“Blue Ridge Cabin Home” in C, Part 1

This lesson is part of the course Bluegrass Banjo with Bill Evans.

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Learn to make your banjo drive the band or play sweet melodies, with solos to well-known songs and tunes, backup techniques, and more.

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Blue Ridge Cabin Home

In this lesson, you’ll start adding roll patterns to the melody of “Blue Ridge Cabin Home.” Every melody has a rhythm and when Earl Scruggs was working out his breaks, he tried to keep the melody’s rhythm intact as he added the roll patterns, letting the melody dictate what kind of roll to use. Bill shows you some ideas for choosing rolls. For example, if you have a melody note that’s held out for a long time you can try a forward roll, and when the melody notes are closer together you can try an alternating thumb roll or a forward reverse roll. Bill walks you through an entire solo here, with embellishments and fill-in licks.

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“Blue Ridge Cabin Home” in C

“Blue Ridge Cabin Home” in C, Part 1

“Blue Ridge Cabin Home” in C, Part 2

“Blue Ridge Cabin Home” Play-Along Track: Key of C

“Blue Ridge Cabin Home” in C, Part 1

Most bluegrass banjo breaks are played in the key of G, or in G position with a capo, but it can be handy to know how to play in the key of C, without using a capo, if someone calls a song in a key you’re not used to. Bill starts this lesson by showing you some chord positions for the I, IV, and V chords in the key of C (C, F, and G), as well as the C major scale in open position. Then he goes over the chords and melody to the bluegrass favorite “Blue Ridge Cabin Home” in C.

"Blue Ridge Cabin Home" in C (Available to subscribers)

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