I hope these tune versions are still interesting to hear at least once in your life. It is good for ya.
Here’s a two-part version of a tune that got “festivalized” long ago.
Barlow Knife was probably put out for consumption on LP in the early ’70s as a 3-part tune based on Henry Reed’s version that I don’t have handy to share. If someone wanted to share it then that would be a good contrast. Here’s our more ‘local’ version from Carroll County OT band Norman Edmonds and the Old-timers.
The banjo is played by Rufus Burnett. I met his son Jim back when Jenny and I lived in Grayson County in the early ’80s. Rufus played several G tunes like this one with his banjo tuned to gEADE. This is actually A modal tuning with the 5th string run down.
If you make a guitar G chord fingering shape with your left hand on the banjo you get a G chord. Rufus plays melody notes easier in this tuning than standard gDGBD tuning. His drones are not in the G major chord but sound very ancient to me. The guitar sweet G chord makes a curious blend with the banjo drones. “When in doubt hold the chord” is standard advice to eager back-up guitar players. Norm’s boys had their doubts, no doubt.