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In this video, Bill shows you how to add the forward-reverse roll to the melody of “Worried Man Blues,” which you learned to play in an earlier lesson. You’ll be relieved to know that there isn’t a hard-and-fast rule about getting every single melody note into your solo. Your ear will fill in some of the missing notes, and the rolls will maintain the momentum of your solo.
| Two Essential Banjo Rolls |
| Two Essential Banjo Rolls, Part 3: The Alternating Thumb Roll |
You’ll learn the basic alternating thumb roll and a few variations in this video. Sometimes called “the thumb in-and-out roll,” this finger pattern goes thumb, index, thumb, middle, thumb, index, thumb, middle (t i t m t i t m). Note the strict alternating thumb in this roll. Bluegrass banjo players favor this roll when key melody notes fall on the first and third beats of the measure.
