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Power Pickin' Vol. I
Up the Neck Backup for Bluegrass Banjo
by: Bill Evans

Essential Left-Hand Techniques for Bluegrass Banjo - Part 1

by Bob Altschuler

Slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs are essential to produce the unique sound of bluegrass banjo picking. These three techniques are used extensively in Scruggs and other bluegrass styles.

To play a slide, hammer-on or pull-off, use your left hand to create another note after the first note is picked with your right hand.

The great players, including Scruggs, Sammy Shelor and JD Crowe (just to name a few) are masters of these left-hand techniques and produce some of the most powerful and hard- driving picking around. I listen to their recordings for inspiration and to learn how these techniques should sound.

Here in part 1 of this 2-part article, we will play slides and hammer-ons. Part 2 in the next issue will include pull-offs and examples of using all three techniques.

Slides

The first technique is the slide, where you pick a fretted note and then slide to another fret.

A common slide is on string 3, from fret 2 to fret 3. Press string 3 on fret 2 with your left middle finger, pick string 3 with your right thumb and then slide your finger from fret 2 to fret 3. This slide takes up two notes sixteenth notes (two notes in the space of one), and is shown in a roll in measures 1 and 2. (A common variation of this slide is to slide up to fret 4 instead of fret 3).

Give the picked note enough time before you slide, so you don't lose part of the note and then rush the slide.

This slide can also be played as two eighth notes, as shown in measures 3 and 4. Just when you are completing the slide, pick string 2 with your right index finger. The slide played as eighth notes is more spread out than with sixteenth notes.

Measures 5 and 6 show another common slide, on string 4 from fret 4 to 5, with the slide played as sixteenth notes. (A common variation on this slide is to slide from fret 2 to fret 5 on string 4).

In measures 7 and 8, the same slide is played as eighth notes (instead of sixteenth notes).

You can hear that the slide is less "compressed" compared to the sixteenth notes. The roll in measure 7 is often heard in backup and as an introduction to certain songs (for example, Salt Creek).

In addition to these basic slides, there are many others that can be played.

Hammer-Ons

The next technique is the hammer-on, where you pick a right hand note and then "hammer down" with your left finger on the next fret to sound a higher note. You can hammer-on from a fretted note to another note or to an open string. As with the slide, give the first note enough time so you don't rush the hammer-on.

A common hammer-on is from the open fourth string to fret 2. Pick string 4 open and then hammer down with your left middle finger to sound the note on fret 2. This hammer-on is shown in measures 1 and 2, and takes up two sixteenth notes.

This hammer-on can also be played as eighth notes, as shown in measures 3 and 4. Just as you hammer, play string 2 with your left index finger. This hammer-on is more spread out than the previous one with sixteenth notes.

Measures 5 and 6 show another common hammer-on, where you pick string 2 at fret 2 and then hammer-on to fret 3. This hammer-on takes up two eighth notes, and can become the Foggy Mountain Breakdown lick, as shown in measure 6. Play the right hand fingers indicated for this lick, where you alternate your index and thumb for the hammer-ons.

There are many other hammer-ons to add to your playing after you learn these basic ones.

Putting the Techniques Together

The following tabs are examples of using slides and hammer-ons. The first tab is the chorus of Cripple Creek, and following that are two Scruggs-style "breaks" using licks with the techniques. In the first break, the slides and hammer-ons are played as sixteenth notes, and in the second break they are played as eighth notes.

In part 2 in the next issue, we will play pull-offs and put all three techniques together.

Happy picking!

About the Author

Bob Altschuler lives in upstate New York and has played bluegrass banjo since 1970. As a banjo instructor, his 25 years of experience includes teaching many students at Banjo Camp North, where he has been the Beginner Bluegrass Track Coordinator since 2003. Bob's training and work as a public school teacher sharpened his teaching abilities, and helped him become a patient and sought after banjo instructor (his day job is now with the NY State Retirement System).

Bob performs with the Dyer Switch band at concerts and festivals across the Northeast, Midwest and South, and recorded "American Airwaves" and "Family Business" CDs with the band. His banjo playing has also been heard on Northeast Public Radio and on television and radio commercials.

You can contact Bob at arobanjo@aol.com, or through the Dyer Switch website at www.dyerswitch.com.