SPLITTING THE LICKS, Davis. 2CD TABLATURE
Product Description:
Leads the banjo player step-by-step through working out songs for the five-string banjo from basic melodies in both Scruggs/bluegrass style and melodic/chromatic style. Each section contains exercises and examples for improvising. Furthermore, this book teaches how to arrange music based on concepts of combining rolls and licks. Janet Davis' books are praised because they teach so well! This is one of her finest. In tablature. Includes a CD.
Song Title: Composer/Source:
Banjo Joe
Bill Cheatham
Blackberry Blossom
Bury Me Beneath The Willow
Cripple Creek
Cumberland Gap
Devil's Dream
Fire On The Mountain
Goin' Down That Road Fellin' Bad (Aka Lonesome Roa
Grandfather's Clock
Hamilton County Breakdown
Jesse James
John Hardy
Nine Pound Hammer
Old Joe Clark
Red Haired Boy
Red River Valley
Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms
Sailor's Hornpipe
Salt River
The Eighth Of January
Train 45
Turkey In The Straw
Under The Double Eagle
Wabash Cannonball
Walking Cane
Whoa Mule
Wildwood Flower
Worried Man Blues
Mel Bay Presents
Improvising and Arranging Songs on the 5-String Banjo
by Janet Davis
Cover photo is a picture of a handcrafted Liberty Banjo. Use of the photo is courtesy of The Liberty Banjo Company,
CD Contents
Disk 1
Introduction
Accent Patterns
Rhythm Patterns
Roll Patterns
Begnning Licks
Fill-in Licks-G Chord
G Chord Licks
C Chord Licks
D Chord Licks
A Chord Licks
F, B, & Em Chord Licks
Worried Man Blues
Forward Roll
other Rolls
Fill-In Rolls
Left-Hand Tech.
with Backup
Bury Me Beneath the Willow
Forward Roll
other Rolls
Fill-In Rolls
left-Hand Tech
with Backup
Red River Valley
Forward Roll
other Rolls
Fill-In Rolls
left-Hand Tech
with Backup
Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms
Forward Roll
other Rolls
Fill-In Rolls
left-Hand Tech
with Backup
Goin' Down That Road Feelin'
Forward Roll
other Rolls
Fill-In Rolls
left-Hand Tech
with Backup
Walking Cane
Forward Roll
other Rolls
Fill-In Rolls
left-Hand Tech
with Backup
Wildwood Flower
Forward Roll
other Rolls
Fill-In Rolls
left-Hand Tech
with Backup
Cripple Creek
Forward Roll
other Rolls
Fill-In Rolls
left-Hand Tech
with Backup
Cumberland Gap
Forward Roll
other Rolls
Fill-In Rolls
left-Hand Tech
with Backup
Jesse James
Forward Roll
other Rolls
Fill-In Rolls
left-Hand Tech
with Backup
Grandfather's Clock
Forward Roll
other Rolls
Fill-In Rolls
left-Hand Tech
with Backup
Disk 2
Circular Scale
G Major Scale
C Major Scale
D Major Scale
A, F,& E Minor Scale
G Chord Licks
C Chord Licks
D Chord Licks
A Chord Licks
F Chord& E Minor Licks
Ending Licks- G-D-
Ending Licks- D-
Ending Licks- A-D-F, C-D-G
The Eighth of January
-with Backup
Banjo Joe
-with Backup
Bill Cheatham
-with Backup
Devil's Dream
-with Backup
Blackberry Blossom
-with Backup
Sailor's Hornpipe
-with Backup
Red Haired Boy
-with Backup
Turkey in the Straw
-with Backup
Fire on the Mountain
-with Backup
Cripple Creek
-2nd Variation
-with Backup
John Hardy
-Melodic Variation
-with Backup
Old Joe Clark
-with Backup
-Melodic Variation
-with Backup
Exercise
Advanced G Chord Licks
2 Measure Licks in G
Advanced C Chord Licks
2 Measure Licks in C
Advanced D Chord Licks
2 Measure Licks in 0
Ending Licks- G-D-G
Worried Man Blues
-with Backup
-2nd Variation
-with Backup
-3rd Variation
-with Backup
Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms (2nd)
--with Backup
-3rd Variation
--with Backup
-4th Variation
--with Backup
Goin' Down That Road Feelin' Bad
-with Backup
-3rd Variation
-with Backup
-4th Variation
-with Backup
Whoa Mule (2nd)
-w.h Backup
-3rd Variation
-with Backup
-4th Variation
-with Backup
Wabash Cannonball (2nd)
-with Backup
-Advanced Licks
-with Backup
Nine Pound Hammer (2nd)
-with Backup
-3rd Variation
-with Backup
Train 45 (2nd)
-with Backup
-3rd Variation
--with Backup
-4th Variation
-with Backup
-5th Variation
-with Backup
Salt River (2nd)
-with Backup
-3rd Variation
-with Backup
Hamilton County Breakdown
-with Backup
-3rd Variation
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.
EXPLANATION OF TABLATURE & RHYTHM.
RHYTHM EXERCISES.
BLUEGRASS-STYLE-Discussion Of .
Standard Roll Patterns .
Fill-in Licks.
Arranging Songs-Steps To Follow.
Songs- Exercises on Improvising:
WORRIED MAN BLUES.
BURY ME BENEATH THE WILLOW .
RED RIVER VALLEY.
ROLL IN MY SWEET BABYS ARMS.
GOIN' DOWN THAT ROAD
FEELIN' BAD
WALKING CANE
WILDWOOD FLOWER. .
CRIPPLE CREEK . .
CUMBERLAND GAP. .
JESSE JAMES
GRANDFATHER'S CLOCK. .
MELODIC STYLE-Discussion Of. .
Scale Patterns. .
Fill-In Licks . .
Arranging Songs-Steps To Follow.
Songs- Exercises on Improvising:
THE EIGHTH OF JANUARY. .
BANJO JOE. .
BILL CHEATHAM. .
DEVIL'S DREAM. .
BLACKBERRY BLOSSOM
SAILOR'S HORNPIPE. RED HAIRED BOY.
TURKEY IN THE STRAW. .
FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN . .
CRIPPLE CREEK .
COMPARISON OF SCRUGGS-STYLE & MELODIC-STYLE.
Songs-One Arrangement in Each Style:
JOHN HARDY. .
OLD JOE CLARK. (See also "Cripple Creek", p. 35 & 67.)
COMBINING STYLES OF PLAYING.
Advanced Fill-In Licks. .
Arranging Songs-Steps To Follow. .
Songs Using Advanced Licks:
WORRIED MAN BLUES. .
ROLL IN MY SWEET BABYS ARMS. .
GOIN' DOWN THAT ROAD FEELIN' BAD. (also LONESOME ROAD BLUES).
WHOA MULE.
WABASH CANNONBALL
NINE POUND HAMMER
TRAIN 45.
SALT RIVER. .
HAMILTON COUNTY BREAKDOWN
UNDER THE DOUBLE EAGLE. . .
BUILDING ENDINGS FOR SONGS. .
Tag Endings. .
Two Measure Endings
CHORDS-Discussion Of.
Chord Charts:
Moveable Chord Chart for Major Chords
Major Chords
Minor Chords
Locating Chord Positions Without A Chart
FOREWORD
This book takes you through step hy st('p instructions on working out song for the 5-string banjo ii'om basic melodies in Bluegrass-style and in Melodic/Chromatic tyle. Each section also contains exercises and examples for improvising.
The first section and the second section deal with working out the basic arrangement of
a song. The exercises involve replacing the x's around the melody with notes. The last section
in the book deals with refining the arrangement of a song using advanced technique. This
section includes examples of songs showing how entire measures or licks can be replaced
with licks fi'om a sheet of suggested alternate, advanced licks.
All of the steps to arranging a song for the banjo discussed in this book, are based on the
fact that banjo arrangements are actually combinations of specific patterns, (rolls, or licks),
which moe played according to the chords in the song. This method of arranging songs has
worked well with my banjo students, and Ihope it will work for you also. Happy Pickin'
Janet Davis
P.S. 1983: SPLITTING THE LICKS has now been
expanded to include over twice as much material as was
contained in the-first edition, which was published in
1977. This edition could easily serve as a supplement to
the earlier edition, for those who have that edition. The
following pages include many new licks and many
additional songs which demonstrate the process of
building an arrangement of a song to be played on the
banjo. Also, the instructional material has been expanded
to include answers to questions from people who
studied the first edition of the book.
ITRODUCTION
To playa song on the 5-string banjo, you actually play combinations of finger pattern (also
referred to as rolls or licks). To improviseo or arrange a song on the banjo, you must work the
melody into these finger patterns, according to the chords of the song.
Before attempting to arrange a song on your own, you should be able to play several
arrangements (from tablature) of songs in the style you will use, in order to familiarize yourself
with the rhythm, the finger patterns, and the overall feeling of playing in this style.
This book will deal with two very popular styles of picking the banjo with three fingers:
1.) Bluegrass-Style-where the melody is surrounded by background notes.
2.) Melodic-Style (Chromatic)-where each note picked is essentially a melody note.
These styles can be combined within one song, or one song can be played entirely in one of
these styles.
One noticeable difference between each style of playing is the rhythm ... where the accent
(melody) or stress falls.
Comparison of Accent of the Two Styles
BLUEGRASS-STYLE
1st 4th 7th
MELODIC/CHROMATIC
1st 3rd 5th 7th
Note: stress the notes indicated with arrows. Generally your melody notes are these notes.
In learning these styles, it is best to learn them one at a time, so that you will become
familiar with the finger patterns particular to that style.
To improvise generally implies arranging on the spur of the moment. One musical dictionary
defines "improvise" as - to arrange, however. For the purposes of this book, the terms
"improvise" and "arrange" will refer to the same things.
TABLATURE -- The tablature format used in this book is fairly standard:
t, i, m, r, p= Left hand fingering: t=thumb; i=index; m=middle; r=ring; p=pinky.
It means to repeat (play again) what has just been played. (Return
to the previous 1/: if there is one. Otherwise, return to the beginning
and repeat the section.)
The five lines represent the five strings; the top line is the first string, and
the bottom line is the 5th string, (the short string).
The number tells you which fret to push down with your left hand. (0 means
open- -don't push the string down with the left hand when picking it with the
right hand).
The rhythm used in this book is based upon standard notation. If you already
understand rhythmic notation, all of the music in this book can be counted in
4/4 time, with each eighth note ( ) receiving 1/2 count. Each X equals an eighth
rest, and also receives 1/2 count. (Each measure contains eight 1/2 counts.)
The following explanation is for those who do not already know how to play the
rhythm of the notes. (For the sake of simplicity, it is explained in ~ time,
with each eighth note equaling 1 count.)
Each measure consists of 8 counts.
The measures are divided by bar lines.
H, P, Sl, Ch = are left hand techniques used for sounding the strings with the left hand; (the
right hand picks the note preceding them). -- ---
H means to hammer the fret indicated, by pushing down the string with the
left finger, hard enough to sound the tone.
-Emeans to pull off of the string from the fret before the one to be sounded by
the pull off, therefore sounding the tone indicated above the P.
SL means to sound the tone by sliding to the fret number above the Sl with the
-left finger(s) from the number before it.
Ch means to bend the string with the left finger, (do not pick the string with
the right hand, just bend it). (Ch=choke)
The STEMS under the notes (or numbers) tell you how long to let each note
ring:
= 1 count. Each eighth note receives one count. Eighth notes are written alone,
= 2 counts. Hold the tone played for the duration of two tones.
= ½ count. Play two sixteenth notes in the same amount of time you play one
eighth note:
= 1 count. (An eighth) rest indicates silence for the indicated duration.
(Pause for one count.)
Repeat sign.
OR- means to stress or accent this tone ... play it louder.
x = pause, do not play, for that count. (An x is a rest.)
NOTE: For more complete explanations of the above indications, refer to a beginning
banjo book.
T, I, M = are fingering indications for the right hand. M means pick the string with the
middle finger;-l means index finger; T meansthumb.
EXPLANA TION OF TABLATURE AND RHYTHM
Italiano
English
