Music Education

Learning Banjo - How to Play By Ear

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Example One: Simple G Backup Pattern

Not to make this even more interesting we can cut the "bump" in half for on or both of the strums in each measure.

When I say cutting a note in half I mean just that. Hammer-on's, pull-off's and similar techniques are nothing more than a way to break a single note apart. In this case we are breaking the first quarter note in each measure into two eighth notes. The neat thing about this pattern is that you get a cool kind of country guitar sound.

Example Two: "Country" G Backup Pattern

For a C chord you could play the same pattern, or mess with the idea and get something like:

Example Three: C Backup Pattern

There are an almost infinite number of ways you can mix in some pull-off's, hammer-on's, slides and bends into a simple backup pattern.