Music Education

Learning Banjo - Frailing Backup Banjo

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Third String Bend (G chord)

What we're doing here is pretty close to the first lick, but by bending the string rather than playing a slide we can hold the note for a quarter note value and completely change the phrasing of the lick.

Other lick ideas can revolve around the idea of playing against open strings. "Phantom" Hammer-on (G chord)

The trick here is to play the second string and while the string is still ringing hammer on the third string at the second fret.

Here's another easy one: G Tag (G chord)

This is one of those really flexible licks. I do something different with it every time I use it, but this will at least give you something to work with. Try sliding into the first note. C Chord Run (C chord)

The only thing that might trip you up with this one is using your pinky. We don't use our little fingers much and as a result they tend to be kind of weak. Make this lick part of your daily practice routine for a while and build up your hand strength a bit.

Licks are a lot of fun to mess around with- but you don't want to rely on anybody else to come up with them for you. Part of finding your own voice on the banjo is going to revolve around just messing chords and playing with sounds.