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“Will the Circle Be Unbroken” comes from the Carter Family and is one of the most well-known bluegrass and old-time country songs. As with the last couple of lessons, you’ll learn to create a melody-based solo to “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” in the key of D using the L shapes, arpeggios, and double stops. Sharon shows you how to harmonize the melody with double stops in this video.
Learn to play a solo on the bluegrass/folk/gospel standard “I’ll Fly Away” in the key of D. Sharon gives you advice on finding the melody of the song you want to build a solo for, and shows you the basic melody and chords of the verse and chorus of “I’ll Fly Away.” Then she shows you how to harmonize the melody with double stops, using the “short” and “long” double stops you’ve already learned. She also shows you a couple of simple “kickoffs,” one for the verse and one for the chorus.
The song “Nine Pound Hammer” is one of the most popular bluegrass jam songs, and is played in a few different keys. The version you’ll learn here is in the key of D, so Sharon starts by reminding you of the L shapes, arpeggio patterns, and double stops in the key of D. Then she walks you through the melody and chords of the verse and chorus of “Nine Pound Hammer”and shows you how to add double stops to the basic melody. She also shows you a typical Bill Monroe ending lick and gives you advice on practicing the solo in different keys.
“I’m on My Way Back to the Old Home” is a bluegrass standard, written by Bill Monroe. You’ll learn the melody and a basic double-stop solo in the key of D. Before showing you the melody, Sharon reminds you of the “L shape” in the key of D and arpeggios for D, G, and A. Then she shows you how to create a simple solo to “I’m on My Way Back to the Old Home” with a kickoff and double stops.
“Will the Circle Be Unbroken” comes from the Carter Family and is one of the most well-known bluegrass and old-time country songs. As with the last couple of lessons, you’ll learn to create a melody-based solo to “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” in the key of D using the L shapes, arpeggios, and double stops.
The bluegrass standard “Long Journey Home” comes from the Monroe Brothers: Bill Monroe and his brother Charlie, and was recorded by them in 1936. You’ll learn it here in the key of G using the same shapes you’ve been using in the key of D, but over a string. Sharon explains how to move everything you’ve learned so far to the key of G, showing you where the roots, arpeggios, and double stops are. After showing you the chords and basic melody of “Long Journey Home,” she walks you through a double-stop solo.
Bill Monroe recorded the song “On and On,” which has become a bluegrass standard, in the key of A, so that’s where you’ll learn it, using the L shapes, arpeggios, and double stops you’ve used for the keys of G and D. It is, of course, common to play solos in open position in the key of A, but it’s good to know the up-the-neck shapes in A (with your index finger at the seventh fret) so you can easily move between the two positions. Before showing you the basic melody of “On and On” Sharon shows you the L shapes and arpeggios in the key of A. Then she shows you how to harmonize the melody of “On and On” with double stops, giving you a few ideas about alternate rhythms in your phrasing.
Sharon uses the bluegrass standard “Bury Me Beneath the Willow” to show you how to move out of the basic closed-position fingerings you’ve been learning to other nearby positions. After showing you the basic melody of “Bury Me Beneath the Willow,” Sharon shows you how to harmonize the melody with double stops, some melodic embellishments, and a typical Bill Monroe ending lick.
Sharon uses the folk and bluegrass standard “In the Pines” to show you another common way to move out of the closed-position L-shape fingerings you’ve been learning. “In the Pines” is in waltz time (3/4) and you’ll learn it in the key of D. After walking you through the melody and showing you how it relates to the chord progression, Sharon shows you how to harmonize the melody of “In the Pines” with double stops and some melodic embellishments, showing you where you can move out of the L shape to a nearby double stop. She also gives you ideas for starting to improvise and create variations on the solo.
Sharon revisits the two extensions you’ve learned (places you can move out of the basic closed position fingering), using the Flatt and Scruggs song “Your Love Is Like a Flower.” In addition to showing you how to harmonize the melody of “Your Love Is Like a Flower” with double stops, Sharon shows you how to vary the basic double-stop solo solo with melodic embellishments, rhythmic variations, sliding double stops, Monroe licks, and more.
In this lesson, you’ll learn a solo to the bluegrass classic “Sitting on Top of the World” in the key of B, which is not an unusual key for bluegrass bands. Sharon starts by showing you which open strings can be used in the key of B and the closed-position L shapes, scales, double stops, and arpeggio patterns in the key of B. Then she shows you the basic melody and chords of “Sitting on Top of the World,” how to harmonize the melody of with double stops, and how to vary the basic double-stop solo solo for “Sitting on Top of the World” with melodic variations, seventh chord double stops, Monroe licks, and more.
Learn a solo to the folk and bluegrass classic “Banks of the Ohio” that was played by Ricky Skaggs on Tony Rice’s first Rounder record. The solo is in the key of F, so Sharon starts by going over the closed-position L-shapes, double stops, and arpeggios in the key of F. Then she shows you the basic melody and chord progression, before walking you through Ricky Skaggs’s solo, which is based out of the same closed positions you’re been learning but introduces a few new things, including a new double-stop extension and tremolo based on triplets.
The bluegrass classic “Dark Hollow” is often played in the key of C, so that’s where you’ll learn it. Sharon starts by going over the closed-position L-shapes, arpeggio patterns, and double stops in the key of C as well as a closed-position C major scale. After walking you through the melody of “Dark Hollow,” pointing out the relationship between the notes of the melody and the chords that are accompanying it, Sharon shows you how to dress up the melody by using double stops and creating licks out of double stop shapes.
“The Last Thing on My Mind” is a folk song written by Tom Paxton, but became a bluegrass standard after recordings by Doc Watson, Tony Rice, and others. Sharon often played it with Tony in the Rowan/Rice Quartet. In this lesson, you’ll learn to play solos on the verse and chorus of “The Last Thing on My Mind” in the key of D.
The Osborne Brothers classic “Big Spike Hammer” uses the “six minor chord,” often noted as a vi chord, and Sharon uses it to show you how the vi is related to the I and IV. You’ll learn the arpeggios and double stops of the iv chord in the key of B and a solo to “Big Spike Hammer” in B.
“Down in the Willow Garden” is a traditional folk ballad that has long been a part of the bluegrass repertoire. This lesson builds on the patterning for the vi chord (in this case, Am in the key of C) and how it relates to the I, IV, and V chord positions.
Sharon uses the folk and bluegrass classic “Keep on the Sunny Side” to show you a new double stop and a series of double stops that occur in many songs. You’ll learn to play a solo in double stops on the verse of “Keep on the Sunny Side” in this lesson, which will be followed by the chorus in the next lesson.
As promised, you’ll learn a solo to the chorus of “Keep on the Sunny Side” in this lesson. Sharon starts by showing you the basic melody and then walks you through a double stop solo on the chorus that includes the double stop series she talked about in the last lesson.
In this lesson you’ll learn to play a double-stop solo to the folk classic “Freight Train” in the key of Bb. “Freight Train” has an unusual chord—a major chord on the third step of the scale, so in the key of Bb, that’s a D.
In this lesson, you’ll learn a solo to the bluegrass classic “Will the Roses Bloom (Where She Lies Sleeping)” in the key of D using a new double stop series and a new territory on the neck up at the tenth fret.
“Little Maggie” is a traditional bluegrass song that is associated with both Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley. “Little Maggie” uses the “flat seven chord”: an F chord in the key of G, which is where you’ll learn “Little Maggie” in this lesson. The solo you’ll learn combines double stops with some bluesy licks.
In this lesson, you’ll learn a fiddle solo played by Tater Tate on Bill Monroe’s 1989 recording of “Love, Please Come Home” from Monroe’s Live at the Opry album. The song is played in the key of B and uses the flat seven chord: an A chord in the key of B. The solo uses the major-pentatonic scale, which is easily played out of closed position.
“I Know What It Means to Be Lonesome” is an old song from the early 20th century that became a bluegrass standard through versions by Flatt and Scruggs, the Osborne Brothers, and others. It has a “circle of fifths” (VI–II–V–I) progression, in which all the chords are major chords. In the key of C major, that means the chords are A–D–G–C.
In these next lessons you’ll learn how to connect closed positions and open positions so you can play solos in different parts of the fingerboard.
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to connect closed positions and open positions using the song “I’ll Fly Away” in the key of D, which you’ve already learned in closed position in another lesson.
In the previous lesson, Sharon showed you a two octave solo on “I’ll Fly Away” that moved from open position to a closed position in the upper octave and how to transition between the two positions. In this lesson, Sharon shows you a solo that does the reverse, starting in the upper octave and moving down to the lower open- position melody.
