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All the credit goes to Brett over at Nechville Banjos.
He told me all that info after I had been doing it incorrectly for a few years.
– Mike
Ron,
Sure!
You can view any of the tabs on the right side of the lesson page under the “Lesson Tabs” link (or the bottom of the page if you’re viewing it on your phone).
You can print off that tab right from there or you can save it to your computer.
If you have any other questions let me know.
– Mike
You can check out the Will The Circle (Backup) lesson. I believe I discussed the thumb wrap technique there.
I can also do a lesson in the future that focuses exclusively on this technique.
Thanks for the request.
– Mike
James,
A lot of these fiddle tunes can be played various ways. Especially the little connecting phrases.
If it sounds better to you to play it the way you mentioned that’s totally fine. The phrase I did way just a little “melodic” run but an open roll would work just fine as well.
The open roll would definitely work well if the song was played faster as it would give you that extra little time to get back down for the C chord.
I’m glad you’re experimenting and finding out what sounds best to you.
– Mike
John,
Stay tuned, I have a lot more backup lessons planned.
You can check out the Guided Learning and there’s a backup section. That will show my recommended way to work through the backup lessons.
My go-to for songs that are close to my speed limit is vamping or very simple rolls. As the song gets faster, you’ll have to simplify your playing if you want to keep up.
Also, at faster speeds I usually use “less” fingers for chords. So instead of doing full 4 finger chords, I may just do 2 fingers or 3 fingers. At higher speeds, taking time to put down unnecessary fingers will slow you down.
The best way to increase your speed is slowly through practice. I recommend using the Amazing Slow Downer or my Soundslice player I offer.
You can check out the lesson I did “Ten Tips To Improve Your Speed” if you want some of my tips to play faster.
If you have any other questions let me know.
Best,
MikeIf you’re banjo sounds in tune when played open but out of tune when you’re fretting notes that could mean your bridge is out of position.
You can check out this lesson to learn more about intonation:
How To Check Your Intonation LessonSorry, I don’t have tabs for the backup section of this lesson. But you can watch the backup lesson video to see a lot of the ideas I used.
If you have any more questions after watching the backup video lesson let me know.
– Mike
Jon,
Thanks. Good catch. Yes that was a typo. I’ve updated the tab and the download to reflect the correct fingering. Glad you’re enjoying the lesson.
– Mike
Tom,
Thanks for checking out the lessons. I used to use an iPhone to record my early video lessons. You can get an external microphone that plugs in so you can get even better quality.
Another to check out for audio recording would be the Zoom recorder. They have a bunch of different models but they’re very good for audio recordings in the “field” and make really good quality recordings.
Several of my musician friends use them to record when they’re on the road.
You could also record the audio and video separately (with an iphone and zoom for example) and then sync them together in Garageband or Pro Tools after you record.
Thats what I do with my video lessons now. That way you can have better audio quality than the video camera microphone.
If you have any other questions let me know.
– Mike
Do you mean you can’t see the videos or they won’t play? You should see all the videos on the lesson page if you’re logged in to your account.
Mike
Allan,
Sorry I don’t currently have a way to upgrade from tab-only to video but I sent you an e-mail!
Best,
MikeThanks for your questions. Let me try and answer.
1. Yes, you could improvise a backup like this with practice over time. The goal of these backup tabs is to give you basic ideas you can use in lots of songs. So I recommend taking your favorite backup licks from this tab and trying to apply them to other songs you know.
2. No, this backup would be difficult to play and sing at the same time. I’d probably recommend simplifying it quite a bit if you were going to sing the song as well. This type of backup works best if someone else is singing (which is why you don’t see a lot of singing banjo players).
3. It’s hard to predict how long it will take for you to make progress as everyone is different. If you’re working on new things for 1 hr a day, you’ll definitely see improvement. The most important thing is having fun which is the biggest predictor of whether of not you’ll keep playing.
4. You can play any type of music on the banjo. You could look up the chords to a Greek folk song and find them on your banjo or learn the melody play the notes. I’d start with the chords and try doing some basic rolls, after that see if you can find the melody notes.
5. No there’s no set pattern for finding the melody in a bluegrass song because every arrangement is different. Some stay closer to the melody and some venture further away from the melody. The melody is usually found in the chord tones (the notes that make up the chord you’re playing). Knowing those notes (G,B,D for a G chord) is the best way to start finding the melody to a song.
Good luck.
Mike
Yes, I provided some basic practice tracks that just play a “C” chord over and over so you can practice the licks at different speeds.
Mike
I think you’ll be able to keep improving with practice!
There are no shortcuts to speed so you’ll need to be able to play at 81-99 BPM before you’ll be able to reach 100 BPM.
I recommend checking out the practice tool “The Amazing Slow Downer” which allows you to adjust the speed of any mp3.
This will allow you to find the exact speed you need to work on and gradually increase the speed over time.
I highly recommend the software. I use it all the time in my daily practice. If you have any other questions let me know.
Best,
MikeYes I already offer this option!
If you go to https://mikeheddingmusic.com/guided/ you can enroll in any of the courses and it will show my recommended way to work through the lessons.
Once you enroll in any of the courses you’ll also see a drop-down menu on the lesson pages that will allow you to see the order of the lessons and jump around between them.
If you have any more questions let me know.
-Mike
