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I’ve been picking banjo for about 3 years and have basically memorized about 10-12 songs from tab. My rolls include forward-reverse, square, forward and backward. I finally began attending jams; in fact with none close to me, I created one and 4 sessions into it we’re already averaging 8 players with various instruments. I understand chord structure and can play “placeholder” back up. I understand where melodies come from and can find them, with time, fairly easily. I can’t YET do it quickly on the fly during a jam but I believe that will come with time. What I’m having difficulty understanding is how you convert a basic melody into Scruggs style. This is a good lesson but is there some rationale behind what you’re doing with this melody? How do you know when to use a forward-reverse roll or a pinch or something else? I hope this communicates my issue, because I don’t know what I’m missing.
Great lesson! I especially enjoyed the backup segment with all the ideas! Don’t worry about throwing too much at us….keep throwing it!
Thanks Mike!Correct the above question to why didn’t you finger the 4th fret on the first string when strumming the D chord….
I agree with Jon’s comments above. I’ve been playing for nearly 3 years now and this lesson covers the greatest obstacle I’ve met with my banjo so far. It really opened my understanding to converting a song to bluegrass and the Scruggs style! And it also gave me some new ideas for playing backup. I had the same question whether you can do this “on the fly” and also in the backup section when you merely strum, why did you not finger the third fret on the first string when strumming the D chord? Am I missing something here? Overall, this is one of the finest lessons I’ve seen anywhere!
Mike, this is a great lesson! It’s opened up my eyes (or more correctly my fingers) to create so many sounds! I’m having a lot of fun with this and I understand how to finish a roll to correspond with the next chord, but am I assuming correctly that it is important to also match the direction of a roll with the direction of the existing melody? You can’t just select any roll in the appropriate chord, right? ( I hope this question makes sense).
For example, a forward-reverse roll can’t work in all measures, but maybe a forward or square roll would be better to back up the melody?Tom H.
