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Banjo tablatures for Wreck of the Old 97

Flatt & Scruggs

Recomended level: Beginner

Tags: #vocal song, #train song, #up-tempo

This song was born out of an accident that occurred on the 27th of September, 1903. On this day, a southern railway freight train called the "Fast Mail", or "Old 97" was the victim of a railway accident. The engineer supposedly left the station late, and while trying to meet the company's record of being early decided to increase the speed. In the process, it trailed off the tracks and ran into a still house trestle. Eleven people were killed in this accident. This attracted the eye of the press, making the story spread across town like wildfire. It went on to inspire the birth of several ballads out of which this song is among. Virginia musicians G.G Grayson and Henry Whitter recorded the first ballad inspired by accident, and it became really famous. Other artists took note of this first ballad and followed suit. Vernon Dalhart's released his version in 1924. Although Grayson and Whitter's version was famous, Dalhart's version, which he recorded playing the harmonica and with Frank Ferrera playing the guitar, was a great success, earning the duo million and breaking the world record as the first million-selling country music release in the American record industry. This result must have inspired other artists to produce their own unique versions of the accident.

  • Banjo Wreck of the Old 97 Scruggs Style

    Scruggs Style

    • Difficulty
    • Key
      G
    • Tempo
      120 bpm
    • Tuning
      gDGBD

    A beginner version of Wreck of the Old 97 that features lots of forward roll patterns mixed in with a basic melody. Make sure you accent the melody notes to make it sound as musical ...

    Banjo Wreck of the Old 97 Scruggs Style
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  • Banjo Wreck of the Old 97 Scruggs Style (Intermediate)

    Scruggs Style (Intermediate)

    • Difficulty
    • Key
      G
    • Tempo
      120 bpm
    • Tuning
      gDGBD

    A slightly more difficult arrangement of Wreck of the Old 97 that builds on the Basic version with Scruggs style hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides.

    Banjo Wreck of the Old 97 Scruggs Style (Intermediate)
    Learn
  • Banjo Wreck of the Old 97 Backup

    Backup

    • Difficulty
    • Key
      G
    • Tempo
      120 bpm
    • Tuning
      gDGBD

    This arrangement of Wreck of the Old 97 features a mixture of tasty down-the-neck backup playing with vamping to give you some ideas on how to back up a vocalist.

    Banjo Wreck of the Old 97 Backup
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Use the Tunefox Lick Switcher to explore improvisation and creativity inside the Wreck of the Old 97 tablatures. The Lick Switcher will allow you to create your own arrangement using pre-built licks that are handmade by professional musicians. To use the Lick Switcher, click on the text above specific measures that says "Original Measure" and select between a variety of new licks for that measure. You'll find that there are different style licks such as Scruggs, Melodic, Jazz, and more. At the bottom of your page you'll also find a button that says "Shuffle Licks." Click this button and watch the licks randomly shuffle throughout the song.

Be sure to check out all of the great learning tools that Tunefox has to offer such as "Hide Notes", "Memory Train", and "Speed Up". These tools can be found in the "Tools" menu at the bottom right of your screen. Want to learn some of Wreck of the Old 97 by ear? Use "Hide Notes" to hide some or all of the notes in the tablature. Once you’re finished learning with the tab use the "Memory Train" tool to commit the song to memory. Then practice with "Speed Up" to improve your technique and speed in no time.

Each arrangement of Wreck of the Old 97 for banjo features real-sounding backing tracks. Use these backing tracks to polish up the solo you’re working on. You can mix the banjo, band, and metronome up or down so that you have several options for your practice.

Once you’ve settled on an arrangement of Wreck of the Old 97 using the Lick Switcher, export your arrangement to a PDF file so you can print it out and take it with you. This is a member-only feature.