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Cripple Creek is usually one of the first songs aspiring banjo players learn the melody to so I figure it’s a good place to start looking at some backup concepts.
This video demonstrates walking bass notes, vamp chords, fill licks and chord […]

Arkansas Traveler is one of those cheesy, nursery rhyme tunes that’s instantly recognizable. Like Wildwood Flower it lends itself well to crosspicking. On guitar the tune is most commonly played out of the C position with the capo at the second fret (key of D). However Norman Blake’s classic version is in the key of […]

Here is the Carter Family classic Wildwood Flower. A simple melody that lends itself well to crosspicking. If you’re unfamiliar with crosspicking it’s just a fancy word used to describe the process of simulating a banjo roll with a flatpick. In its simplest form the picking pattern generally starts with a downstroke and alternates from […]

Here is an example of the tune Gold Rush. It’s in the key of A played out of the G position so put your capo on the second fret.
The video goes through the tune once fast, once slow and closes out with an example of what could be played as accompaniment.

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Here is a crash course in Scruggs style banjo playing. Below are the fundamental building blocks that will get you up and running in no time. All of the examples that follow are played on a five string banjo in standard G tuning using two metal finger-picks and one plastic thumb pick. If you’re unfamiliar […]

Randy Lynn Rag is all about the forward roll. It can be quite a challenge but it’s a great tune. How J.D. Crowe plays it as fast as he does is beyond comprehension.
For those of you that are unfamiliar with the tune it requires Keith Tuners. Set the G tuner for G to F# and […]