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"Bluegrass
in the Park"
Hickory
North Carolina
at Henry
Fork River Regional Recreation Park. This event is hosted by
the Hickory Parks and Recreation Department
with
the help of Warren Yates of Leisure Unlimited, Inc.
Banjo
Click
here to tune your banjo with me.
| In the
diagram below, I have written out the tab for the introduction of
"The Old Home Place" for the banjo. There are a
lot of good licks in this section of tab. Apply them to
other songs as you see and understand them. In the second
half of the second bar, you will want to hold the chord as shown
in the picture to the right.
There is a joke that says, How many banjo pickers does it
take to screw in a light bulb? The answer is
four. One to screw it in and three to say "that ain't
the way Earl did it".
It is very hard to write out tab and get it perfect, so
don't say it has to be right because Warren did it. As
longs as you are close, you will be fine.
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To
hear a sound sample Click Here
To
see and hear a video clip, Click
Here
Backup
Stuff on the Banjo
| It is one thing to play an introduction
or a break in a song, but quite another to play the backup
parts. First, this is what we call around here, a
vamp. That is playing chords halfway down the neck as
a pluck opposite of the bass notes. They are plucked
and then deadened. Listen to my example.
Here is a less complicated
way. Mix them up as you play.
Listen to my example.
Do your vamping next to the fingerboard
for a mellow sound.
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For the most common banjo chords, Click
Here.
The chords to the right are the most common
chords used for back up and vamping. You can use the
vamping tab above and to the right on all of these
chords. More so, you will want to use the reverse roll
which is 2 1 5. Try the D diagram to the far right for
a different sound. That pattern will also work if you
slide it away from the bridge two frets and use it as a C.
On the first G at the top of the diagram,
your little finger will be free to reach over and play some
fill in notes.
Listen to my video for an example.
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Mandolin
How
would you vamp a mandolin? Look at this video clip and
notice Chris Messer's hand as it floats where the bass note
goes. The rest of the band will carry the bass notes. He
uses a downward motion even though he does not hit the
strings. This is done to help him to feel the timing. Click here to view the clip.
The
Warren Yates Method of Playing Bluegrass Banjo for Beginners
DVD
Take a look at the "Practice
Anywhere Banjo".
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Computer
Software
The new "Transcribe!" software
allows you to slow CDs down to a 1/2, even 1/4 speed, without
affecting the pitch. It will help you to understand what is
going on in the music. Download
a Free 30 Day Trial.
Click
Here and learn more.
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