Tag Archives: Drop C

O’Carolan #174: Melodic Banjo Lesson

In this melodic banjo lesson, we’ll take a look at O’Carolan #174, written by the blind Irish harpist Turlough O’Carolan in the 17th century. The title, devoid of a specific name, reflects the historical convention of cataloging O’Carolan’s vast repertoire by number. #174 captivates with its intricate harmonies and emotive nuances, and this arrangement takes the beautiful melody and sets it on the banjo in a melodic style, very much creating a ‘harp’ like sound, well suited to the intermediate melodic picker.

Go to lesson...

Sweet By And By: Banjo Lesson

‘In The Sweet By And By’ is a popular, old gospel song that is always a great session sing-along!  In the key of C (Drop C Tuning –  gCGBD), this arrangement features some lovely Scruggs style playing with a little melodic at times. With a variation for both the verse & chorus melodies, this is a great sounding tune that I’d suggest is suited to the intermediate picker, but as always, in this lesson we’ll break down the tune and look at some helpful tips. Go to lesson...