Hey brother
He is following the scale of G
You go up to the root means you play starting from the low D (open string) up to G --> D - D - E - G
and then back down, means from that G back to the low D (open string), backwards G-G-E-D
Discuss the Banjo lesson: Banjo Make-a-Break, Featuring Tex Critter
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FULL SCALE : Gmaj7- Am7 - Bm7 - Cmaj7 - D7 - Em7- Fm7#b5
Degrees of Major G Scale:
G maj7 (root)
D m7 (Second)
B m7 (Third)
C maj7 (fourth)
D 7 (Fifth)
Em7 (Sixth)
F#m 7 b5 (Seventh)
THe minor / major 7ths Dom7th are there as a reference for chord building, but you can ignore that for now and focus on the single notes of the scale, they will still be the same distance (degrees) G-A-B-C-D-E-F#
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Think I got it Frank. So rather than calling chords, Heās giving the melody to use as a reference to build the solo?
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yes
He is building the solo over the G scale and then he is singing about where he is going to
Ar-pe-gio for example means he is playing Root-Third-Fifth degree notes of the G scale, in this song he followed that exact order playing G-B-D
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Got itā¦Thank Frank.
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Just watched the lesson. Ben explained it succinctly. Should have watched the lesson before asking. 
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What team is that Cardinal Banjo from?
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The Springfield Cardinals, AA minor league for St. Louis. We sponsored a bluegrass night at the parkāJake threw out the opening pitch and I have to find the video somewhere! https://www.milb.com/springfield
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Ben, as a guitar player I really enjoyed this lesson!! Loved Tex Critter!! Iām using this lesson as a template to figure out breaks to songs I donāt know. Would you do the same type of lesson with guitar?
Thank you,
Jerry Scribner
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Welcome @jerryscribner !
Iāve been doing the same with this lesson - but on mandolin. Hope to see you around here some more, thereās a bunch of great folks on the forum side!
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Hey Jerry! Welcome to the board! You know, that Tex has a way of getting what he wants. It wouldnāt surprise me if he gets some sweet solos out of the other instruments too. 
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Love that new feller, Tex.
Great approach to the new lesson. Got me practising AND laughing.
Glad I signed onto the Gold Membership years ago.
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Sensational Ben, You are an outstanding musician. Simply the best on the planet.
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Is this something that can be applied to Mandolin in terms of making a break??? Maybe Texās cousin Bill Mon Oh?
Thanks
DLS
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So, do you suggest tabbing out the melody then rolls then licks? I want to get to the point where I can do this without writing them down but finding it hard to do just keeping it in my head.
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I think the point of the lesson is to progress at getting away from tab. So you can familiarize yourself with the scale and figure out the basic melody, which is the easiest part to remember. Once you know the melody inside and out, then you can add some rolls that fit with the timing. (You donāt need to memorize the rolls as in, āforward here, square roll hereā, etc for the whole songā instead, think about the timing, and the rolls will feel more natural.) Once you have that down, you can reach into your good olā bag oā licks and spice it up.
This whole process may take a very long time for just a single break. BUT, the more you do this, the faster you get at it. Eventually, youāll be able to work out a break in just a few minutes. Then, youāll be able to do it after two or three hearings of the song. AND THEN, in a somewhat shocking and unbelievable moment, youāll hear a song that youāve never heard beforeā¦ and find yourself playing a perfectly acceptable banjo break.
Godspeed on your journey!
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Michael, thanks for the help. One thing I struggle with is when I have notes that are around the C shape, especially when they are at the beginning of the measure. For example, Iāve spent the last several days getting the melody down to āIf I loseā. Iāve been using a Ricky Skaggs rendition of this from youtube and have the melody down pretty well. However, getting things to roll around these notes, Iām finding difficult.
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If youāre having trouble playing along with that in C position, it may be because Jim Mills (banjo player on the recording) is playing capoed 5. So heās actually playing out of G position, which may be confusing if youāre playing out of open C position.
If you are capoed 5 and are referring to the C shape while capoed, I think Ben has a Bag oā Licks for G to C transitions.
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Oh wow! That did the trick, thanks! Iāve done this thing on songs before but I really want to get better at it. Iām going to try to do ten pretty basic songs like this and hopefully see improvement by the end.
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