“Will the Circle Be Unbroken?,” Key of A, Part 1

from: Folk and Bluegrass Songs for Fiddle with Lauren Rioux

This lesson is part of the course Folk and Bluegrass Songs for Fiddle with Lauren Rioux.

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Learn to craft your own fiddle solos to folk and bluegrass songs by creating melodic and rhythmic interest using pickups, double stops, licks, and fills. You’ll work through each song in multiple keys so you can become comfortable with transposition on the fly, a crucial component for successful jamming.

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“Worried Man Blues” Key of D

One of the ways you can start embellishing melodies is by varying the pickups to lines of the melody. In “Worried Man Blues” the vocal pickup is just one word/note: “it.” In this video, Lauren shows you how you can start varying the pickup rhythmically and melodically.

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The Folk and Bluegrass Songs for Fiddle Subscription Includes:

An in-depth method for creating solos to folk and bluegrass songs by using pickups, fills, blues notes, double stops, and more
Solos to popular folk and bluegrass songs like “Worried Man Blues,” “Bury Me Beneath the Willow,” “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” and more
All songs taught in four different keys
Detailed notation for all lessons
Slow and fast Play-Along Tracks in multiple keys for each song
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“Will the Circle Be Unbroken?,” Key of A

“Will the Circle Be Unbroken?,” Key of A, Part 1

“Will the Circle Be Unbroken?,” Key of A, Part 2: Run Through

“Will the Circle Be Unbroken?,” Key of A, Part 1

The Carter Family reworked Ada Habershon and Charles Gabriel’s hymn “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” and recorded it in 1935 as “Can the Circle Be Unbroken?”. “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” was the title track of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s 1973 album, which introduced a generation to bluegrass and old-time music. The version of the song on that album featured a cast of country music legends, with Maybelle Carter, Jimmy Martin, and Roy Acuff trading verses backed by Earl Scruggs, Vassar Clements, Doc Watson, Merle Travis, and others. You’ll learn the melody and solo ideas first in the key of A, with solo ideas including fiddle fills, the “son of a gun I’m tired” pickup, blue thirds and fifths, drones, and a bluegrassy ending.

Will the circle be unbroken
By and by Lord, by and by?
There’s a better home awaiting
In the sky, Lord, in the sky

“Will the Circle Be Unbroken?,” Key of A, Notation (Available to subscribers)

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