Make Up Your Own Banjo Solos – 2 Volume Set (Save $10)

Learn how to create convincing banjo solos, both “on the fly” in jam sessions and with more precision in your practice time. Here’s the alternative to total dependence on tab and memorizing other people’s arrangements.

Close-ups of both hands and a printable tab booklets make every note clear!

Part 1: First-position solos in the key of G

Even novice pickers will easily follow Pete’s gradual approach to soloing. He starts with the basics – simple chords and rolls – showing you how to instantly play a “placeholder” solo, the simplest way to step out in a jam situation with only the chords to go by. He gradually builds in “filler” content – simple moves and phrases adding variety and believability.

On five bluegrass standards, Pete shows you how to hunt down a song’s melody notes and create a full-fledged arrangement featuring the recognizable melody. The addition of appealing licks, lead-ins, tags and other embellishments will give your solos polish and interest.

Solos for:

• Handsome Molly
• Wabash Cannonball
• Roll In My Sweet Baby’s Arms
• Will the Circle Be Unbroken
• Man of Constant Sorrow

Players at all levels will benefit from the user-friendly information that Pete imparts in this groundbreaking video lesson. Whether you’re a beginner or a veteran picker, Pete gives you the tools you need to build your improvisational and composing skills.

Part 2: Keys of D, C, F, and up the neck in G

Learn how to create convincing solos in common but challenging keys such as D, C, and F, without a capo. Use many of the same ideas to put together solos up the neck in G. Pete makes it easy to learn how to combine melodies and roll patterns – so you can learn to do it on any song!

Pete explores nine bluegrass standards, taking each song’s melody and showing how to weave it into smooth rolls for a full arrangement highlighting the recognizable tune. The addition of appealing licks, bluesy variations and other embellishments will give your solos polish and interest.

In D, no capo, G tuning:

• Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms
• As I Went Down to the Valley to Pray
• Angeline the Baker
• Colleen Malone
• Country Blues
• New River Train (C)
• Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow (C Tuning)
• Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down (F)
• Will the Circle Be Unbroken (G up the neck)