Vamping, Part 1: The F Shape

This lesson is part of the course Bluegrass Banjo with Bill Evans.

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Learn to make your banjo drive the band or play sweet melodies, with solos to well-known songs and tunes, backup techniques, and more.

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Blue Ridge Cabin Home

In this lesson, you’ll start adding roll patterns to the melody of “Blue Ridge Cabin Home.” Every melody has a rhythm and when Earl Scruggs was working out his breaks, he tried to keep the melody’s rhythm intact as he added the roll patterns, letting the melody dictate what kind of roll to use. Bill shows you some ideas for choosing rolls. For example, if you have a melody note that’s held out for a long time you can try a forward roll, and when the melody notes are closer together you can try an alternating thumb roll or a forward reverse roll. Bill walks you through an entire solo here, with embellishments and fill-in licks.

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Vamping

Vamping, Part 1: The F Shape

Vamping, Part 2: The D Shape

Vamping, Part 1: The F Shape

In this lesson you’ll learn an accompaniment technique called “vamping.” Vamping involves using movable chords, and in this lesson you’ll learn the F shape. Bill shows you a vamping pattern you can use in a jam session when you want to get out of the way of the other instruments, but still provide some rhythmic support. This is a great technique behind a mandolin or guitar solo, for example, or to back up another banjo player. Bill shows you where the G, C, and D chords are with the F shape and then plays a slow version of “Roll In My Sweet Baby’s Arms” so you can vamp along with him.

Vamping with the F Shape (Available to subscribers)

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Vamping, Part 2: The D Shape →

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← “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” Play-Along Track

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Vamping, Part 2: The D Shape →

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