banjomikey - Posted - 10/25/2009:  07:58:26

Hey all,
I've been rehearsing with a group to get ready for an upcoming gig. This is my first gig with them, and my first "real" gig. I'm starting to feel the heat since there is only myself, a singer, and a rhythm guitar player who does not take breaks. I have to take every single solo. We had been practicing a song in C, and since it's a hard-driving song, I decided to capo at the 5th fret. Now they have decided to change it to the key of D. I really hate the sound of capoing at the 7th fret. I can play some songs in the key of D without a capo, but others escape me. I'm much more comfortable with songs that have melodies like Mtn Dew, Long Journey Home, etc. The song that I need to relearn would start with the classic pickup 1-2-3 on the second string into a 2-3 hammer. The only thing that I can think of to start the song is to start at the F position D chord at the 12th fret. Any other ideas? I also have a harder time "driving" since I can't use all of my open strings. Should I just use the open D strings and fret the G string to A and try to roll like I was playing in open G? Any comments, suggestions, or ideas are welcome. Thanks!

Mike

You can pick your nose and you can pick your banjo, but you can't roll banjos into little balls and flick em.

Texasbanjo - Posted - 10/25/2009:  08:11:31

Have you ever tried capoing up 2 and playing out of C? I do that a lot when playing in the key of D. For me, it's easier than using the open D chords and you have that open G that you can play around with and it's fairly easy to find a lot bluegrass type licks using a C chord. Not much you can do with the F chord unless you want to go melodic. Just a thought.

Let's Pick!
Texas Banjo

Axeman79 - Posted - 10/25/2009:  08:28:33

Texas Banjo,

Are you saying to re-tune to C Chord and then Capo to D at the 2nd fret?

Axeman

If the minimum wasn't good enough...it wouldn't be the minimum.

banjomikey - Posted - 10/25/2009:  09:02:56

no, she is saying to capo at the second fret and play out of a C position instead of playing out of G. If the capo is on 2 and you're holding a C, the actual chord is a D.

Mike

You can pick your nose and you can pick your banjo, but you can't roll banjos into little balls and flick em.

minstrelmike - Posted - 10/25/2009:  09:24:06

Here's how I practice picking in D out of open G
Spike the 5th fret up to A
That's all.
Your home chord is 0230 (not 4234). Use those open D strings.
========================
Picking Practice

Practice picking only on the 1st, 2nd and 5th strings.
Only fret the 2nd string with a single finger (to start).
The marked dots are your pentatonic scale so start there just picking and then see if you can work out Home Sweet Home or Grandfather's Clock (you'll only need one note off the 3rd string).

From there, it's fairly easy to work out fancy breaks with chords and things, but if you can track the D scale on the 2nd string, you can play entire breaks just using the single finger and a forward roll.
====================

Work out Amazing Grace in that position and you'll have almost all the notes you need for Mountain Dew and those songs. Then get _one_ of those down in D and all the other similar ones are right there at your fingertips.

Mike Moxcey
http://moxcey.net/mike/minstrel/index.html

minstrelmike - Posted - 10/25/2009:  09:34:16

Take Two.
If you like the 3-string picking with open 1st and 5th strings, you can unspike the 5th and do the same thing in the key of G (except the dotted frets are no longer the pentatonic scale). This approach tends to open up the neck for people to become more melodic with the bluegrass-style picking.

=========================
Pay attention to how your known licks are locked into chord positions.
Any G lick at the 7-9 frets is played out of D-shape chord: 9789

This means you can move it down to D 4234 if you want to try licks.
I don't like that approach so well but it works for lick-oriented folks to get started.

Every single lick that is played up-the-neck is played out of a chord (general and basic licks) and every major chord on the banjo falls into one of three shapes. The regular places you hit the neck out of an F-shape chord or barre chord or D-shape chord are still valid places to hit the neck no matter which fret you are actually playing the chord shape on.

Mike Moxcey
http://moxcey.net/mike/minstrel/index.html

The KIDD - Posted - 10/25/2009:  09:45:16

Hey Mike,

Judging from your most recent recording of KY Mando (that Ive heard), Id say your ready to start exploring other keys on fretboard in open G. You'll have alot more note availability than in C pos. You'll have more chromatic (1/2step) possiblites and note choice covering a 3 fret span than 2. This will be MUCH more useful if you ever get into jazz/swing genre for tunes like AL. Jubilee, Sweet Ga Brown etc. and all your Rags. ALOT better for Rock and Country as well and if ya wanna become Renoistic. Most of the time when Im playin hard drivin Scruggs Style , Ill have the 5th tuned to A. Exploring D in this postion will have you thinkin outside the box using notes on frets not used before for D when playin out of G or C. Really the whole freboard will become more of an "open book "to ya becuase you'll be discovering some things about A and Minor chords you havent seen yet as well..Just knudgin ya a bit to take the plunge..Do it while your YOUNG..

http://www.myspace.com/johnkuhnbluegrass

Edited by - The KIDD on 10/25/2009 20:54:09

Texasbanjo - Posted - 10/25/2009:  12:01:07

Axeman,what I'm saying is: capo up 2, capo the 5th up 2 and then use the C,Fand G chords -- with the banjo capoed up 2, it will make the chords sound like they are D, G, A. You have the open G to do G licks in and there are many excellent C licks that can be used so all you have to work around the F chord -- which, unless you go melodic or do closed chord licks, you can't do a lot with except roll or pinch.

Let's Pick!
Texas Banjo

DaveInCA - Posted - 10/25/2009:  20:36:19

>it will make the chords sound like they are D, G, A.

Cuz they *are* D, G, and A. ;-)

Dave

banjomikey - Posted - 10/28/2009:  09:39:30

thanks everyone for all your help.

Mike

You can pick your nose and you can pick your banjo, but you can't roll banjos into little balls and flick em.

timcarter57 - Posted - 10/28/2009:  10:04:28

Hey Mike... the rule is: there is no rule... I remember Doug Dillard of the Dillards used to capo to the 7th fret all the time... I just played on Hank3's new cd and did it myself.. it worked for the tune. Most of the time if a tune is in D I will either capo the 5th string to A or capo the banjo on the 2nd fret and play in C.

www.myspace.com/timcarter57
www.carterbrothersband.com
www.myspace.com/carterbrothers