Beginner 5 String Bluegrass Banjo-Bulid From The Ground Up!

1. Preview video: Welcome to this beginning banjo course. This course is designed for the person just starting their journey on the five string banjo. I've been fortunate enough to study and performed with some of the best musicians on the planet. And it's my passion to pass on the things that I've learned along the way. In this course, we're going to learn the basic building blocks to give you a solid musical foundation. We're going to learn basic chords that we'll use in songs. We're going to learn right hand patterns and how they function. We're going to learn left-hand techniques and food, lives and hammer. We're also going to learn the classic songs that have been passed down from generation to generation. There'll be jam tracks included. So you can put everything you've learned into practice and tablature. I hope you enjoy the course and I'm looking forward to working with you. 2. Parts of banjo: Alright, let's talk about the parts of your banjo now. So on this end, we've got the headstock. Some people call it the pig head. Then that's connected to your tuners on this side. So this is how you're going to keep your banjo nice and in tune. This is the neck. And then on top of the neck is our fretboard. It has all these pretty little inlays in there. And then on the fretboard or these frets, these metal bars, these are, we're going to be fretting to make your notes. Then on this side, this white part is called the drum head or it's called the head, but it is a drum head. And then this metal section right here is called the flange. That's connected to these little brackets. That's what these little bars are here. And that's what tightens the banjo head down. And then this is the bridge. This is the tail piece. So banjos are kinda fun because there's somewhat like hot rods. You can change the parts out and they really give you a different sound. So it's kinda fun to tinker with. When I get mindset, how I like it. I just keep it like it is because I liked the sound of it. But they're fun to play around with. Then this is the resonator, so sound bounces off of this out front into the audience, and that's how you get a responsive sound. 3. Picks and hand position: Alright, let's talk about finger pigs for a second. I have one plastic thumb pick and two metal finger picks. I use a Golden Gate large thumb pick, and then two metal Hofmeister finger picks. And you can kinda see them here. Mine curve up just a little bit. But it's a very individual thing. So some people like I've seen people's very straight out, just going real straight and then some curve way up around the fingers. So it really just depends because it's everybody's hand position is a little different. I kinda play a little on the edge of my picks, the edges of the pigs hit the strings. That's okay, that's just how it, how it works for some people. And then some people like to play right on the flat part of the pig. But you have to have your hand angled a little different. But as far as my hand position goes, I just lay it there is natural as it could be. And it's usually I can play the best that way because my hand is comfortable. I'm not straining in any awkward hand position. So just some things to think about when you're looking at your hand position. Definitely try things. I've tried a lot of different picks throughout the years and usually I find something that I like and I stick with it until I find something that I like better. But put them on oh yeah. A couple of basic things is they do go on like this. And the the picking flat part is on this side because I know a lot of people and I myself, I think put them on backwards at first. So just be aware of that because you won't really be able to play well like that. So just try some different things and see what's comfortable for you. 4. G, C and D7 Chords: Alright, here's our first three chords. We've got G, C, and D. So one good way to practice these if you're just learning your chords is this drum. So we're going to strum four times per chord. So we're going to have G, C, D7 back to G. Each one force drums. So just a good simple chord progression to work with. And another good way to practice this is to just pick each string individually. That way you can hear the clarity of each node and make sure your chords are nice and clear. One more tip about these is you want to play on the tips of your fingers so that'll keep them real nice and clean. So try to keep your thumb on the back of the neck when you're fretting. And that'll help keep the core. It's nice and clean. Alright, have fun. 5. Single note pinch: All right, Here's our first picking pattern called the single note pinch. The way this pattern works is the index is the melody note. Then the pinch is just rhythm and harmony notes. So each thing that you do is landing on a beat. So we've got a tip for picking is to anchor either the ring or the pinky or both. The head of the banjo. And that'll keep your hand nice and stable. When you're picking these patterns. 6. G, C and D7 with Single Note Pinch: All right, Now we're going to combine the left hand, the chords with the right hand picking pattern. So this is that same GC and D chord progression that we were strumming earlier in the videos. And we're going to walk through this note for note, index is going to strike the second string open. So we're just starting on G. And then a pinch thumb and middle on first fifth string. And then index hits the third open. And then pinch. You've got. So now we're gonna move on to our C chord. But we're not going to use this middle finger on the fourth string in the sea. So we're going to practice holding a partial C chord. Okay? This is just how you approach playing chords when we start playing tunes because we don't always need every finger for the whole chord. So we're just going to have our index on the second string first for it, and then ring finger on first string, second fret. And then right hand, we're going to pluck the second string, pinch again. Then the next section is the D7. So we're gonna do is just transition by lifting our ring, placing our middle finger on the third string, second fret. And then we're going to pluck the third string. And then index on the second string. And then open back to G. Strike the second string open. And then third string open with index. And then just try to loop that as many times as you can to just kinda get the left and right-hand connecting. So here's another example, a little quicker. 7. Boil them cabbage Single note pinchmp4: Alright, let's learn the first version of boil them cabbage down. This is a good simple version and it's a great way to start incorporating picking patterns with chords and melodies. So to review the single note pinch, we're going index on the second string. Pinch, pinching with middle and thumb on the first fifth string. And that's actually the first measure of the tune. With the left hand. The chords we're going to be using is a partial C chord. So our index is gonna go on and second string, first fret, ring on first string, second fret. And then we'll also be using a partial D7 chord. We're just going to put one finger down for this. Middle finger is going on. Second fret, third string for the partial D7. So let's just go through the measures. So the first measure, index hits second string open. That's your first measure. Then we go to a partial C chord. And then we're gonna be plucking the second string again. That's the first two measures. Then we go back to a G chord and our index hits second string. Just like the first measure. Then we go to that partial D7 chord. So middle finger is going on. Second fret, third string, one measure of that. Then we're halfway through the tunes. So we started all over and second string back to our partial C chord. Then this is where it changes. We're splitting half of a measure of G and half a measure of D7. So we're gonna, it's gonna sound like this. That was index on the second string. Middle finger, second fret, third string, pluck, pinch. Then third string open. Epsilon with Evelyn. 8. Goodnight Ladies with Single Note Pinch: Alright, let's learn this version of goodnight ladies. This is a good super basic version for anybody who's new to the banjo. I think this is probably the first or second tune over-learned. Um, so we're gonna be using the single note pinch with this. So to review that pattern, we're using index on the melody note. So the index will be your melody notes, then rhythm and harmony will be the pinch. So I'm going to pluck second string open and then pinch first fifth string. It's good to count with this when you're practicing it. So everything that you do is landing right on a beat, 123 or four and nothing in-between. So let's jump right into this. So what we're gonna be doing, the picking pattern is going to start on the third string. We're gonna do a two to four slide, sliding with my middle finger on the third string, second to fourth fret. Plugging with index. You want to make it your slides nice and smooth. You don't have to press down too hard, make it just a nice glide right across those spreads. So our first measure, we're going to plug in slide and then pinch. That's our first half of the measure. That's our first measures. So we're doing the two to four slide, block and then pinch. Third string, open index. First measure, and then second measure or index is gonna go down to the fourth string open and pinch in right back to the third stream. So here's our first two measures. Then we go back to the two to four slide, third string, pinch open. Then we go to a D7 chord. But we're only, we're gonna be doing a partial D7 chord. Middle finger is going to be going on second fret, third string with the index pinch. Again. Alright, now we're in place to start. That's half of the tune. We're right in place to do another two to four slides. So after that D7 pinch or slide, pinch open. Now we go to a C chord and I'm going to play a partial C chord. Index is on second string, first fret, ring finger, first string, second fret. It's kinda confusing to say flux second string with index. Again. It's good to do when you start learning chords, you're gonna be learning mostly full chord shapes. These first position, D7, a C chord. But when we're actually playing tunes, you're going to want to get in the habit of putting just a couple of fingers down, whatever the song requires so you don't need this fingers, so I'm not going to put it down. It's just a little easier when you're holding these chords. Keep your thumb on the back of the neck. Same with the slide. Here's a trick with the slide. Keep that thumb anchored in the back of the neck, in the center. And then when you slide, see how that thumb just stays there. That's gives you leverage to really get power out of the slide. Same with the chords. Keep that film in the center of the neck. Playing on the tips of your fingers, you're gonna get nice clean results there. Now, the last two measures after the C chord. The next measure is a split bar of g and then D7. So we've got two to four slide on the third string. Pinch, middle finger, second fret, third string, and pluck with the index. We resolve on the third string, open the G. That's our first version of goodnight ladies. 9. Square roll 2: Alright, here's the square role. This role goes thumb on the third, index on the second string. Thumb on the fifth, middle on the first. And just practice tips. Just keep your ring or pinkie anchored to the head. Play it really slow. I would suggest playing new roles. It first, very, very slow. And that allows you to just focus on the attack of each string and just make sure it's nice and clear. And just repeat it as many times as you can. 10. Slide: All right, Here's the slide. So what we're doing is placing our middle finger on the second fret, third string. We want to pluck it right before we slide, we're going from two to 4. Fourth fret on the third string. Pluck it right before you do the slide. Not after or at the same time because it'll just muffle the notes. So you gotta get a good note. That's it in slow motion. And that's a good way to start trying it because then you can here how it works. And then you can do it faster. The other tip is to keep the thumb on the back of the neck. Because that's your anchor point and that creates leverage to give you power to get a good sounding slide. 11. Boil Them Cabbage Down Square Roll: Alright, let's learn boiled and cabbage down. The whole song we play. We're using a square role. That's thumb on the third string. Index on the second, thumb on the fifth, and middle on the first. And that's the role we do the whole time. Now this song starts with a two to four slide. We're gonna do that. This is gonna be two to four slide on the third string with a square roll. One more. And that's our first measure. And then we go to that new C chord we learned. So we're going to scoot or middle UP. We're on the fourth fret, third string. At that point, we're going to scoot it up to the fifth fret, drop the ring finger on the fifth fret, second string and do a square role. We're back to G and we're gonna do the same thing, two to four slide with the square roll. It goes down to a D7. So we're going to grab that D7. That's half of the song. And now we're going to start over and do another two to four slide with the square roll. Back to the sea. We scooted up to fifth. Now here's where the song changes. We're going to go half a measure a G and half a measure a D7. So two to four slide with the square role. We jumped down to our D7 and do another square role. That's one measure. And now we're just at the end, back to open third string. So when you're doing all these slides and chords, just try to remember to keep your thumb anchored firmly on the back of the neck. 12. Waltz time rolls: Alright, let's look at our 34 time rolls or waltz roles. So that means there is just three beats in each measure. 123123. So the first one is the waltz single note pinch. We're gonna be starting with index on the third string open and then pluck. And then pinch, pinch on first fifth string with Midland thumbs. So you've got, and the key is, is just getting that bouncy feel, which is hard to describe. But the first note is just kinda heavy and then it just lightens up and you'll see that with some of the other roles. So just try to play along with this for a second. I'm going to do what I was just doing. Striking third string open, pinch, pinch on first fifth. And I want you to play along to worry can try to get that feel with me here. 123223. And then another good thing to do is just practice, practice that on the second string and down to the fourth and just kinda improvise by switching up the strings. And that'll help with just playing through tunes and being able to improvise with it onto the next role. Alright, now let's look at the forward role in 34 time. So that's going thumb on the third index, on the second middle, on the first third index, second middle woman. And it's just that over and over again. Again. Just look for the feel of that. I'm going to play it for you so you can play along with me. But it's just kind of got this heavy first. I'm going to play it and play along with me. 12323. Alright, let's look at the 34 times square roll. This one has a great potential for balance. It's just a really nice sounding role. This is going thumb on the third. Index, on the second, thumb on the middle, on the first. Thumb on the fifth, middle on the first. So just like the other ones, you can switch strings. You can take that thumb and go down to the fourth string. You can alternate between third, fourth string, like this real slow. And another thing about these is just remember that the waltz roles, you're just thinking of having six notes in each measure instead of having the normal eight nodes. So, alright, let's look at the 34 time forward reverse role. Now this rule goes thumb, third string, index, second, middle on the first film on the fifth. Middle on the first. Index on the second. Use keep repeating that. Same with the other roles. You can take that thumb and go down to the fourth string. Or you can even hit the fifth string. So I'm going to play that one for you for a second. I want you to play along with me. We're just doing it the original way, starting with thumb on the third string, 123223. Alright, let's look at the 34 time, backward role or reverse role. That's going index on the first or middle on the first string. Index on the second. Thumb on the third, middle on the first index on the second. Bomb on the third. That just over and over again. So just practice that over and over work on the balance. And I'm going to try to play it for a bit and I want you to play along with me, 123223. So there's your waltz roles. We're gonna be using those in songs like Amazing Grace and other fun waltzes. So work on those. 13. Forward reverse roll : Alright, here's the forward reverse role. So this role goes thumb on the third index, on the second middle on the first film on the fifth string. Middle back to the first. Index on the second or third, middle back on the first. And that's your role. So just play it super slow when you're practicing it. Here's a good example of how slow you might want to play a new role. That way you're really getting a chance to target those strings and get a good sounding note. Alright, have fun. 14. Hammer Ons: Alright, let's learn some Hammer runs now. You might be asking yourself, what is a hammer on and why would I want to use it? Well, it's just an ornament to add expression to a melody note. And it just creates a lot of excitement and solos. So let's get started. Alright, this first exercise is going to be a type of Hammurabi that goes from an open note to a close note. So what we're doing is plucking first string with the middle finger, hammering down on second fret, first string with the other middle finger. So I'm gonna play the whole exercise and then explain it. So the way that this is timed, the open string is on a one beat and then the hammer on is on an end. So here's how it would go. So the next one is going index on the second string and we're hammering down with index on the second string, first fret. Okay, then we move down to the third string and then pluck that with thumb and hammer on the third string. Second fret with the middle finger. Alright, Now we move that stuff down to fourth string. Hammer on the second fret, fourth string with middle finger. I wrote these as just doing those two times and moving on. But you can do it four times where you can just bounce around and improvise with it. So have fun with that. And then the next one is, we're gonna be doing a faster hammer on, but we're gonna be using the square roll with a single note pinch. So the role is going to go thumb, index, middle on strings 3251, and then film hits third. Those last two are quarter notes. We're placing the hammer on, on the first note of that role. So it's gonna be middle finger, second fret, third string, and it goes. These are great exercises for building calluses on your left hand and just good for all sorts of stuff. So the next one is gonna be just a full square roll, thumb, index, middle. And on every thumb we're gonna be doing the second fret, middle finger hammer on. It goes. And be sure to be hammering on the tips of your fingers. So just loop that. Then. The next one, we move that down to the fourth string. It's the exact same thing except we're plucking fourth string with them and then hammering on second fret with the middle finger. Fourth string. All right. Then the next one is similar to the first one we did except now we're going from a close note of fretted note to another fretted note instead of an open note. So here's how this sounds. Okay? So picking first string with middle finger, and I'm doing each one twice, I'm going middle finger on the second fret, first string, hammering to the third fret for a string. So two times, we scoot down to the second string. And then same thing, we're plucking with index. Basically each time we shift strings, we're just moving both fingers down, planting with index and preparing to hammer on. So I'm plucking with thumb on the right hand and then that's third string, and now down to the fourth string with the thumb. And again, you can improvise and just play around with these. Alright? And then the next one is kind of like got the foggy Mountain Breakdown sound to it. We're doing that same thing that we just did, except we're staying on the second string. And this hammer on is gonna be a little faster, it's gonna be. So we're going to be combining the first string open with this. So plucking with index, I'll just play it for you first. All right, So then we're index, pluck second string and hammer on from two to three, index and middle. Sorry. And then look for string open with middle. So you could count that. Alright, so the next one, we're going to be combining with a chord D7. So this is something that you can use as a lick, and it's going to sound like this. So I'm just doing a square role and looping this. I've placed my D7 down, the one that we've already done in the tunes. And then we hammer on from middle, open third string down to the second fret with the middle finger. And just loop those exercises. Try to play him with the metronome. Very slow and just do it until they're clean and just very punctual sounds. You just want it to be nice and crisp to where it cuts through. 15. Goodnight Ladies with Forward Reverse Roll: Alright, let's learn. Goodnight ladies. So this whole tune uses the forward reverse role. That's the only role that you do. So it starts off forward reverse roles starting on the third string, we're doing a two to four slide. So we're going, That's the first measure. Then we dropped the thumb down to the fourth string. And all the rest of the role is the same. We're just starting now on the fourth string because the melody goes down here. So here's your first two measures. Then we start back to the beginning again and we do another two to four slide with the forward reverse role. In we're going to a D7. It then we're right back in position to do another two to four slides forward reverse role. In next move is that C chord. We've got. That's it. The fifth fret. It's a partial bar chord is what it is, but we are positioning it with middle finger on the fifth fret, third string, ring finger on the fifth fret, second string, and then forward reverse role. Then here's that same type thing that was in goodnight ladies. Half G, half D7. So we're gonna do the G is going to be two to four, slide down to the D7, all the way back. Open. 16. Melodic cripple creek: Alright, here's our melodic version of Cripple Creek. We're gonna be using a partial scale fragments. The first one is using index and middle. And we're going to be on indexes on first string, ninth fret, middle finger, second string, 10th fret. Then it starts with a forward reverse role, starting on the thumb on the fifth string. And then the first four notes are on the shape. Then you take it off and it's open to finish it. And then we move down to a bar C, but we're going to hold it with middle and ring finger. It's going to sound like this forward reverse role, starting on the third string. And we go back to our first part. Then the next part is a D7. We're going to do a forward rolls starting on the third string, and then a single note pinch. Then you repeat that one time. So you go through it and then you go through it one more time and that's a that you're a part goes AABB. Now here's the B part. We're gonna do a two to four slide on the third string with the middle finger. And then we do a, another series of forward reverse roles. So we're gonna go. So that was just your most standard forward reverse role where you can find in the Role section of our lessons. And then second time it goes again, two to four slide. Now the set of strings change there. I went strings 321 and then one. So it just changes the melody a little bit. And then that's the next section. And then our last one is just like the first one. We did it in one more D7, like the a part. And that's how Cripple Creek is. 17. Forward roll: Alright, let's look at the forward roll now. So this is one of the most driving roles in bluegrass. It's very effective. It's really fun and you can play it pretty fast to this role goes thumb on the third string. Index on the second, middle, on the first. Thumb on the third. Index on the second. Middle on the first, thumb on the third, and middle on the first. So think of the pattern as sets of three. So you got three notes, another set of three notes, and then two in that makes it even eight notes. So then after that in the tab, I dropped the thumb down to the fourth string and do the same thing. Except index and middle are still on strings 21. So we've got, then we drop the thumb to the fifth string and everything else is the same. So this whole exercise goes and just try to make those notes real nice and clear. And keep a lot of separation in-between the notes. Try to make it very just each node real clear and easy to understand. And we'll be using this role in the next tune. 18. Forward roll with G,C, D7 chords: Alright, here's the fun part, combining chords with roles. So the way this works is just play the role and then you can just drop in chords. We have a very simple chord progression. One measure of G, one measure of C, one measure of D7, and then back to G. That's a very basic chord progression. So we're gonna start with G. And we're just doing that role. Thumb, index, middle, thumb, index middle. And that's just on strings 3-to-1 the whole time. Just like the first measure in the exercise. So here it is. And that's a good thing to do with any new role you learned. Just try to play chords with it. And the more chords you learn, you can hear what your new roles sound like. And here's an example of doing that with the square role. Practicing the chords and roles together just gives you an idea of what the, what the role sounds like over, over different chords. Some roles work better than others, so it's good to mix them up and just try, try different combinations. So yeah, just practice that with those chords. And we'll be doing that in the tune. 19. Hard Aint It Hard Forward Roll: Alright, let's learn the tune Harding it hard. This is a really good tuned to learn because it has a generic chord progression. And it's like many other bluegrass standards. Alright, we're going to use the forward roll for this whole song. This role goes thumb on the third index on the second, middle on the first, and the third index on the second. Middle on the first. Third, middle on the first. So the thumb is going to be hitting all the melody notes in this tune. This role, you can think of the pattern as 332. What I mean is we're going three notes in a row, then another three notes in a row, in two nodes. Or the last tooth. So you'll have someone explain this note for note for you. The tune starts out with a two to four slide, and we're going to do that forward roll. And then again, we skewed our middle back to second fret, third string. And then we do that last to that phrase goes, alright, and then the next measure, we're gonna do that same forward rolls starting on the third string, and then it's open strings three-to-one. And then we're going to place our middle back on the second fret, third string. Same forward roll. Then we scoot that up to fourth string, fourth fret, third string, and then the last two notes, thumb and middle. So that phrase goes, Okay, now that leads us to the C chord. We're going to do that partial C chord that we did. And boiled cabbage and goodnight ladies. And that's it, the fifth fret. This is middle finger on the fifth fret, third string, and ring on second string, fifth fret. Then we're going to do the same role. We're gonna do those three in a row. Three in a row. That's drinks three-to-one. Now the pattern doesn't change, but the strings that we hit changed is we're going to reach back with our thumb and hit the fifth string. And then middle on the first. We're gonna do this two times because it's two measures of C and here it goes. Okay, then we go back to the two to four slide with that same role, just how we started it. And then middle back to the second fret, third string in those last two notes. Okay, Then it goes to that next phrase, open. Now it's just like the second measure of the song. And then we're gonna go to a D7 chord. Forward roll. Thumb, it's the fifth string. Middle hits the first. In the next measure of that D7, thumb drops down to the fourth string open, and then strings four. And then we go thumb back to the third. So I'm on the fifth, middle on the first two measures of D7 go. And that's the first half of the tunic. Then it starts back over. And does the first two measures the exact same how we started it. We do those same twosies again. We do a two to four slide with a forward roll. And open. That's thumb on the third, open middle on the first. And then a D7 forward role. In we take our middle, go up to fourth fret, third string. That's a forward roll, three-to-one strings. And then middle down to the second fret, third string. And you pluck that with thumbs. Middle on the first. And then forward roll open. Thumb goes down to the fourth string. Ford role in, in thumb back to the third phase in first. 20. Basic Boom Chick Backup: Alright, let's take a look at our basic boom chick backup pattern. So this is the very first thing I ever learned when I wanted to accompany other musicians. And it's very simple. What it does is thumb. We pluck the fourth string open. And then we're going to pinch all three strings, strings 123 with middle, index and thumb. So it's going to sound like this. So you might find yourself having to tilt your hand just a little bit to spread your fingers out to where they can grab three strings at once. It seems very simple right now, but it gets more complicated as we go along. So I'll have other lessons on more complicated backup that goes up the neck. And this will be a great foundation for building on. So the way the rhythm is, it's going one. So everything is landing right on beat 123 or four. Just do that and count along with your practicing there go. That's a real good thing to do to just get a sense of where everything is lying on the beat. So we're gonna go through three chords, the very basic chords, the open G, the first position, C chord, and then our D7 chord. So we're doing two measures of each and then coming right back around to G. So we're gonna go to measures the G. We're going. And we're putting our first position seed down, index on second string, first fret, ring, second fret, first string, middle on fourth string, second fret. We're going to pluck the same strings forth and then 123 pinch. Then we're going to jump to our simple D7 index in the same place where the C was. Middle finger goes. Second fret, third string, and then two measures. Right back to G. Let's try it together. I'm going to count for you now I want you to play along with me. So 1234. So just that boom chick pattern is all you really need to know to start playing accompaniment for people. And that works on any chord. So if you see me playing an f and a, I can just do the same thing. That was just a complete random chord progression that I pulled right out. So anyway, try it on different chords. It's going to have the same rhythmic effect no matter what chord you play. And it's the very underlying foundation of your backups. So work hard on that and we're going to expand in the intermediate section with up the neck backup and all sorts of fun tricks that Earl Scruggs and many more use. So enjoy that. 21. Mixing rolls : Alright, so far we've learned for different role patterns, the single note pinch, forward, reverse role, square role in the forward roll. A good thing to do to practice with these after you learn a few roles, you want to mix them up. So you'd want to start play one measure of the single note, pinch, one of the forward, forward, reverse and one of alternating. Then you just want to mix them around. So I had them tabbed out in the course just one way. But basically those can be interchangeable in mixed around. So that's how songs are going to actually be, is you're going to be mixing roles. Luckily, the way these roles were designed and normally they go smoothly from one to the next. So it's not too much of a problem usually. You just want to make sure your roles aren't starting and ending with the same finger. I said these rolls up because they smoothly flow together. So here's how I wrote it out. But those can be mixed up in any way. So I'm just going to show you how I would improvise with them pretty slow. And then I'm just going to randomly go from one to the other and that's what I want you to do. So so that was three different ways that I just pass through those and that's just going to help with playing Scruggs tunes smooth. And it's going to help with the improvising two. And it's pretty fun to do. 22. Cripple Creek Scruggs style: Alright, let's learn the classic fiddle tune, Cripple Creek. This is one of the first tunes I ever learned and I still have a blast planet. This version is going to be based off the Earl Scruggs arrangement. And it's not too hard and it's really fun. So let's get started. Alright, this tune uses a mixture of techniques that we've learned throughout the videos. Quarter notes and eighth notes and slides, different role patterns. So the first measure is just four quarter notes. We're going to place, I'm going to place my ring finger. You can also do middle, middle or ring. Either will work. I like to use ring on fifth fret, first string. And then we're going to pluck that with the middle finger. Then pinch first fifth string with middle and thumb. Then it's open. And then we do middle on the first string, index on the second. So that first measure sounds like this. Then we go to a C chord. I'm going to hold a partial c. I'm not going to be putting my middle finger on the fourth string now. I just have index on first fret, second string, ring finger on second fret, first string. Then we're gonna do, uh, for, for note forward roll film on the fifth, index on the second middle and the first film on the fifth. Then it's open. We're going to play a quarter note with the middle finger on the first string. So that's going to go, alright. Now the next measure, we're going to do a two to three slide. Then the next phrase goes, thumb on the third, index on the second. Then we're going to place our middle finger on the fourth string, second fret, and then plucked out with thumb, then middle on the first. So that phrase goes. And these will make more sense once we put them together. Then after that, we go thumb open on the fourth string. Index on the second. Put our middle finger back down on the fourth string. Second fret, pluck that with thumb. And then middle on the first date, it ends with thumb on the third string open. So that's kind of a, a little phrase and it's going to sound like this. Then after that last open G note, there's a pinch. So that whole thing with the pinch, it sounds like a full set of measures. And that's one complete phrase. So that's your whole a part. I'm going to play the a part 40 real slow now. Now here's the B part. The b part starts with a two dash three slide. And we're gonna do three of those with the square roll just on strings 3251. So I'm going to do that three times. That goes from the first measure into the second. And then there's another single note pinch right after that. So we're going to pluck fourth string open. I didn't pinch on the first fifth. Here's those first two measures of the B part. It's pretty simple. Alright? And you can also do that little two dash three choke as you go across that fret for the B part, it sounds pretty cool and bluesy. Isn't the next. This is the last two measures of tuning. You're almost done. This is just like the last two measures of the a part that we learned in the other sections. So it sounds just like this. So the B part is just like the a part. Now here's that whole beat part. Slowed down a little bit. And that's Cripple Creek. 23. Blackberry Blossom version 1: Alright, let's learn Blackberry blossom. This is still one of my favorite tunes to play and it's one of the great GM tins. So let's get started. Alright, this tune uses a combination of role patterns in cord fragments. So the whole thing is gonna be using the square role. That's thumb, index, thumb, middle. So we're gonna do is use that familiar cord at the fifth fret, the C9 chord. We're gonna be using middle and ring, but we're gonna be scooting that up to the 12th fret because this is a G bar chord, but we're going to be holding it like this. Middle on the third string, 12th fret, ring on the second string, 12th rib. Then we're gonna do a square role. Now just a little heads up this tune. Splits measures with two chords, so it's gonna be two chords per measure. It starts out half g and half d and so on. We're going to walk through each one. So we're going to do four notes per chord for the a part. So we're starting on the 12th fret with that shape. And we do a square role. We scoot that. We're going to a D chord or scooting our middle finger down 1.5 step, lifting up on the ring and dropping the index. So this is the shape. It looks a lot like that D7 shape actually, but we're going to have middle on the 11th fret, third string, index on the 10th fret second string, and we do a square role. Alright, now that shape moves down one whole step. This is a C chord and then a square role. We lift off or go into g, but we're going to play it open. Then we pick back up here on the fifth fret with that same shape, middle and ring, fifth fret. And we're gonna do a square roll. Scoot that down to the other shape. A half-step down, middle is on third string, fourth fret, index, second string, third fret, then a square role. And we're going back to the other shape, middle and ring. And what we're gonna be on an a chord. And we do a half square role. And we slide that up to the seventh fret and we're gonna do a D chord partial d with middle and ring. Okay? Then that's the first half of the a part and now we're going to scoot that up backup to the 12th fret. The nice thing about this is since we're sliding, we're sliding this shape around. It's pretty easy to transition the chords. So we're going back to the 12th fret. This is the second half of the a part square role. We're going to do exactly what we just did until the end of it. We're back on the G, just like the first part, but now we're ending ITS or jumping down to a D7 square roll. G open. What we're gonna do a single note pinch. So quarter-note thumb on the third string open. And then a pitch sounds like, alright, and that a part happens twice. This form is aa, bb. Now we're into the B part and we're going to an E minor chord, which is a lot like the C chord, but we lift off the index and middle finger on the second fret, fourth string, ring finger on second fret, first string. And now we're gonna do, is gonna be a forward roll and then a single note with a pinch at the end of it. So it's going to sound like this. That went thumb on the fourth string. Index on the second, middle, on the first, thumb on the fifth. And now we lift up off the ring and do a middle on the first string open, this is a quarter. And then pinch. We put our middle finger back down for the pinch. Ring finger back down on the first string. Sorry. Alright. Now we're gonna do a full forward reverse roll E minor down. And we're starting on the fourth string with a thumb. The role sound like this. Now what that is is thumb on the fourth, index on the second, middle on the first. And then we lift up off the ring and do the second half of the forward reverse role. Middle on the first one, the second or third. In the middle on the first. Then we do another E minor. This is just like the first measure we just learned, or the B part. Okay? Now we're switching to a bar because we're going to slide into a B chord. We're going up to the fourth fret with a bar, but we're going to put it on the second fret because we want to do a slide from two to four while holding the bar. And we just do another forward reverse. So we hit that third string slide. And the rest of the role is going to happen. So it's gonna go slide with the thumb. Fourth fret index on the second one, the first thumb on the fifth, middle on the first index, on the second one, the third one, The first. We jump back into our E minor and we do the same thing is the first half. All right? And now it changes to the last bit. And we go back to that middle and ring shape on the fifth fret. And we do a square roll. Have stepped down to that partial G chord. Whole step down to the D7, third string open, and then pinch. And then you're going to play that whole B part twice. So it's aa, bb. And this is just a really fun tuned to learn because there's so many chords, There's just so many cool variations you can do. There's a melodic versions, single string versions, Scruggs, the versions with roles, and that's kinda what this is. This is just a good starting version of the song, so learn it and have fun playing it. 24. Old macdonald: Okay, alright, let's learn the classic nursery rhyme, Old McDonald's farm. This is a really good tune to learn if you've been playing your roles and some slides and some chords, but you're ready to learn a tune with all that stuff. So it's pretty simple and it's mostly using the square role. Will be switching some strings and doing some different combinations of that and some quarter notes and pinches two. So let's try it out. Alright, this student starts on the open G chord with a square role. Remember the square roll, the pattern is just thumb, index. So here's the first measure. That's going, strings 3534. And then the next measure we're gonna be using a partial C chord That's going to be index on second string first for it, and then middle on fourth string, second fret. And then we're gonna do another square roll. It's going to sound like this. Now that splits half a measure of C and half a measure of G. So we're gonna go square roll strings. Then it's open. Thumb on the fourth string. That's quarter-note with a pinch. And then the next measure goes. We're gonna be doing a two to four slide with a square roll and it's going to sound like this. That's the whole measure. So we're going to slide two to four. We're going square roll. The whole measure is strings 3251. And we'll go into a D7 chord for the second half of that measure. That's going to be middle finger on the third string, second fret, and index on first fret, second string. And then it's open. Now what that was, was just an open square roll. Then thumb hits the third string, open quarter note, and then thumb on the fourth string. And that's the end of the verse. It's a very short form, the whole thing. And then we're going to be playing that verse two times through. So we're going to repeat that. So here's the whole verse, very slow. Oh, sorry. Alright, now we're to the chorus. So that chorus is still using the square role, but we're gonna be using a new little technique here. I'm going, Well maybe it's not. You may have done this before, but it's two to five slide, which is a common slide to play if your melody is the genome. So that first measure of the chorus goes. Alright, so we're going to be sliding two to five and we're going strings. And then thumb hits the third string open. And then pinch. We've got, we're gonna do that two times, two measures of that. So we've got it Then the next part is another two to five slide. But there's gonna be no pinch. We're just going to repeat it three times. And that's again strings 4351. So we're going so really slowly. And then when you're done with the chorus, didn't you do one more? You do one more verse. So I'm going to play the whole thing for you one more time. Boom, boom, boom. 25. Boil Them Cabbage Down Backing track: 121234. Hi. No. No. 26. Goodnight Ladies Backing track: 121234. 27. Hard aint it hard backing track: 121234. 28. Old MacDonald Backing Track: 121234.