Tag Archives: Standard Tuning ‘gDGBD’

Estudio: Banjo

Estudio is a piece composed by Dionisio Aguado (1784-1849), who was a Spanish guitarist & composer during the late Classical & early Romantic periods. It is a popular beginner classical guitar piece, that sounds quite intriguing & haunting when picked on the banjo.

Typically played in Am, this arrangement is in key of Gm for the banjo, played up the neck to allow for the note range required. Go to lesson...

Rights of Man: Melodic Banjo

The Rights of Man is a traditional Celtic hornpipe in the key of Em. We’re in standard G tuning for this arrangement and the tune features the melodic technique, with a little single-string technique. Being a hornpipe, we’ll be swinging the 8th notes, with a feature triplet run that will get your finger’s moving! Go to lesson...

Merry Blacksmith, The: Banjo

The Merry Blacksmith is a traditional Celtic reel in the key of D. We’re in standard G tuning for this arrangement and the tune features the melodic technique, with a little single-string technique and a grace note pull off which helps spice up the melody! Played at quite a fast tempo, this lesson would suit the more advanced studentGo to lesson...

Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine: Banjo

Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine is a traditional tune in the key of D Major and we are in standard ‘gDGBD’ tuning, which works really well for this melody using the D major scale. In this arrangement we’ll be using the melodic techniques.

There are 2 variations within this arrangement. Firstly, the basic melody, played using the melodic technique. Go to lesson...

Whiskey Before Breakfast: Banjo Lesson

In this banjo lesson we’ll take a look at a great arrangement of the traditional tune, Whiskey Before Breakfast. The tune is in the key of D Major and we are in standard ‘gDGBD’ tuning. This is a popular session tune, and in this arrangement we’ll be using the single-string & melodic techniques – and the bonus – no re-tuning required! Go to lesson...

Click Go The Shears: Banjo Lesson

In this 3-finger banjo lesson we’ll take a look at an arrangement of the Traditional Australian Folk Song, Click Go The Shears. The tune is in the key of G Major and we are in standard tuning. The time signature we are in is 6/8 (two dotted quarter note beats per measure). Go to lesson...

Blues Backup: Banjo Lesson

In this banjo lesson we’ll take a look at a method to play Blues Backup using the 7th chords and walking lines following the chords in the 12 bar blues, played in G. If you’ve been learning the blues licks from the previous lessons here, this lesson will be perfect for you to develop blues ideas for backing up other musicians. Go to lesson...

Childgrove: Banjo Lesson

In this banjo lesson we’ll take a look at Childgrove; a traditional English Country Dance. This arrangement is in the key of Am and it’s a great tune for the advancing beginner/intermediate picker, with 2 variations that use both the single-string & melodic techniques. Played at a slow/medium tempo, we’ll focus on the right-hand fingering needed to play both the techniques as we work our way through the tune. Go to lesson...

Blues Shuffle: Banjo Lesson

G’day! In this banjo lesson we’ll take a look at a Blues Shuffle using the blues scale, major blues scale and arpeggios for the chords in the 12 bar blues, played in G, plus we’ll also learn a number of licks to suit these chords.

This is the fourth blues lesson for the banjo, make sure you start with Blues Scale: Banjo Lesson where we cover some of the scales and arpeggios we’ll be using, plus there are a bunch more licks to learn first! Go to lesson...

Star of Munster: Single-String Banjo Lesson

G’day! In this Star of Munster: Single-String Banjo Lesson, we’ll take a look at an arrangement of this traditional Celtic reel for the intermediate picker. The arrangement is played in standard tuning, in the key of Am (dorian mode).

A feature of this arrangement is the use of the single-string technique, which makes for a great picking study, but also gives the tune a real drive. Go to lesson...