Day 3 from March Maxness by Max Allard

March Maxness Day 3

It's Day 3 of March Maxness, and I've come bearing a banjo tune. I was experimenting with arpeggiating a chord progression, and the tune began to write itself. I knew pretty early on how I wanted it to come out ultimately. I knew I wanted to give the harmonium a surprise appearance at the end of the tune, and I knew exactly the melody I would play with it and the vibe that I would set. 

I really like the European sound of the harmonium juxtaposed against the American sound of the bluegrass banjo. I also really like the fact that this is a driving banjo tune but with an overall melancholic and bittersweet feel. That's a combination I really like and I want to explore it more. 

This tune features my brother Otto on mandolin, and me on the rest of the instruments: banjo, harmonium, guitar, and electric bass.

This tune took most of the day to record, but it was well worth it. I'm incredibly pleased with how it turned out. I hope you all enjoy it. Stay tuned for tomorrow's tune. I ought to get to work on that now.

Max Allard brings a pianistic approach to the banjo and a banjoistic approach to the piano. His guitar playing ranges from electric looped guitar to American Primitive. Max is currently studying composition at Oberlin Conservatory. He is the winner of the 2018 RockyGrass Banjo Competition and the 2019 FreshGrass Banjo Award.

maxallard.com