Old Joe Clark is a popular traditional American tune, played in the key of A (standard tuning – capo 2). It’s a great bluegrass banjo standard, and this is the second version here on the site. The arrangement features both Scruggs & melodic techniques as part of the melody, great for the intermediate picker.
Salt Creek is a classic bluegrass fiddle tune, and you can never have too many versions! This guitar arrangement in A (capo 2) features both a melody and harmony break that combine into a fantastic variation.
In this lesson, we’ll learn both parts plus a harmonised tag. Played at a fast tempo with some challenging passages, it’s ideal for advanced intermediate pickers. Go to lesson...
Salt Creek is a quick tempo, trad American tune, played in the key of A (standard tuning – capo 2). It’s a great bluegrass banjo standard, and this arrangement features both Scruggs & melodic techniques as part of the melody, great for the advancing intermediate picker. You can also check out the advanced melodic arrangement that has two variations here: https://pickinlessons.com/salt-creek-melodic-banjo/
Lazy John is a traditional Old Time/Bluegrass song that has a wonderful melody. In this lesson, we’ll learn a mandolin arrangement that contains two variations for both parts A & B, in the key of G. Played at a moderate tempo we’ll move up & down the neck with some great variations, suited to the advancing intermediate picker. Go to lesson...
Mountain Dew is a fantastic traditional Appalachian folk song, popular in bluegrass circles. This arrangement on the banjo has 2 variations, featuring both the Scruggs & melodic techniques, with a bunch of great lick ideas, recorded in the key of G (standard tuning), but can be transposed easily with a capo.
Shuckin’ The Corn is a quick tempo, trad American tune, played in the key of G (standard tuning). It’s a great bluegrass banjo standard, and this banjo arrangement features both Scruggs & melodic techniques as part of the melody, blending the two in four variations, great for the advanced picker. Jump in to the lesson and we’ll learn the parts together.
Boston Boy is a great American fiddle tune, played in the key of C. This arrangement on the guitar is a variation that is inspired by the playing of Kenny Baker and is well suited to the advanced picker. It’s a fun tune to pick, makes use of some efficient slurs and rolls along quite nicely! Go to lesson...
Ragtime Annie is a quick tempo, trad fiddle tune, played in the key of D (capo 2 – standard tuning). It’s a great session tune, and this banjo arrangement features the melodic technique and some good old 3-finger rolls as part of the melody, making it a fun tune to pick, great for the intermediate picker.
Happy Birthday on the mandolin! This arrangement is in the key of G and features four variations of varying difficulty. Approached in a bluegrass style, the first variation is in the traditional 3/4 time signature, great for the beginner and features the melody using the tremolo technique. The second variation moves into cut common time with a typical bluegrass feel, embellishing the melody to suit and is great for the beginner/intermediate picker. Go to lesson...
Cherokee Shuffle is a popular American fiddle tune, played in the key of A (standard tuning – capo 2). This is the third version here at Pickin’ Lessons on the banjo and is a variation that approaches the melody in a more basic way, using the single-string & melodic techniques, while still capturing the essence of the tune.