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Clawhammer Song and Tab of the Week: “America the Beautiful”

July 5, 2016 by Josh 17 Comments

Click Here To Get The Tab


By the time you receive this, the fireworks will have all detonated (well, mostly….).

The poolside grilled burgers and hot dogs will have all been digested (well, mostly…).

And noteworthy memories from another 4th of July celebration will have begun their migration to long term storage in the hippocampi.

For those who are stateside, hopefully your celebratory fervor hasn’t been snuffed out entirely, and you can humor one last gasp of nationalistic pride, delivered by none other than America’s instrument. Included in the video are iconic images of the American landscape that reportedly inspired Katherine Lee Bates to pen the words to “America the Beautiful” back in 1893  (I even wore my Millenium Falcon shirt with the red, white, and blue streaks of exhaust to commemorate the occasion).

America the Beautiful

gDGBD tuning (key of C), Brainjo level 3-4

America the Beautiful clawhammer banjo tab part 1

America the Beautiful clawhammer banjo tab part 2

Notes on the Tab

In this particular song, I play the same thing while singing as I do on the banjo “solos,” which is why there’s no separate vocal backup arrangement.

Notes in parentheses are “skip” notes – to learn more about skips and syncopated skips, check out my video lesson on the subject.

For more on reading tabs in general, check out this complete guide to reading banjo tabs.

PRIOR SONG OF THE WEEK EPISODES

  • Episode 1: “Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow”
  • Episode 2: “Gumtree Canoe”
  • Episode 3: “Crawdad Hole”
  • Episode 4: “Oh Susanna”
  • Episode 5: “Freight Train”
  • Episode 6: “Grandfather’s Clock”
  • Episode 7: “Hop High Lulu”
  • Episode 8: “Been All Around This World”
  • Episode 9: “I’ll Fly Away”
  • Episode 10: “Leaving Home”
  • Episode 11: “Poor Orphan Child”
  • Episode 12: “Mr. Tambourine Man”
  • Episode 13: “Swanee River”
  • Episode 14: “Big Sciota”
  • Episode 15: “Roll In My Sweet Baby’s Arms”
  • Episode 16: “Darling Corey”
  • Episode 17: “Battle Hymn of the Republic”

Level 2 arrangements and video demos for the Tune (and Song!) of the Week tunes are now available as part of the Breakthrough Banjo course.

Learn More About Breakthrough Banjo

 

About the Author
Josh Turknett is founder and lead brain hacker at Brainjo Productions
 

View the Brainjo Course Catalog

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Filed Under: banjo lessons, free banjo tabs, song of the week

Comments

  1. Tony Spreitzer says

    July 6, 2016 at 4:10 pm

    This is just great, Josh.
    I always liked the tune/song and never thought of playing it clawhammer style.
    Can’t wait to learn it.
    Thanks!
    Tony

    Reply
    • Josh says

      July 10, 2016 at 1:32 am

      My pleasure, Tony!

      Reply
  2. Bob Ward says

    July 10, 2016 at 7:52 am

    What banjo do you play here Josh?

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Clawhammer Song (and Tab) of the Week: “Way Out There” says:
    July 29, 2016 at 3:31 pm

    […] Episode 18: “America the Beautiful” […]

    Reply
  2. Clawhammer Song of the Week: “I Saw the Light” says:
    August 13, 2016 at 1:54 pm

    […] Episode 18: “America the Beautiful” […]

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  3. Clawhammer Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: "Yankee Doodle" says:
    September 11, 2016 at 8:08 pm

    […] Episode 18: “America the Beautiful” […]

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  4. Clawhammer Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: "Budapest" says:
    September 26, 2016 at 1:27 pm

    […] Episode 18: “America the Beautiful” […]

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  5. Clawhammer Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: "Wildwood Flower" says:
    October 11, 2016 at 11:31 am

    […] Episode 18: “America the Beautiful” […]

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  6. Clawhammer Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: "Mountain Dew" says:
    November 30, 2016 at 4:27 pm

    […] Episode 18: “America the Beautiful” […]

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  7. Clawhammer Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: "Otto Wood" says:
    December 18, 2016 at 1:42 pm

    […] Episode 18: “America the Beautiful” […]

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  8. Clawhammer Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: "Down on the Corner" says:
    December 27, 2016 at 5:41 pm

    […] Episode 18: “America the Beautiful” […]

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  9. Clawhammer Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: "City of New Orleans" says:
    January 15, 2017 at 1:51 pm

    […] Episode 18: “America the Beautiful” […]

    Reply
  10. Clawhammer Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: "Hard Times" says:
    April 27, 2017 at 11:45 pm

    […] Episode 18: “America the Beautiful” […]

    Reply
  11. Clawhammer Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: "Lazy John" says:
    December 17, 2017 at 9:23 pm

    […] Episode 18: “America the Beautiful” […]

    Reply
  12. Clawhammer Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: "Pretty Polly" says:
    January 29, 2018 at 6:28 pm

    […] Episode 18: “America the Beautiful” […]

    Reply
  13. Clawhammer Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: "You Are My Sunshine" says:
    February 18, 2018 at 2:51 pm

    […] Episode 18: “America the Beautiful” […]

    Reply
  14. Clawhammer Banjo Song and Tab of the Week: "Old Molly Hare" says:
    March 17, 2018 at 5:41 pm

    […] Episode 18: “America the Beautiful” […]

    Reply

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