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I’m always on the lookout (listenout?) for songs outside of the old time music tradition that are well suited to clawhammer banjo.

While many songs can be adapted for clawhammer banjo, the effort it takes to make such an adaptation varies widely.

Yet, I know there are many who want to play music outside the bounds of old time on their banjos – myself included. We’ve only just begun to explore the musical possibilities of clawhammer style. These days, there are a handful of bands making this sort of clawhammer-adaptation-friendly music.

The Decemberists is one of them. And their song “Sons & Daughters” is a perfect example. It’s a beautiful song melodically and lyrically, with the added bonus of possessing the musical elements that make for an effortless clawhammer adaptation.

(RELATED: The “How To Sing & Play” tutorial for this tune is now available in the Breakthrough Banjo workshop archives. Click here to learn more about the tab-walkthrough videos).

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

“SONS & DAUGHTERS”

aDADE tuning, Brainjo level 3

    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”
• Episode 55: “The Miller’s Will”
• Episode 56: “Walking Cane”
• Episode 57: “Feast Here Tonight”
• Episode 58 “Let Me Fall”
• Episode 59: “Little Birdie”
• Episode 60: “Train on the Island”
• Episode 61: “Handsome Molly”
• Episode 62: “Willie Moore”
• Episode 63: “Tom Cat Blues”
• Episode 64: “Big Eyed Rabbit”
• Episode 65: “Jimmy Sutton”
• Episode 66: “What Does the Deep Sea Say?”
• Episode 67: “Shortnin’ Bread”
• Episode 68: “Worried Man Blues”
• Episode 69: “Who Broke the Lock?”
• Episode 70: “Mole in the Ground”
• Episode 71: “Fireball Mail”
• Episode 72: “Nine Pound Hammer”
• Episode 73: “Wreck of the Number Nine”
• Episode 74: “Take Em Away”
• Episode 75: “Man of Constant Sorrow”
• Episode 76: “The Fox (went out on a chilly night)”
• Episode 77: “Goin’ Down That Road Feelin’ Bad”

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

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

In a typical Blues song, the words tell of the singer’s trials and tribulations, of run-ins with the law, of bein’ hungry, broke, cold, hot, hobbled, betrayed, forlorn, and altogether put upon.

But somehow, in spite of it all, we sing. And, despite our words of woe, the singing feels real good.

The music even makes it seems like maybe it’s all worth the struggle.

That’s how it is with this early Blues song, at least.

“Goin’ Down That Road Feelin’ Bad” was first recorded by Henry Whitter in 1924 under the title “Lonesome Road Blues” (another title it’s often referred to today). Since then, it’s been recorded by scores more under a whole host of other names.

You’ll note in this arrangement the use of a “bended” note, played on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string to bring it towards the flatted 3rd note of the G scale (you’ll also find one in the “up the neck” solo). It’s indicated by the curved line with the “1/2” next to it, indicating that we’re raising the string a half step in pitch with the bend.

You don’t hear bended notes too often in clawhammer, but there’s no reason we shouldn’t play em. Musically, they allow us to access notes not typically available on a fixed scale fretted instrument, providing a sound evocative of the slides on a fretless banjo.

“GOIN’ DOWN THAT ROAD FEELING BAD”

gDGBD tuning, Brainjo level 3

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”
• Episode 55: “The Miller’s Will”
• Episode 56: “Walking Cane”
• Episode 57: “Feast Here Tonight”
• Episode 58 “Let Me Fall”
• Episode 59: “Little Birdie”
• Episode 60: “Train on the Island”
• Episode 61: “Handsome Molly”
• Episode 62: “Willie Moore”
• Episode 63: “Tom Cat Blues”
• Episode 64: “Big Eyed Rabbit”
• Episode 65: “Jimmy Sutton”
• Episode 66: “What Does the Deep Sea Say?”
• Episode 67: “Shortnin’ Bread”
• Episode 68: “Worried Man Blues”
• Episode 69: “Who Broke the Lock?”
• Episode 70: “Mole in the Ground”
• Episode 71: “Fireball Mail”
• Episode 72: “Nine Pound Hammer”
• Episode 73: “Wreck of the Number Nine”
• Episode 74: “Take Em Away”
• Episode 75: “Man of Constant Sorrow”
• Episode 76: “The Fox (went out on a chilly night)”

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

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

There’s a good chance you’ve heard this song before. There’s also a good chance it’s been a while since you last heard it, and that listening will bring back fond memories.

At least, that seems to be the most common reaction to hearing this week’s Song of the Week selection, “The Fox (went out on a chilly night).”

In fact, there’s a chance that a great many of your ancestors would have a similar reaction, as it dates all the way back to the 15th Century, where it started out its life as a poem written in Middle English. The folk process has modified its words over the years to suit our newfangled ways of talking, but the gist of it remains.

It’s older than old-time, but fits right in with our penchant for animal anthropomorphizing (thanks spellcheck!).

I think you’ll agree that it makes for a great banjo song, played here in the key of C out of double C tuning.

“THE FOX (went out on a chilly night)”

gCGCD tuning, Brainjo level 3

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”
• Episode 55: “The Miller’s Will”
• Episode 56: “Walking Cane”
• Episode 57: “Feast Here Tonight”
• Episode 58 “Let Me Fall”
• Episode 59: “Little Birdie”
• Episode 60: “Train on the Island”
• Episode 61: “Handsome Molly”
• Episode 62: “Willie Moore”
• Episode 63: “Tom Cat Blues”
• Episode 64: “Big Eyed Rabbit”
• Episode 65: “Jimmy Sutton”
• Episode 66: “What Does the Deep Sea Say?”
• Episode 67: “Shortnin’ Bread”
• Episode 68: “Worried Man Blues”
• Episode 69: “Who Broke the Lock?”
• Episode 70: “Mole in the Ground”
• Episode 71: “Fireball Mail”
• Episode 72: “Nine Pound Hammer”
• Episode 73: “Wreck of the Number Nine”
• Episode 74: “Take Em Away”
• Episode 75: “Man of Constant Sorrow”

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