Your brain is learning Skip To My Lou even when you're doing something else! " Our first three-chord song is one I think you'll know-You Are My Sunshine by Jimmy Davis, former governor of Louisiana, and Charles Mitchell. One of my local students came in the other day and said, "I can't get Skip To My Lou out of my mind! If someone were to ask you how you know when to change, you might say (as so many bluegrass players do), "I don't know. Like many bluegrass songs, the verses in You Are My Sunshine have the same chord progression as the chorus.
All you need to know are your G, C, and D chords. I remember when I was first listening to Gamble Rogers, the folksinger who changed my life. What is the Brainjo Method? June 2006: First Three-Chord Song. Some of the bluegrass classics have only two chords: Katy Daley, Get in Line Brother, Where the Soul Never Dies, Ashes of Love, I Feel Like Traveling On. We'll be using C in the first position (found in any beginning banjo instruction-you could probably Google it! ) Of course, they did it in the key of D (using D tuners), and that's a whole nuther subject. Gene Autry sang this classic song in his movie Back in the Saddle again. Back to G on "love. " Hmmm, maybe we could talk about transposing sometime… the chording part…hmmm. ) As a prerequisite, the major ornamentation you need to know is a pull-off. I want you to work out the possibilities by yourself. The You are my Sunshine banjo tab comes in PDF format.
You Are My Sunshine – get the tab. Also, if you've been working with the other songs, your ear is developing. 10 EASY but AWESOME banjo tabs (free). If not, you've been slacking! I'm going to be talking a lot about hearing chord changes at the camps I'll be doing this summer. Which are open 4th, open 3rd, and second fret on 3rd. Tom Adams also recorded the tune on his Right Hand Man CD. So I had Gamble's songs going through my mind constantly. Please don't take my sunshine away. Doing songs with three chords doesn't change the process, it just gives you more chords to choose from. That's the best thing that could be happening. Because then you'll just go by the rules and always try C first.
Since you've got the hang of working with two chords, let's bring in the C chord. But enough about me…. And look out for patterns. Common Ground, Westminster, MD, July 2-8. If the sounds are the same, likely the chord changes are the same, too. Now, there are "scads and oodadlins" of bluegrass songs that start in G and then go to C. It's a very common change. Banjo Song and Tab of the Week. BREAKTHROUGH BANJO COURSE. The TAB uses only a few basic banjo rolls-your forward roll and alternating thumb roll. Having these songs go through your head day and night seems to be part of the learning process. It just seems like the chord should change there.
I can't recommend it, but I was, like, totally on the wrong path and Gamble was my wakeup call. ) Is your family sick of hearing Skip To My Lou, Polly Wolly Doodle, and Go Tell Aunt Rhody? You'll receive the file IMMEDIATELY via email. After that, you're on your own! Hello, all you hard-working chord changers out there! Delete, delete, delete. They come before the first beat of the song, the "down beat. "
Online Banjo Lessons - Learn banjo today! You can play almost all of the bluegrass songs ever written! 9 Ways to Practice Smarter (FREE book & video). Then sing the pickup notes and hit your G chord on the word "sun. " California Bluegrass Camp, Grass Valley, CA, June 11-14.