Duelling Banjos Fast Section
The bit where everybody goes wild!
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Duelling Banjos Fast Section
After you’ve played all the other parts slowly you go into this fast section. In this video I’ve shown you a very simple way of playing it using mostly square rolls, the only new thing you have to learn is the Double D lick.
It’s important for you to learn the correct duration of each chord. From half way through the Yankee Doodle you play 2 Square Rolls on G then 4 on C, 4 on G followed by the Double D lick. Then you play 4 G, 4 C, 4 G, the Double D lick and finally four more G before going into the walk up and down at speed.
There are many variations you can make in this section, you can replace any of the Square Rolls with a Thumb+Pinch if you like. You could also replace two Square Rolls with one Mixed Roll.
To make it sound exactly like the film you need to use Forwards Rolls. There is currently no video teaching this, please contact me if you feel ready to learn it.
Part 8: Duelling at Speed
After you’ve played the fast bit you are going to play all the other pieces again, only this time you are playing at tempo. In the slow opening section we duelled by playing one at a time, so you leave a gap while the other person plays.
Skills, Chords & Licks
Square Roll
Square roll is the simplest rolling pattern you can play on the five string banjo. It consists of only four notes played round and round in a loop and you can play an incredible variety of music with just this simple four note pattern.
Simple C Chord
This version of C major uses only two fingers of the Left Hand. You can use this chord shape in a situations, especially when you are not playing the 4th string. C is one of the most important chords you can learn, the other really important chord to learn is D.
Double D Lick
The Double D Lick is one of Earl Scrugg’s most distinctive licks and it’s been used and copied by thousands of other players.