Banjo song and tab of the week

Fingerstyle Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: “John Greer’s Two Step”

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Like so many of the great old-time fingerpicking numbers, “John Greer’s Two Step” is a tune composed on the banjo, for the banjo.

And also like so many of the great old-time fingerpicking numbers, it’s perfectly suited for solo porch pickin’.

It comes from the personal repertoire of Hobart Smith, one of my all-time favorite musicians. The first time I heard this tune, I had to learn it. Right there. Right then.

If you feel similarly upon hearing it, then you’re in luck!

“John Greer’s Two Step”

gCGBD tuning, Brainjo level 3 (3 finger banjo)

John Greer's 2 Step 3 finger banjo tab

Recent Banjo Songs and Tabs of the Week:

Notes on the Tab

For more on how to read the tab, click here for the How To Read Banjo Tabs article.

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Brainjo

Fingerstyle Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: “Banjo in the Hollow”

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There is an ocean of great music to be played on the banjo that’s pretty easy to pick up once you’ve learned the basic techniques. This is why I’m constantly trying to encourage people to explore this ocean fully before moving on to the more complicated stuff (and based on a couple of decades experience playing for others, audiences prefer the simpler stuff).

Case in point – this week’s tune, “Banjo in the Hollow,” was one of the first tunes I learned to play on the banjo. And it’s still one of my favorites to play!

As you’ll note, this arrangement is a Brainjo level 2, so great for tackling fairly early on (and taught early in the Breakthrough Banjo course).

RELATED: Level 2 arrangements are available for many tunes in The Vault.

Click here to check out the current list of tabs in The Vault library).

The tune itself was first released by Doug Dillard in 1964, his personal take on Cripple Creek, hence the similarities. The song perhaps best known for making its way onto the Andy Griffith show, played by the Darlings in an after-supper picking session (and under the name “Tearing Up Your Old Clothes For Rags.”)

“Banjo in the Hollow”

gDGBD tuning, Brainjo level 2 (3 finger banjo)

Banjo in the Hollow banjo tab

Recent Banjo Songs and Tabs of the Week:

Notes on the Tab

For more on how to read the tab, click here for the How To Read Banjo Tabs article.

NEW! Watch the VIDEO TOUR inside BREAKTHROUGH BANJO

Fingerstyle Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: “Waterbound”

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“Waterbound” is one of my absolute favorite banjo songs for playing and singing.

When played in old-time jams as a fiddle tune, it’s most commonly played in the key of A. However, when playing it solo, freed from the sawstroker’s oppression, we can play it wherever we see fit! In this case, in the key of G.

Of course, if you learn this arrangement in standard G, the simple addition of a capo at the 2nd fret will put you into the jam-friendly key.

This song also works and sounds great played in 2-finger style, especially at a relaxed tempo. I’ll be posting the tab-walkthroughs for both the above and the 2-finger versions in the Breakthrough Banjo tune tutorial archive on March 8 (click here to see the list of tunes and songs currently in The Vault).

“Waterbound”

gDGBD tuning, Brainjo level 3 (3 finger banjo)

Banjo Tab for Waterbound part 1

Recent Banjo Songs and Tabs of the Week:

Notes on the Tab

For more on how to read the tab, click here for the How To Read Banjo Tabs article.

NEW! Watch the VIDEO TOUR inside BREAKTHROUGH BANJO

Fingerstyle Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: “Goin’ Down That Road Feeling Bad”

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Speed kills.

That’s a phrase with multiple meanings. So what exactly does speed kill when it comes to banjo playing?

Timing.

Or, perhaps more accurately, the desire for speed kills timing.

The banjo has a reputation as being a “fast” instrument. Many are first drawn to the instrument, especially bluegrass banjo, by the never-ending barrage of staccato, rapid fire notes.

For some, learning to play is mistakenly thought to be the most important technical hurdle.

Why does this matter? Because it’s all too easy in the earlier stages of learning the banjo to sacrifice timing in the name of speed.

It’s a sacrifice that reinforces bad habits that, once established, are hard to undo.

NOTE: I’ll be conducting a live “Playing & Singing” tutorial for this song next week. Click the button below to subscribe to the Fingerstyle Banjo YouTube channel to be notified when it airs.)

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The seduction of speed may account for more closeted banjos, more dashed dreams of banjo picking, than anything else.

So don’t let that be you!

And the ultimate irony, and tragedy, is that the secret to being able to play music fast is being able to play it slow – an adage repeated in musical conservatories the world over. Nothing exposes flaws in timing and tempo like slow playing.

Speed isn’t required to build a solid technical foundation. On the contrary, it’s usually an impediment. Yet, once that foundation is established, speed becomes an effortless byproduct.

The other issue with the speed fixation is that many people lose out on all the great banjo music that can be made at slower tempos. The truth is, banjo picking sounds great at any speed.

You could spend an entire lifetime picking nothing but slow to moderate speed music on your banjo and never run out of material to delight your ears (in fact, in my experience, most audiences welcome the change of pace!)

Take this week’s song of the week, “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad,” as an example. The tempo played here is moderate at best.

Yet, played fast, it would lose much of its charm and nuance. A fast paced rendition might sound okay with a full band behind it, but not here. Instead, when we play it slower, the song is given room to breathe, and we get to savor each and every note.

“Goin’ Down That Road Feeling Bad”

gDGBD tuning, Brainjo level 3 (3 finger banjo)

Goin down that road feeling bad 3 finger banjo tab part 1

Recent Banjo Songs and Tabs of the Week:

Notes on the Tab

For more on how to read the tab, click here for the How To Read Banjo Tabs article.

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Fingerstyle Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: “Nine Pound Hammer”

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What’s the purpose of music?

Entertainment? That’s probably the word that comes to mind for most in these times. Music is big business.

But throughout the course of human history, music has been so much more than that. In fact, given the overwhelming evidence that we’re all wired to make music, it’s likely been critical to our success as a species.

We use it to connect with each other, share values, tell stories, spread news, coordinate behaviors – essential functions for the most social animals on planet earth.

We also use music to ease suffering.

For instance, put a group of humans together to perform monotonous, repetitive, exhausting work, and before long they’ll be chanting chants and singing songs. A little something to distract the mind, share the struggle, and soothe the soul.

In the post war South, prisoners, usually African Americans, were often placed in such conditions, in the forced labor gangs working in mines, railroad camps, brickyards, turpentine farms – basically, if the work was tedious and tiresome, it was just right for the chain gang.

From that sprang a rich well of work songs, some of which were thankfully captured for posterity, working their way into the folk song catalog (check out this amazing recording from the Alan Lomax archives of prisoners in the Mississippi Penitentiary singing the song “Rosie”)

Today’s song, “Nine Pound Hammer,” was originally titled “Take This Hammer,” and was part of a collection of “hammer songs.”

Scores of verses have likely been sung to its melody. Some have been preserved, probably more have evaporated into the ether.

But the gist usually endures – the song’s protagonist has announced his bold decision to defy his captain’s authority and quit the gang, a fantasy likely shared by all who used to sing it. References to the most world’s most famous hammer-wielding folk hero, John Henry, are often included.

(NOTE: For Breakthrough Banjo members, the “Playing & Singing” video tutorial for this song is now available in the course. Click here for the singing and playing workshop archive page.)

“NINE POUND HAMMER”

gDGBD tuning, Brainjo level 3 (3 finger banjo)

Nine pound hammer 3 finger banjo tab

Recent Banjo Songs and Tabs of the Week:

Notes on the Tab

For more on how to read the tab, click here for the How To Read Banjo Tabs article.

NEW! Watch the VIDEO TOUR inside BREAKTHROUGH BANJO