying with Willard and Ora Watson on Wildcat Road, near Boone, and spending a little time with Doc Watson, who lived on the next road over from theirs. I asked Doc if there is anyone I could record while in the area. Doc told me to go to see Tab Ward who lived in Sugar Grove, NC, which is near the NC/TN border.
When I told Tab that Doc sent me, I was warmly welcomed into his home. I expect to have this session at Doc’s home transferred from reel-to-reel to MP3 in 2027. Mike Seeger did some excellent recordings of Doc, as did Reed Martin. My tape has songs that do not appear on either of their tapings. I’ll post on social media when it is finally edited and on this website. The picture was extracted from Beech Mountain Collection attributed to Jack Guy.
While I was there, he played using the double-thumb method, most of the time. In my recordings he would use his thumb to pick both the 5th string and alternate picking out the melody. Doing that, he would also use his middle finger to strike the strings.
He used multiple tunings on the banjo and used alternative chords, depending on the song he was playing. “Eight or nine” different ways, and he varies these “chords” according to the song.
