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Eddie Peabody

King of the Banjo

by John Mumford

Eddie Peabody was titled the "King of the Banjo" and it was his chord melody style that made him not only famous but the standard that four string players want to copy today. Unfortunately chord melody is not the only style available for playing the four string banjo (plectrum and tenor). In this article I have included a standard chord melody arrangement for "Amazing Grace" for plectrum banjo and another arrangement for the same song using cross-picking. The technique is sometimes referred to as "Travis Picking" which uses an alternating bass string but in this example crosspicking refers to crossing the different strings to play the melody. Chord melody generally keeps the melody on the fi rst string and harmonizes it with chord notes on the remaining three strings.

Listen to the recordings of both techniques and you will find that each one adds it own "texture" or feel to the song. The chord melody gives the song a serene somber feel while the cross picking technique has more of bounce similar to that found in bluegrass music. Good luck with it and be careful with the triplets in the song. Take some extra time to isolate those measures and practice them until you can play them at the same tempo as the others. For more ideas and techniques be sure to visit Jazz Banjo Magazine at: www.jazzbanjo.com.

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John Mumford began playing fi ve string banjo in high school but after his college years he began playing the four string plectrum banjo when he found that there was a demand for the instrument in the 1970s at clubs and pizza parlors. Today John plays with different bands as well as performs solo. He is the creator of Jazz Banjo Magazine at www.jazzbanjo.com and is probably one of the only graduates of a Bachelor of Science degree in Music using the plectrum banjo as his primary.