Banjo Progressions

This course is comprised of a highly detailed series of 13 lessons, each featuring one or two specific techniques, broken down in a clear concise way.

Each lesson begins with the tune being played as it naturally would be played in a session.  The tutor then demonstrates and discusses the technique relevant to the tune before going on to teach the tune phrase by phrase.  At the end of each lesson, the tune is played slowly with the focus on the technique that was taught in the lesson. Each lesson is structured in this way to carefully flesh out the tune and the corresponding highlighted techniques, ultimately bringing them together in such a way as to not only train you in being able to play the technique but to train your ear to be able to recognise and incorporate them at the most optimal moments in a tune. In this way, you can begin to develop your own style of playing.

Using the 13 different tunes (listed below), the following techniques will be covered:

• How to use triplets to imitate rolls
• Fitting triplet runs into a tune
• Chromatic triplets
• Sliding up the fret for colour and effect
• How to use pull-offs to mimic cuts and rolls
• Trill effects on the banjo – a legato embellishment
• Using the fourth finger for the sixth fret
• Consecutive downstrokes for Polka rhythm
• Double stops
• Position shifts
• Scotch snaps

The traditional Irish tunes taught are: