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
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.
View the Brainjo Course Catalog
