Any advice for playing Banjo Rolls?

Tim Konecky · From: Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

Looks like I'm getting a shot at landing my first "real" paying gig with a popular local band. They play some pretty fast cooking tunes... almost bluegrass really.

They're are looking for a replacement/fill-in for a killer dobro player. However, sounds like they are excited to throw pedal steel in the mix.

Listening to their tunes, it sounds like the dobro player is doing a lot of banjo roll type stuff. Almost sounds like Banjo actually except when he does some pretty obvious glissando\open string licks

I thought I'd try to mimic that a bit on a few of their tunes. Any cool banjo rolls out there that a guy could woodshed on for that type of setting?

Anyway, wish me luck folks!
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Jeff Garden · From: Center Sandwich, New Hampshire, USA

At its most basic, the whole secret to banjo rolls is the rhythm involved with eighth notes. With a lot of Earl Scruggs type bluegrass banjo rolls, work on a driving 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2 (that's one measure) with the accent on the "1". You can see what this does is "stagger" where the accent comes as you're coming off a 1-2 at the end of one measure and immediately starting the next measure of 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2

Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

8th? I count 1 e and a 2 e and a et c.
16ths.
If you REALLY want to sound banjesque, play more than just 3 strings.
For me, playing up tempo means getting my Buddy Cage on.
More rewarding than banjo rolls, and not that hard to do.
Powerglide and the NRPS live album.
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More amps than guitars, and not many effects

W. Van Horn · From: Houston, texas

Palm mute and play roles such as T I M T I M T I, T I M T I M I M, I M T I M T I M,. Etc. Engage your a and b pedals and play these strings in this pattern (foggy mnt breakdown lick) 2 4 2 4 3 2 4 3 over and over.

W. Van Horn · From: Houston, texas

Also most banjo books write the rolls in 8ths, not 16ths

Cal Sharp · From: the farm in Kornfield Kounty, TN

Picking strings 3, 1 and 4 over and over with no pedals, really fast in the cadence Jeff mentions, sounds kinda like bluegrass.
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Lane Gray · From: Topeka, KS

Or A&B pedals, strings 2 and 3 with M and I, P alternates between 4 and 5 for the 1 chord, up one fret with A&F for the 4, back down for the 5, but drop 2 a half.
(As a side note, Will: do they have it correct when they call em â…›?)
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2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects

Dennis Russell · From: California, USA

About half of the banjo books that I have write the rolls in eighths and the other half write them in sixteenths. I did notice that the books that use eighths do not give a time signature. If you consider that many bluegrass songs have a 2/2 pulse (cut time--at least to my ear), notating in eighths could be correct, or 16ths could be correct if one decided to use 2/4 time signature (as in Pete Seeger's book).

As stated above, using Thumb index middle, thumb index middle, thumb index (or middle), will sound very banjoesque.
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David Nugent · From: Gum Spring, Va.

Lower string 2 1/2 step (D), then play strings 5,4, and 2 as rapidly as you can (used as the opening lick to Bruce Bouton's solo on, 'Country Boy').

Jim Hollingsworth · From: Way out West

I say AMEN to Lane's remarks about Buddy Cage. What a great player & so fluid & bouncy. I don't think he ever got his due.

Jim

Larry Bressington · From: Nebraska

I do mine starting with the middle finger... then thumb ... then index, it changes the feel. I like doing things wrong
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Mike Cass · Posted 11 Sep 2013 1:30 am

whatever way you choose to roll, practice them slow, and syncopated...this advice according to Earl. That way you'll accent the melody note and surround it with a shower of notes.
Another thing you can do besides a roll is called a paradiddle...like this: T T IM T T IM T IM(1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and)using thumb on string5 and IM on strings 4&3 for starters...also the same fingering with thumb on string4 and fingers on strings 2&3 with string2 lowered a 1/2 tone, no pedals. You get that far and you'll hear the rest.
Though you're seeking a banjo sound, steel guitar can also nicely imitate the shuffle-bowing style of a fiddle using this paradiddle technique, and either this or the roll can be either palm or pick blocked. Work it up slow and syncopated and when you can use it it'll turn a head or three, and will get yer behind through OBS with a minimum of persperation Smile

John Billings · From: Ohio, USA

Banjo rolls come in all available picking patterns. , every combo you can think of. They are determined by the notes/strings you need to play. One pattern does not fit all! Forward rolls, backward rolls, rolls starting with any finger. Really found that being a good banjo player helped a lot when learning steel.

Also worked out "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," and "Hard Times" on 6-string. Lotsa fun when a hotshot banjo player comes to a jam. He plays some choruses, then ask me if I wanna try, and I blast it right back at him on my Tele, note for note. Then I play "Hard Times" as he leaves the stage! Fun!

Tim Konecky · From: Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

Welp... got called in to audition on short notice before I got a chance to work this stuff out. Twas super fun and I think I left a good impression. Though it looks like I'm on the short list as they try to figure out what they want to do.

They're a pretty low-fi 3 piece with a brushes man, upright bass and acoustic guitar/singer guy. Looking for somebody to rip it a little bit. They're not used to having an electrified instrument in the mix being used to a dobro and the occasional fiddle dude. Gonna have to sit with crossed fingers waiting to see if they want to bring me on.

Regardless of the outcome, I think it'll be fun to woodshed on some of this stuff. Certainly gonna check out some Buddy Cage stuff.
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Peavey Nashville 400

Mule Ferguson · From: N Wilkesboro NC,

I ordered this cd off line and it has, Rolling in my Sweet Babies Arms. This is very good

Pedal Steel Guitar Mike Johnson Course MJ-4 E-9th

Mule
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Stuart Legg · Posted 14 Sep 2013 7:55 am

This is a Thumb and two finger forward roll I came up with that you can do really fast with very little practice.
The beauty of it is that the roll leads you back to the starting note.
This is not a song and is only intended to show how the rolls flow.
I put it in triplets just for convenience. So phrase it as you wish.
Here is the midi from TablEdit
click here

[url]

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