https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/salt-creek-basic-intermediate-mandolin-beginner
That’s okay, you can keep yer floaties on at first, but it won’t be long before you’re diving in head first. Let’s start with the basic melody then creep out to deeper waters. Keep your clothes on, though…there might be kids around.
I love pickin’ this one! The second solo is the same one I taught from my living room WAY back in 2009. Enjoy!
Banjo Ben,
I would love to have a MP3 track at 170BPM for Salt Creek!
Hey! I have it at quite a few speeds, but not 170. I recommend checking out an application like Amazing Slowdowner that allows you to control the tempo. Also, please make use of the .tef tab files that allow you to play the MIDI backing track at whatever speed you’d like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzS9NxVuNbg
Hi Rebecca,
Once you’ve downloaded the mp3, you can use software such as Amazing Slowdowner or Audacity to change the speed of a track to your liking.
There are several available for free that you can find by doing a search.
Dave
(ha, looks like Ben is back and beat me to it)
.
One suggestion: after you discuss each bar or line and then play it through slowly, could you then play it at a faster and then full speed? When you play it slowly, it’s sometimes hard to hear the real rhythm of that line or lick. You do that sometimes, but not always and I find it really helpful when you do.
thanks!
Larry
Hi Rebecca, I highly recommend using the tef files with TablEdit or TefVeiw to build speed. You can set the speed to whatever feels comfortable and gradually increase the speed in increment’s. as your playing improves then once your up to speed move on to the MP3. I also use headphones setting the volume to max and the pan over to the right headphone for the banjo with the pan over to the left headphone for the rhythm guitar. I will often add a Bass TAB to help with timing and I centre the pan for the bass. In your case set the pan for the Mandolin to your right headphone or swap them around to suit your own preference. Hope this helps.
Hi Ben, apologies if this is a silly question but I struggling a bit with the arrangement when trying to follow the 150bpm backing track. From my understanding, I should play … 1st A part -> 2nd A part -> 1st A part -> 2nd A part -> 1st B part -> 2nd B part -> 1st B part -> 2nd B part? But where does it go from there? It has me in quite the pickle… hahaa
Hey Paul, welcome to the forum!
The track runs through the song 3 full times and then has the added ending after the third time through. So the full form is:
A part–A part–B part–B part (Repeat 3x)
Ending (measures 35-38)
Heeey, thanks for the welcome 
And thanks so much for clearing that up for me. I see exactly where I was going wrong. In the tab it refers to 1st A part and 2nd A part. I was looking at those as 2 separate A parts and repeating each of those individually, whereas both of those parts actually make up THE A part. I’ve got it now hahaha.
thank you again 
Glad you got it figured out! All these bluegrass terms can be confusing at first… it gets better, I promise! 
I appreciate the suggestion to use Amazing Slow Downer. I purchased the full app (“Lite” won’t play the whole song) and it has already been helpful. I am working through Salt Creek and was looking for something at 150 BPM as I am working through the “runs” and transitions and needed to go just a tad slower. I suspect my wife is tired of hearing this tune but that’s another story! Haha.
Hi @ScubaNut2014Ron I use Audacity it has the same function as ASD and it’s FREE. Being a Scot I always keep a tight hold on my sporran 
I have both and ASD is by far more user friendly than Audacity.
Thanks Guys. I didn’t see Archie’s comment in time and had gone with slowdowner. Seems to be working right. I’ll have to take the $15 out of my wife’s beer budget. LoL
What better to do when doing the day before colonscopy prep (what fun!) than work on my mandolin playin’, right?
So I’ve watched the strumming and rythum lesson and I’m trying to figure out the best chord fingerings to use. Obviously the big-stretch-my-fingers closed G works for the G and A but Ben makes it look waay too easy to get D and E chords from them. Any hints on the best chord fingering for D and E in this song? Thanks!
Wait Wait….I got the first E figured out (dumb question) but near the end Ben’s using a different fingering. (My music teacher will be upset that I haven’t figured this out myself….lack of nourishment I guess!).
See if this helps: https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/closed-major-chord-shape-1-the-1-4-5-mandolin-beginner
Thanks!