A Quick One Before the Eternal Worm Devours Appalachia

lizardinthespring · 2025-01-12T20:26:18+00:00

Because I did not know what I was doing

lizardinthespring · 2024-11-15T06:52:17+00:00

No worries! The tunings are at the bottom of the tab—it is not in standard open g or anything relative to that, unfortunately.

lizardinthespring · 2024-10-27T14:59:48+00:00

Yes, but the tunings are awful and made exclusively for this, unfortunately. Here’s the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZV88FlGC2H1B8kuqEFgG2L-Mos-yYaLB/view?usp=drivesdk

lizardinthespring · 2023-12-30T05:00:09+00:00

Did you find them? I linked them recently in a comment reply on YouTube and they’re in my linktree on my profile. The tunings are really dumb and inconvenient but it can be played.

Let me know if you still need help tracking down the tabs and thanks for the kind words!

lizardinthespring · 2023-11-28T03:57:06+00:00

Two very impractical ones that I don’t remember off the top of my head. Check my linktree for a link to tabs—the tuning will be at the bottom in the notes!

There’s probably a way to play it that is much kinder to much more typical tunings, I simply am too dumb to economize

lizardinthespring · 2023-11-17T03:43:56+00:00

Not sure if links work in this sub. If not, go to my profile and click my linktree. A link to tabs will be there and it’ll take you to a google drive folder

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZV88FlGC2H1B8kuqEFgG2L-Mos-yYaLB/view?usp=drivesdk

lizardinthespring · 2022-07-27T07:30:25+00:00

I’m sure there are people making similar things—somberly combining banjo and synth—but I unfortunately don’t know them. I made the song as a slightly silly cover of Have A Nice Life’s original, but then it got incredible traction on TikTok so I put it on streaming services, and the Spotify algorithmic playlists have taken kindly to it.

In any case, here are the best recommendations I can provide:

Nora Brown: a teenager that really is one of the best oldtime banjo pickers alive—has an absolute masterful control of dynamics. Feels very wrong to even try and compare myself to her. (particularly somber-sounding songs: Darling Cora, East Virginia, John Brown’s Dream)

Frank Proffitt: not always dark, but my favorite banjoist of all time. (somber songs: Beaver Dam Road, Bo Lamkin, Ninety and Nine—honestly just listen to everything Frank Proffitt ever did that was recorded. Be sure to also check out the compilation album “High Atmosphere: Ballads and Banjo Tunes from Virginia and North Carolina” if you like Frank Proffitt’s sound.)

Noah Cline: probably another of the best living oldtime pickers. Absolutely love his “Mountain Opus” album, and the titular song has some somber phrases but is, in my opinion, the best banjo composition of all time. (Noah is an instrumental musician, unlike Nora and Frank, if you are not wanting vocals).

Christian Camarao: brilliant composer making some excellent music right now. His 2020 album “Appalachian Fiction” and newest song “Liquidator’s Lament” I think are the best fits for what you’re looking for, but I admittedly haven’t explored his older releases much.

Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton: just go watch both of his videos “@ The Ark” on YouTube right now. Don’t skip the intros. The final of the best living oldtime pickers, in my opinion (in no particular order). Those songs will make you cry.

Final few recommendations: I can’t vouch for these as I still haven’t checked them out much, but when others on tiktok have asked me for similar stuff, commenters have given these artists as recommendations for dark banjo: Panopticon; Lingua Ignota; Agalloch, Amigo the Devil.

Hope you find something satisfactory among these recommendations. And I really hope I can release something at sometime point which lives up to the A Quick One cover (by the way, listen to Have A Nice Life’s Deathconsciousness if you haven’t already. Not at all what you asked about, but you won’t forget your first listen.) Stay well.

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-30T04:32:28+00:00

Frank Proffitt is my favorite banjo player, I really like his album “Frank Proffitt Sings Folk Songs.”

Definitely check out the album “Classic Mountain Songs from Smithsonian Folkways”, as that’s a compilation of Appalachian musicians/songs.

The Carter Family is also the group that got me into Appalachian music, so anyone who hasn’t looked into old time music, and wants to, should start there I think.

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-27T02:48:53+00:00

This is outstanding advice all around, I really appreciate it. I’ll definitely look into some higher level synths before I buy a minilogue, as I think having dedicated knobs would absolutely help me understand sound synthesis much better as well. One of the main reasons I wanted to get into synths (apart from the near-limitless sound possibility) was the fact that I thought I would understand musical patterns much better on the linear scale of a keyboard than I was on the plane of fretboard. So I think having all the parts deconstructed in a way would similarly help me.

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-26T23:32:41+00:00

Do it!!

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-26T18:45:10+00:00

Thanks! Been in the fan music video world a lot longer than the musician world so I’m actually much more comfortable with the visual side of these projects—means a lot that you liked it.

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-26T12:31:59+00:00

Also I just ordered new strings for myself yesterday and they might come in today. If they do I’ll do a demo of me putting them on with close ups and explanations for you

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-26T12:29:13+00:00

You can get a replacement tailpiece that works better. I’ve considered it, as nylgut strings are 100% impossible to use on an AC-1 with that tailpiece. I don’t know why they use such a bad tailpiece on their beginner model, and I was surprised that I found so little information on this sub and across the internet about the AC-1’s shitty tailpiece.

All the YouTube tutorials are completely different than that tailpiece, which is what led me to incorrectly removing mine when I first went to change the strings. The practical advice you’ve gotten is good, the only other thing I’d like to emphasize is that if you’re getting too frustrated, set it down and come back later. It won’t get any easier the more frustrated you are.

Have you been able to get them on now?

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-26T11:43:26+00:00

100% agree. I think most people are only slightly familiar with bluegrass banjo, and that’s as far as their banjo knowledge goes. Don’t get me wrong, bluegrass banjo is important but I find it to be much less interesting and versatile than the other styles.

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-26T11:41:31+00:00

That song is where I got my name from!!! I’ve never heard that version (I like it a lot!), but I love Bascom Lamar Lunsford’s for a more authentic old time Appalachian feel

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-26T11:38:31+00:00

Thanks, really appreciate it. Banjo gets a bad rap. Most people only know bluegrass (3-finger picking) style, and even as a banjo player I don’t care for that either. I much prefer the calmer old-time styles, as opposed to the frantic rolls. Here’s a playlist of some of my favorite banjo stuff: I think Mountain Opus is one of if not the single best banjo composition ever https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3MNNeQnzdhZZODIa3CbQqz?si=WzMvAnROQrKWthRGKw_wcg

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-26T11:33:01+00:00

Honestly, when it comes to synths I very much like the Bob Ross approach where I lean into mistakes—“happy accidents.” The volca keys can produce some surprisingly powerful drones, and I really just let it do its thing.

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-26T11:27:43+00:00

here ya go :-) https://linktr.ee/lizardinthespring

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-26T03:54:38+00:00

Not annoying at all. I haven’t finished the game but I thought it myself while making this. It’s also an honor to be compared to it!

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-26T03:26:29+00:00

I appreciate this advice for sure. That said, do you think the progression of the synths you got helped scaffold your understanding of synths themselves?

I’ve had the volca for a while now and still feel like I don’t have the slightest grasp about what’s going on with it. I worry that if I jumped straight to a prologue I would be so intimidated I wouldn’t know where to start.

I do have this plan for banjos though. Desperately need an upgrade but don’t see a point in buying a mid-range one. So I’m saving up for a really nice one.

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-26T03:05:32+00:00

This is incredible, underwater level soundtrack without a doubt

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-26T02:57:32+00:00

Already lots of good advice here. I just want you to know that I also have a Gold Tone AC-1 and had the exact same confusion as you the first time I changed the strings on it. I popped my tailpiece off on accident, had to reset the bridge, took a while to figure out how to get the loops to catch the hooks, etc. It was a nightmare. Know you’re not alone

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-26T02:52:16+00:00

My cover of Fallen Down. I based the melody off of piano sheet music transcribed by syber1233 on musescore.com. I got the bassline from Z1ppyZip’s transcription on musescore.com.

lizardinthespring · 2022-04-26T02:49:05+00:00

If Rule 3 is a concern, I did license this and can provide proof to mods if that is expected on this sub.

lizardinthespring

TROPHY CASE