Learn Clawhammer Banjo

Banjo Lessons for the Adult Beginner

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2 for 1 Clawhammer Song/Tune and Tab of the Week: “Deep Ellum Blues” & “Cuckoo’s Nest

Click on the relevant buttons below to get the PDF download for this

Click Here To Get The Tab

Click Here To Get The Tab

These two selections, both songs part of the banjo tradition, and both with very different origin stories, highlight the rich reservoir of source material that’s part of the banjo tradition. 

“Cuckoo’s Nest” has clear origins in the old world as a dance tune, dating to at least the earliest 18th century, and appearing in the Selection of Scotch, English, Irish and Foreign Airs, vol. 1.

“Deep Ellum Blues,” on the other hand, was first recorded by the Cofer Brothers in 1923 under the band name The Georgia Crackers. The title refers to a town in Dallas, Texas that was home to musical legends Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, Lead Belly, and Bill Neely. 

The title was originally “Deep Elm Blues,” but somewhere along the way “Elm” morphed into “Ellum,” presumably because singers found themselves in need of the extra syllable. 


(RELATED: The walk-through tutorials for “Deep Ellum Blues” and “Cuckoo’s Nest” are both available now 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 these videos is a “Hobart” model. Click here if you’d like to learn more, or claim one in the next batch.


“CUCKOO’S NEST”

aDADE tuning, Brainjo level 4

clawhammer banjo tab for "Cuckoo's Nest"

“DEEP ELLUM BLUES”

gCGCD tuning, Brainjo level 3-4

clawhammer banjo tab for "Deep Ellum Blues" part 1

clawhammer banjo tab for "Deep Ellum Blues" part 2

clawhammer banjo tab for "Deep Ellum Blues" part 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.

The Banjo Player’s Songbook – a free bonus with Breakthrough Banjo

Banjo Player's Songbook


The BANJO PLAYER’S SONGBOOK is a collection of over 50 classic songs for banjo, with the lyrics, chord progressions, and melody banjo tabs for each.

Click here to learn more and to see the full song list. 

 


 

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”
  • Episode 78: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”
  • Episode 79: “I Heard the Bluebirds Sing”
  • Episode 80: “Loch Lomond”

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

Clawhammer Song and Tab of the Week: “Loch Lomond”

Click on the button below to get the PDF download for this

Click Here To Get The Tab

You take the high road, and I’ll take the low road,
And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye.
But me and my true love, will never meet again,
on the bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond.

This week’s song, first published in 1841 in the book “Vocal Melodies of Scotland” and with a reach that has since extended far beyond its geographic origin, has been one of the most often requested over the years.

I played an instrumental-only version (in the tuning of ) as part of the Steve Martin’s clawhammer banjo medley. But it seemed a shame not to also present a singing version.

But what’s it all mean?!

A little historical background helps in decoding its lyrics. The song takes place just after the Battle of Culloden Moor where Scottish forces, led by legendary Bonnie Prince Charlie, attempted unsuccessfully to depose Britains’s King George II. The lyrics are delivered from the perspective of a soldier taken prisoner and set for execution, speaking to another who will be returning to Scotland alive (perhaps a lover, or a fellow comrade).

According to Celtic legend, the souls of those who die in a foreign land return to their homeland by way of the “low road.” Hence, he will take the low road back to his Scotland, and the banks of Loch Lomond, while his spared mate returns by the “high road” that mortals take.

Other helpful translation bits: “loch” = lake, “bonnie” = beautiful


(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.


“LOCH LOMOND”

gCGCD tuning, Brainjo level 3

Loch Lomond clawhammer banjo tab part 1

Loch Lomond 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.

The Banjo Player’s Songbook – a free bonus with Breakthrough Banjo

Banjo Player's Songbook


The BANJO PLAYER’S SONGBOOK is a collection of over 50 classic songs for banjo, with the lyrics, chord progressions, and melody banjo tabs for each.

Click here to learn more and to see the full song list. 

 


 

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”
  • Episode 78: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”
  • Episode 79: “I Heard the Bluebirds Sing”

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

Clawhammer Tune of the Week: “Goodbye Girls I’m Goin’ To Boston”

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

I

Ionian.

Dorian.

Locrian.

Aeolian.

No, you haven’t accidentally stumbled your way into an esoteric discourse on Greek architecture.

You’ve stumbled your way into an equally esoteric discourse about musical “modes.”

What Mode Are You In?!?!

If you’ve been hanging out in the worlds of banjo or old-time music for very long, you’ve almost certainly heard the term “modal” a time or two. We play “modal” tunes. We put our banjos into “modal” tunings.

And banjos happen to sound really good in those modal tunings and playing those modal tunes. It seems like the kind of music banjos were born to play. Oftentimes, those modal tunes also sound like they came from a distant era – you can recognize the “modal” sound when you hear it, even if you can’t explain it further.

I imagine that, for most, that’s about the extent of your familiarity with the whole modal concept. If you’ve ever dug in deeper, you’ve probably found yourself knee-deep into music theory pretty quickly.

It can be a confusing subject, in part because of the terms we’ve chosen to use. We typically use the “modal” moniker to refer to tunes that don’t use the Ionian or Aeolian modes, which are common in contemporary Western music. Make sense? Of course not.

Using this definition, this week’s tune of the week installment, for example, is also technically a “modal” tune – in Mixolydian mode, to be precise. Yet, it doesn’t sound especially ancient or archaic, especially compared to some of our other “modal” favorites (e.g. Darling Cory or Pretty Polly). Perhaps because you find it – our modern ears are fairly used to that scale.

Ok, enough esoterica for one post!


(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.


 “GOODBYE GIRLS I’M GOIN’ TO BOSTON”

aEAC#E tuning, Brainjo level 3-4

Goodbye Girls I'm Goin' To Boston part 1

 

Goodbye Girls I'm Goin' To Boston 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 for the list of current TABS inside 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 Song and Tab of the Week: “I Heard the Bluebirds Sing”

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 heard John Grimm and Beverly Smith perform “I Heard the Bluebirds Sing” in concert. It was the first time I’d heard it, and I immediately fell in love with both the song and the performance. Great country duet harmony singing is hard to beat.

It wasn’t until recently when it occurred to me that my daughter Jules could provide the female vocal harmony that I decided to learn it on the banjo. Now it’s a keeper in our emerging set list.

The song, a recent inductee into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, was penned by Canadian songwriter Hod Pharis and first recorded in 1952 by Pharis and Little Anne. It didn’t achieve mainstream success, however, until it was released in 1957 by the American country trio, The Browns (the song had been discovered by none other than Chet Atkins, producer for The Browns).

It’s been covered many times over since, for reasons that are clearly apparent upon listening!

(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.


“I HEARD THE BLUEBIRDS SING”

bEBEF# 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.

The Banjo Player’s Songbook – a free bonus with Breakthrough Banjo

Banjo Player's Songbook


The BANJO PLAYER’S SONGBOOK is a collection of over 50 classic songs for banjo, with the lyrics, chord progressions, and melody banjo tabs for each.

Click here to learn more and to see the full song list. 

 


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”
  • Episode 78: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”

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

Holiday 2-for-1 Special: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “Greensleeves”

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

Click Here To Get The Tab

Everyone knows that the best deals on holiday-related merchandise can be had just after that holiday has passed. So it’s in that spirit that I give you a 2-for-1 post-Christmas Tune and Song of the Week special!

Technically, it’s 3-for-1, as the first video here is a medley of two songs: “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “We Three Kings.”

This duet, which I perform here with my daughter Jules, was inspired by the one performed by the Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan, which has been a staple in our home’s holiday playlist for many years. The tab download includes the solo played for “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” along with the chords and lyrics for both songs (in double D tuning).

Making an appearance for our Tune of the Week is one of the world’s most ancient and beloved melodies: “Greensleeves.” The song was first registered in 1580 (and so the oldest in our trio) by Richard Jones under the title “A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves.“

Its beguiling melody was subsequently co-opted by many a lyricist, including a William Chatterton Dix who, in 1865, wrote the words for ”What Child Is This?“ Only then – 300 years later – did it secure entry into the canon of Christmas carols.

Which is why you can easily get away with playing this melody year-round! All you need do is change the title. If it’s during the Christmas season, you’re playing “What Child Is This?” Otherwise, it’s “Greensleeves.”

In the video, you’ll note that the song begins in its usual 3:4 time signature for the intro, then switches to 2:4 – a common strategy for “banjofying” a melody in triple meter (I’ll be reviewing this in the tab walk-through workshop later today in the Brainjo Virtual classroom).

Note that all three of these songs are in a minor key, imparting a bit of extra old-time street cred.


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


“GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN”

aDADE tuning, Brainjo level 3-4

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen clawhammer banjo tab

 

 


“GREENSLEEVES”

gDGBD tuning, Brainjo level 4

Greensleeves clawhammer banjo tab part 1

Greensleeves 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.)

 

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”
    • Episode 78: “Sons & Daughters”

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

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