Three Positions, Two Octaves, Part 1

from: The Banjo According to Danny Barnes with Danny Barnes

This lesson is part of the course The Banjo According to Danny Barnes with Danny Barnes.

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Roots music iconoclast Danny Barnes reveals his systematic approach to the banjo, with one-of-a-kind insights on improvisation, reading music, getting a good sound out of the banjo, rhythm and timing, and more.

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The Right-Hand Stuff

Danny talks about the other roll he thinks is important to practice and have in your repertoire, the 1 2 1 5 roll. The 1 2 1 5 roll allows you to move a melody up and down the banjo neck on the first string. Danny shows you how to do that on a tune like Alan Munde’s “Deputy Dalton” and how to practice the 1 2 1 5 roll with a metronome. He also shows you a variation that moves the middle-index finger alternation to the second and third strings (2 3 2 5) and third and second strings (3 4 3 5).

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Three Positions, Two Octaves

Three Positions, Two Octaves, Part 1

Three Positions, Two Octaves, Part 2

Three Positions, Two Octaves, Part 1

In this lesson, Danny introduces you to his fingerboard concept of Three Positions, Two Octaves. One of the challenges of the banjo is finding the right place to play a melody. Danny shows you how learning to look at the banjo neck in two octaves at once helps you make good choices about where to play specific melodies. It also helps you with fretting-hand strength and improvisation. You learned the patterns in the lesson on Fingerboad Logic, but this lesson elaborates on that lesson, helping you get more comfortable playing all over the fingerboard. In this video, Danny shows you the three major scale forms, using the G major scale, in two octaves.

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