Flowery Girls
“Flowery Girls” is the most difficult two-finger banjo piece I know. Omer Forster (1901-1990) of McEwan, Tennessee made the seminal recording of this piece on May 21, 1977. His index lead performance has inspired banjo players for generations. Many students have asked me to teach it, and I am excited to announce the launch of my free YouTube series in which I do that very thing! Like any song, I highly recommend you listen to it repeatedly, which is why I have also included a list of my favorite renditions, beginning with Omer Forster’s original recording.
~Matt Brown
Listen
The best way I know to learn music is to listen to it over and over again. Once I know what a song is supposed to sound like, I can often figure out how to play it. I love all of these versions of “Flowery Girls,” and learn so much from listening to Omer, Stephen, Rick, and Nora. Check them out:
Omer Forster - the original recording from his 1977 album Flowery Girls
Stephen Wade - from his 1997 album Dancing in the Parlor
Rick Good - from his 2012 album The Human Banjo-Player
Nora Brown - YouTube video from February 7, 2021
Learn
Buy
This is Matt Brown’s note-for-note transcription of Omer Forster’s index lead showpiece “Flowery Girls.” Matt mapped out Forster’s iconic 2:48 recording that inspired banjo pickers for decades. Make sure to listen to Forster play it! There are many superb, more modern performances to enjoy, but there is nothing quite like the original. In his recording, Forster is tuned down a half step, so his fifth string is an “f#” instead of a “g,” and his other strings are also one fret lower in pitch.
This tab is five pages long. It is played in the index lead, two-finger banjo style.
Difficulty level: somewhere between advanced and insane