https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/john-henry-basic-banjo
This is the basic melody to “John Henry” in the key of G, a PERFECT project for someone unfamiliar with the tune or who is just starting banjo. After you get this down, don’t forget to check out the intermediate version!
Any chance of a background track between 160 and 220 BPM? I’m having trouble making the leap in tempos.
Hey Tim,
You can use the .tef tab files to play backup for you at any speed you desire. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzS9NxVuNbg
Hi Tim, welcome to the forum.
Another option is to use slow down software such as Transcribe which can play audio at whatever speed you like while maintaining pitch and tone.
I’m not touting this particular app over others for any reason. It’s just what I use. I’m not sure how it compare with other similar apps. Just google “slow down software” to see what’s available.
Any tips on hitting the end of measure 25 faster, i.e. the two bits? Accuracy is terrible trying to hit the index and pinky down at speed. I tried laying the pinky down first and then using the index for the beginning of measure 25 and then dropping it straight down but still a mess.
Is there anything similar to Transpose for the Mac? Also, when Ben does the lead in and says “one, two, one, two, three, four, one…” the last ones that he does faster… those are quarter notes correct? I’ve been trying to slow this down to something faster than the slow video but slower than the 160BPM as I am stuck in the middle I believe and not sure how to do it. I thought about trying the TEF file, but that doesn’t give you much time to hit play, get your picks back on, and grab the banjo and start playing. It would be nice if all the TEF files had a full one measure lead in before the TAB starts.
Hi John,
I am not a mac guy, but there are many pieces of software you can use to slow down an audio file, the first that comes to mind is garageBand. GarageBand does much more, but there are also apps that just alter the speed of audio playback. A search should get a bunch of results, but I don’t know of any particular one to suggest. You are correct on the count in.
Thanks Mike. I do have Garageband… I haven’t used it much and was not aware it could pull an MP3 in and adjust the rate without altering the pitch.
In Miss Maggie’s post of September 2019, she mentions Transcribe. That is what I use on my Mac.
I couldn’t get the dumb thing to work. I’ll have to figure something else out. It loaded up into GB just fine, but no sound. Not sure what the deal was.
On another note, In John Henry, why all the alternate fingerings? What I mean by that is take the first three notes in the 2nd measure… why play them on two strings, when one would do? I know on the Sax we used alternate fingerings, but only because they would sound different. On the banjo, if your banjo is in tune, and your bridge is set properly, they should sound exactly the same. In measure 8 the same thing happens with the 3rd and 4th note (both D). Is there any reason you could not just use one string?
Sorry for all the goofy questions, just trying to figure out these things. Some of these I find really trip me up and it would be easier to just stick with one string vs two, but maybe there is a really good reason for using two strings. So please let me know as I’m all new to this.
Thanks!
Yes, and I’ve stopped doing that b/c it does confuse some folks. It’s the way drummers will typically count in a song, though.
The tef files I’ve created over the last couple years have a 2 measure click intro to help with that.
I use the Amazing Slowdowner you can find here, well worth the price (it’s for Mac): https://ronimusic.com/
