BHO member Dan Levenson wrote this book in the 90's. I re-discovered it in my bookshelf yesterday when my husband was looking up the Snake River, mentioned in the Lewis and Clark expedition with the Corps of Discovery in the early 1800's. We're contemplating a trip up the Columbia River to re-trace part of their route and I remember really liking this tune.
Snake River Reel is one of the more modern songs in Dan's tab and instruction book called Buzzard Banjo, Clawhammer Style. I'd gone through it several years ago and was glad to re-new this one with my new small-scale fretless gourd banjo. Included in the book are also many traditional tunes I have yet to learn, like Needlecase, Booth Shot Lincoln, Wild Horses at Stoney Point , Year of Jubilee, and others. Dan includes a CD with fast and slow examples of each of the 25 tunes. At the beginning of the book are tabbed exercises like double thumb, drop thumb, single thumb, and scales. There are several tunings and the tabs are clear and simple. It's a book to contemplate getting if you're in the learning mode for technique and tunes.
Hope you enjoy my rendition of Snake River Reel, written by Pete Lippincott of Missouri, the state where the Lewis and Clark expedition began. Let's hear from you if you're another picker who likes to know the history of the places and people named in the titles!