THE ULTIMATE PLECTRUM BANJO PLAYER'S GUIDE

Excerpts from Volume 1

CONTENTS

P A R T   O N E  —  For Beginners Only:  Bare Bones Basics

“Just Feel It” Is Hogwash!

Chapter 1:  You And Your Banjo

• A Brief History
• Differences Among Banjos:  Plectrum, Tenor And 5-String
• Parts Of A Banjo
• Tuning the Damned Thing!
• Strings
• The Bridge
• The Banjo Head
• Banjo Accessories
• Holding the Banjo
• Holding the Pick

Chapter 2:  Let's Get Started!

• What Is Chord Melody?
• What Is a Chord?
• The C Chord:  Definition of
• The Fretboard
• Regarding Sharps and Flats
• C Chord Combinations:  C-E-G
• Fretboard Positions of C Chord Inversions:  I, III, V
• The Basic Strum
• The Art of Practice
• Dave’s List Of Rules: #1.  The Perfect Practice Rule
• Beginning A Practice Pattern
•   Regarding Reading
• Your First Banjo Tune:  Camptown Races

Chapter 3:  Chord Inversions

• Chord Inversions And How They Work
• Standard Chord Forms:  Moveable and Non-Moveable
• Tips On Transitions From One Chord To Another
• G Chords
• Chords
• What Is A Sixth Chord?

Chapter 4:  Dominant Seventh Chords And Ninth Chords

• Improving Your Practice
• Importance Of Dominant 7ths
• How To Make Dominant 7ths From Major Chords
• The VII7
• Differences Between Dominant 7ths And Major 7ths
• Chord Blocking
• Fretboard Positions Of 7th Chords
• 9th Chords:  A Close Relative To The Dominant 7th
• Dave’s List Of Rules:  #2.  The Rule For 9ths (2nd Tones)

P A R T   T W O — Beginners:  The Next Step

Chapter 5:  Right Hand Work — Your Strum Repertoire

• Different Basic Strums
• 2-Beat Vs. 4-Beat
• Syncopation
• Waltz Time
• Off Beat
• Cut Time
• G7 Chords
• Turnarounds And Endings — To Play A Tune Again
• Dave's List Of Rules:  #3.  The Rule Of Fifths

Chapter 6:  Basic Inside Notes And Beginning Single-String Work

• Inside Notes
• Chord Diagram Notation
• F7 Chords
• When The Melody Drops To The Inside Strings
• Right Hand:  Single-String Work — Practicing Notes C, D, And E
• Bb Chords

Chapter 7:  The Last Of The Basic Chord Formations

• Augmented Chords
• Finding The Augmenteds
• Fretboard Positions Of Augmented Chords
• Diminished Chords
• Fretboard Positions Of Diminished Chords
• Finding The Diminisheds
• Bb7 Chords

Chapter 8:  Standard Three-Chord Combinations And Minors

• A Standard Three-Chord Combination
• Minor Chords:  What Is A Minor Chord?
• Fretboard Positions Of Minor Chords
• Minor Chords:  C Minor, F Minor
• Reading A Chord Chart
• Minor Chord And Rhythm Practice

Chapter 9:  Do The Combo-Mambo (And Vamp It!)

• Chord Combinations — C, F, And G Chords
• Do - Wacka - Do!  A Vamping Strum
• Dave's List Of Rules:  #4.  The Frère Jacques Rule— The 2nd Tone
• Dave’s List Of Rules:  #5.  The Road Map Rule — Chord Patterns
• E Chords
• A Chords
• D Chords
• Self-Test:  Basic Chord Inversions

P A R T   T H R E E  —  Adding Some Polish

Musical Styles For Plectrum Banjo

Chapter 10:  A Few More Chords

• Sus 4 And Sus 4 7th
• We Salute The Major 7th
• Minor 7ths And Minor 6ths
• Dave’s List Of Rules:  #6.  The Cheating In The Minors Rule
• Some Alternate Chord Forms — 6th And VII7
• Esoterica:  Other Chords
• 11th And 13th Chords
• Ab Chords
• Eb Chords

Chapter 11:  You’re Working Too Hard — Shortcuts For Everyday Playing

• Single Note Vs. Full Chord Melody
• Three-String Chords
• Avoiding Extra Chord Changes — When To Use Inside Notes
• Finding Lead Notes Within Major Chord Forms
• The Magic 7th Chord

Chapter 12:  Chord Melody Vs. Improv Vs. Background

• What Style Are You Playing?
• Playing Styles For Banjo Bands
• Playing Basic Back-Up
• Back-Up For Slow Songs
• Backing A Vocalist
• Traditional (Trad Or Dixieland) Band Style
• Improvisation
• Some Improv Ideas

Chapter 13:  Are You Listening Yet?

• Ear Training
• Banjo Styles
• Study Assignment

Chapter 14:  Right Hand:  Tremolos And Glisses

• Tremolos And Glisses
• Right Hand Technique
• Sliding Tremolos And Glisses
• Regarding Speed
• Notation

Chapter 15:  Timing

• The Biggest Banjo Failing:  Speeding It Up
• Counting
• Metronomes And Practice
• Dave’s List Of Rules:  #7.  The First Rule Of Speed
• Tremolos With A Metronome

Chapter 16:  Two Up And Two Down — Transposing On The Fly

• Two Up And Two Down
• Step 1:  Grouping Your Chord Patterns
• Step 2:  Foundation Chords — Learning Chord Relationships
• Step 3:  Let’s Transpose!
• Dave’s Shortcut For Transposing On The Fly

P A R T   F O U R  —  Music Theory

What Other Musicians Already Know

Chapter 17:  Basic Music Theory

• The Staff And Notes Of A Scale
• Time Signature And Note Values
• Key Signatures And Accidentals
• Regarding Sharps And Flats
• First And Second Endings
• Other Terms, Symbols And Abbreviations

Chapter 18:  Music As Mathematics

• Chromatic Vs. Standard Scale Tones
• When 3 And 3 Equal 5
• Tone Relationships
• Table Of Intervals
• Circle Of Fifths
• Table Of Key Signatures

Chapter 19:  How To Convert Sheet Music To Chord Melody

• First: The Notes
• Notes On The First String
• Fingering Position Chart:  F Major Scale
• Fingering Position Chart:  F7 Scale
• Second:  The Chords
• Major Chord Conversion And Transposition Chart
• Third: The Inversions
• Song To Transpose:  Frankie And Johnnie

Chapter 20:  Transposing A Tune To Another Key

• First: The Chords
• Second: The Notes
• Third: The Inversions

Chapter 21:  Transposing For Other Chords And Self Test

• Minor Chord Fingering Position Chart
• Augmented Chord Fingering Position Chart
• Diminished Fingering Position Chart
• Summary Chart:  Chord Conversion And Transposition Chart
• Supplement — Figuring Out A Tune:  Self-Test
• Supplement — Transposing A Tune:  Self-Test

P A R T   F I V E  —  Intermediate Banjo Playing

Moving On To Groups

Chapter 22:  When to Cheat and How to Do It

• Finding the Difficult Passages
• Single-String Eighth Notes ... And More
• What Can Be Cut Out
• 3-String Chords And Playing With An Open C String

Chapter 23:  What'd He Say!? — Playing With Groups

• Playing With Groups
• Sing While You Play
• Group Dynamics
• The Parts Of A Song
• The Roadmap
• Breaks; Solos
• Laying Out
• Fillers
• What To Do When Completely Lost
• Bandleader Jargon
• Modulations With Hand Signals

P A R T   S I X  —  Advanced Banjo Playing

Chapter 24:  Single-String And Embellishments

• Proper Hand Positioning For Single-String Work
• Playing In Position
• More Position Information
• Changing Positions
• Single Note Playing
• Duoing
• Arpeggios

Chapter 25:  Differing Scales

• The Basic Major Scale
• What Is A Mode?
• Harmonized Scale
• Fretboard Positions Of Harmonized Scale
• Substituting Harmonized Scale Chords
• Chromatic Scale
• Pentatonic Scale
• Relative Minor Scales
• Dave’s List Of Rules:  #8.  The Relative Minor Rule
• Dave’s List Of Rules:  #9.  The Melodic Minor Rule
• Is Any Of This Really Necessary?

Chapter 26:  Inside Chords And Beyond

• Other Chord Voicings
• New C Chord Voicings
• More C Chords
• New F Chord Voicings
• More Alternative Chord Voicings
• Getting Really Creative
• Yet Another F To F7
• And What Is Carl Kress Tuning

Chapter 27:  And Did You Know That ...  ?

• Hints And Tips
• Dave’s List Of Rules

APPENDICES

APPENDIX 1:  Chord Inversions

1. Non-Moveable Inversions
2. Moveable Inversions
3. Chord Form Transitions From Major Chord Positions  (C Chord)
4. Chord Form Transitions From Major Chord Positions  (F Chord)
5. Minor Chords (C Chord)
6. Minor Chords (F Chord)
7. Minor Chords (F Chord — With Non-Moveable I Positions)

APPENDIX 2:  Fretboards

1. Plectrum Banjo Fretboard — C Tuning
2. Fretboard Positions Of Major Chord Inversions (Key Of C, Key Of F)
3. Fretboard Positions Of Dominant Seventh Chord Inversions (C7 And F7)
4. Fretboard Positions Of Diminished Chords (Cdim.)
5. Fretboard Positions Of Augmented Chords (Caug.)
6. Fretboard Positions Of Minor Chords (Key Of C, Key of F)
7. Fretboard Positions Of Harmonized Scale (Key Of C)

Appendix 3:   Chord Spellings

APPENDIX 4:  Chord Diagrams — Ab Through G

APPENDIX 5:  Harmonized Scale Chord Diagrams — Ab Through G

Appendix 6:  Chord Conversion And Transposition Chart

Appendix 7:  Forms

1. Chord Tablature Template
2. Chord Chart Template
3. Song Conversion/Transposition Template
4. Song Transposition Worksheet

Appendix 8:   Resources

GLOSSARY

INDEX

 Copyright © 1999-2008 SLS&Co. Music, David Frey, Susanne Sangiacomo. All rights reserved.

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