Learn Clawhammer Banjo

Banjo Lessons for the Adult Beginner

  • About
    • Getting Started With Clawhammer Banjo – What You Need To Know
    • What is the Brainjo Method?
    • How To Play Clawhammer Banjo in 8 Essential Steps (free course)
  • Tabs
    • THE VAULT: The Ultimate Clawhammer TAB LIBRARY
      • The Vault Login
    • Clawhammer Tune and Tab of the Week
    • This Week’s SONG and TAB
    • The Clawhammer TOP 10 tunes
    • This Week’s TUNE and TAB
    • 9 Ways to Practice Smarter (FREE book)
  • Banjos!
    • The “BANJO PLAYER’S BANJO”
    • Brainjo SHIRTS!
  • Breakthrough Banjo
    • Login to Course
    • Breakthrough Banjo Course Tour
    • About the Course
    • SIGN UP
    • Course Home

Clawhammer Song of the Week: “The Miller’s Will”

Click on the button below to get the PDF download for this tab delivered to you, and get 2 new tunes and tabs sent to you every week!

Click Here To Get The Tab


Years ago, I had the pleasure of attending a workshop on fingerpicked banjo by the great Mike Seeger.

It blew my mind and, thinking back, changed the course of my banjo life in several ways.

In the span of an hour, Mike took us through a tour of a dizzying number of unique and wonderful styles of fingerpicking, introducing me to a world that, until then, I barely knew existed.

Beyond being phenomenally entertaining, it also raised a few questions.

The conventional wisdom, or the prevailing story that I’d been told, was – and still is – that when learning to play the banjo, you had to choose your “style.” You could learn bluegrass or old time, Scruggs or melodic, index or thumb lead, 2 finger or 3, and so on, and so on….but you could only choose one. So choose wisely!

And almost the entire body of banjo instruction respected those divisions.

But if that were true, then how was it that Mike could effortlessly glide from one style to the next to the next?

Furthermore, why hadn’t I heard any of this great banjo music he was playing before?

I’d started out playing “bluegrass” banjo. And like virtually everyone else who starts out learning bluegrass banjo, I was taught “Scruggs” style, using the typical instructional methods to do so.

I’d been under the impression that fingerstyle banjo essentially began and ended with Scruggs style and its subsequent offshoots.

But if it was possible to play all this wonderful music on my banjo, like Mike Seeger was, I sure as heck didn’t want to miss out on all that!

The quest to answer those questions led me to discovering an incredible new world of music.

It also led me back to the drawing board for fingerstyle banjo, to essentially start over from scratch.

And I’m sure glad I did.

I realized that the usual method of learning “rolls” as the foundation had backed me into a musical corner that I now had to escape from.

Don’t get my wrong, I’m a big fan of Earl Scruggs – he’s a big reason I picked up a banjo in the first place.

But I now see Earl as one of many in a long line of great up-picking banjoists, and I now see the traditional roll-based method of teaching Scruggs style banjo (which, of note, was not Earl’s idea) as one that’s needlessly complex and inefficient.

(RELATED: If you’re interested in learning all styles of up-picking in a way that’s aligned with how the grown up brain learns music, then you may enjoy the Breakthrough Banjo course for fingerstyle banjo. Click here to learn more. )

That experience also led me to explore as much of Mike’s recorded works as I could get my ears on, including the rich body of material from his time with The New Lost City Ramblers, including today’s gem: “The Miller’s Will.”

Mike fingerpicks on that version, which is how I initially learned it (after first having to decipher that he was playing out of aDAC#E tuning- gCGBD 2 frets up).

Below you’ll find the fingerstyle version for this song, and I think you’ll find each imparts its own unique flavor to the song (click here if you’d like to view the tab for it, too).

The Miller’s Will – “3 finger style” banjo

Mike Seeger also possessed an impressive repertoire of songs with nonsense words, which includes this selection. Feel free to create your own syllabically appropriate neologism if you’d like, as it’s sure to be no less sensical than the one sung here.

Such is the nature of nonsense.

 


The “Brainjo” banjo 

For those contemplating the various models of the Brainjo banjo, this video was made playing a “Hobart” model of the Brainjo. Click here if you’d like to claim it.


The Miller’s Will

aDAC#E tuning, Brainjo level 3

The Miller's Will clawhammer banjo tab part 1

The Miller's Will clawhammer banjo tab part 2

 

Notes on the Tab

In this arrangement, I’ve tabbed out the part I play in the banjo “solo,” as well as the vocal backup I play on the banjo while singing.

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”
  • Episode 18: “America the Beautiful”
  • Episode 19: “Bury Me Beneath the Willow”
  • Episode 20: “Way Out There”
  • Episode 21: “New Slang”
  • Episode 22: “I Saw the Light”
  • Episode 23: “Amazing Grace”
  • Episode 24: “Blowin’ in the Wind”
  • Episode 25: “Yankee Doodle”
  • Episode 26: “Budapest”
  • Episode 27: “Wildwood Flower”
  • Episode 28: “Paradise”
  • Episode 29: “Mountain Dew”
  • Episode 30: “Blue Tail Fly”
  • Episode 31: “Otto Wood”
  • Episode 32: “Down on the Corner”
  • Episode 33: “City of New Orleans”
  • Episode 34: “Big Rock Candy Mountains”
  • Episode 35: “Come to the Bower”
  • Episode 36: “Old Kentucky Home”
  • Episode 37: “Long Journey Home”
  • Episode 38: “Dixie”
  • Episode 39: “Hard Times”
  • Episode 40: “Corrina Corrina”
  • Episode 41: “She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain”
  • Episode 42: “Johnson Boys”
  • Episode 43: “Bad Moon Rising”
  • Episode 44: “Reuben’s Train”
  • Episode 45: “Let the Mermaid’s Flirt With Me”
  • Episode 46: “Rocky Top”
  • Episode 47: “Groundhog”
  • Episode 48: “Lazy John”
  • Episode 49: “The Gambler”
  • Episode 50: “8 More Miles To Louisville”
  • Episode 51: “Who’ll Stop the Rain”
  • Episode 52: “Pretty Polly”
  • Episode 53: “You Are My Sunshine”
  • Episode 54: “Old Molly Hare”

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.

Click here for a current list of all the clawhammer songs and tunes currently available inside of The Vault

Learn More About Breakthrough Banjo

 

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

View the Brainjo Course Catalog

brainjo larger musical mind

By Ear, from Scratch: “Old Molly Hare”

This video is part of the new monthly series inside the Ear Laboratory, an extension of the Breakthrough Banjo course’s 4 part series on how to learn to play by ear.

(note: this lesson will be available through May 5, after which time it will remain available inside of the Breakthrough Banjo course. Click here to learn more about the Playing by Ear modules inside the course.)

“Old Molly Hare” by ear, from scratch: Part 1

“Old Molly Hare” by ear, from scratch: Part 2

Clawhammer Tune of the Week: “Wabash Cannonball”

Click Here To Get The Tab


 

If you know a song about a chicken, a song about whiskey, and a song about a train, then chances are you’re an old time banjo player.

And it is in that spirit that I present this week’s tune selection, “Wabash Cannonball.”

The Wabash River spans 475 miles across the mid-central US. The Wabash Railroad, the inspiration for this week’s tune, spanned similar terrain.

Given it’s popularity amongst bluegrass banjoists, I’ve included it as part of the banjofication series. Hence, you’ll not only hear the old timey sounds of a downpicked banjo, but also the old timey sounds of a banjo picked in the other direction in both the 2 and 3 finger styles.

(RELATED: If you’d like to learn 2 and 3 fingerstyle banjo picking, check out the Breakthrough Banjo fingerstyle course at fingerstylebanjo.com)

What’s even better, there’s only one part to it! So it shouldn’t take you too long to get this classic under your fingers.

 

 


(NOTE: For those considering acquiring a Brainjo banjo, the open back played in this video is a “Tommy” model. Click here if you’d like to learn more, or claim one in the next batch.)


Wabash Cannonball

gDGBD tuning, Brainjo level 3

Notes on the Tab

Notes in parentheses are “skip” notes. To learn more about these, check out my video lesson on the subject.

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

[RELATED: 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 it here.

Click here for a current list of all the clawhammer songs and tunes currently available inside of The Vault

 

Learn More About Breakthrough Banjo

 

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

View the Brainjo Course Catalog

 

Clawhammer Tune of the Week: “Sara Armstrong’s Tune”

Click on the button below to get the PDF download for this tab delivered to you, and get 2 new tunes and tabs sent to you every week!

Click Here To Get The Tab


It’s never made much sense to me to think of banjo players, or musicians in general, as being “good” or “bad” (the absurdity of that notion usually cast in sharp relief if you’ve ever been tasked with the impossible job of picking a winner in banjo or fiddle contest).

Sure, there are some objective technical standards that are required to develop as a musician (even then, though, I think it’s more appropriate to think of people being at different points on the banjo learning timeline).

But once you have the technical fundamentals down, are able to play with solid rhythm and timing, and have developed your ear to the point where you can play the music that’s in your head, the rest is just a matter of aesthetic preference.

Or whether or not someone’s personal style moves you.

In every player’s performance there are countless decision that are made. What notes to leave in, what notes leave out, which ones to syncopate, what beats to emphasize, where to quiet, where to be loud, and so on, and so on.

The purpose of those decisions is to make the music in their head come out of their banjo, provided they have the skills required to to execute it. If your tastes happen to be similar to theirs, then you’ll probably like the music in their head, too (the players who enjoy the most popularity just happen to share their tastes with the greatest numbers – the pepperoni pizzas of the music world).

These players become our sources of inspiration. They are the ones who motivate us to keep working on our own skills in hopes of one day making music as moving as theirs.

One of my sources of inspiration was Donald Zepp, former owner of Zepp’s Country Music. Many of his fiddle tune renditions were canonical for me in my gestational period – I’d hear him play a tune and couldn’t imagine it being improved upon.

In other words, I liked the music in his head, and the decisions that mandated to bring it to life.

A highlight was his rendition of “Sara Armstrong’s Tune,” my original source for this week’s Tune of the Week. One of his signature moves is the use of the triplet, executed with the fretting hand either as a series of hammer ons and pull offs, and they pepper the B part liberally throughout.

My inability to replicate these maneuvers in my early playing days served as equal parts frustration and motivation.

And it was a milestone in my own journey when I finally could pull them off, particularly the final triplet flourish that punctuates the ending.

 


(NOTE: For those considering acquiring a Brainjo banjo, the open back played in this video is a “Tommy” model. Click here if you’d like to learn more, or claim one in the next batch.)


Sara Armstrong’s Tune

gCGCD tuning, Brainjo level 3

sara armstrong's tune clawhammer banjo tab part 1

sara armstrong's tune clawhammer banjo tab part 2

Notes on the Tab

Notes in parentheses are “skip” notes. To learn more about these, check out my video lesson on the subject.

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

[RELATED: 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 it here.

Click here for a current list of all the clawhammer songs and tunes currently available inside of The Vault

 

Learn More About Breakthrough Banjo

 

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

View the Brainjo Course Catalog

 

Song and Tune of the Week March Madness – 2018!!!

 

The Madness is Back!

Longtime fans of basketball know that we’re deep in the midst of “March Madness,” the annual tournament to crown this year’s top team in college basketball.

Longtime fans of the Tune and Song of the week know that it also means that it’s time for our own clawhammer banjo version of this Spring ritual, where we’ll crown this year’s top clawhammer banjo tune.

And this is our 4th year! The winners from our first 3 editions were Snowdrop, Wandering Boy, and Darling Corey.

[RELATED: The “10 Greatest Hits of Clawhammer Banjo” book of tabs was based on those results. Click here if you haven’t grabbed your copy of it yet.]

 


2015 Winner: “Snowdrop”
2016 Winner: “Wandering Boy”
2017 Winner: “Darling Corey”

 

In prior years, we’ve segregated the contest into tunes and songs. This time, it’s no holds barred!

Based on their existing youtube stats, the field has already been narrowed to the 16 finalists.

Now it’s your turn to vote for your favorite! To cast your vote, simply click the “thumbs up” icon on your favorite video or videos (feel free to vote as many times as you’d like!).

UPDATE 4.12.18 – The field has been narrowed down to 2 finalists! Vote for the one you like most, and the winner will be announced next week!

UPDATE 4.19.18 – We have a winner! The champion of the 2018 edition of the Clawhammer Tune and Song of the Week series is….

 

HOW TO CAST YOUR VOTE(S) (voting has ended…see you in 2019!)

STEP 1: Click on the link below to get to the 2018 Song of the Week March Madness playlist.

STEP 2: Cast your vote for your favorite songs (it’s ok to vote for more than one) by clicking on the “thumbs up” icon underneath the videos (see image below).

You can use the fast forward button or the playlist menu on the right of the page to toggle between the tunes.

STEP 3: Anxiously await to see if your favorite makes it to the next round!

CLICK to view the 16 2 finalists and CAST YOUR VOTE

 

Let the madness begin!


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 it here.

Click here for a current list of all the clawhammer songs and tunes currently available inside of The Vault

Learn More About Breakthrough Banjo

 

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

View the Brainjo Course Catalog

brainjo larger musical mind

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • …
  • 71
  • Next Page »

Copyright 2024 - Brainjo LLC, Owner of clawhammerbanjo.net   Privacy Policy - Terms of Purchase - Terms & Conditions