Starting Simple

A Classic D Lick for All Occasions

This lick is a simple D major Pentatonic Walk. It's foundational. We are playing right out of the chord shape. As we learn these different licks, be thinking about the chord shapes or scales that are being used.

This 2 measure pentatonic walk can work in a lead, backup, or as a fill. Watch the video to hear it in action and get a breakdown. Practice with the Tunefox player below.

Basic Pentatonic Walk

D Major Pentatonic Walk

Check out the banjo tabs listed below to get a feel for how this lick, or pieces of this lick, can be used in the context of a song. The John Hardy arrangement just uses measure two of this lick as a repeating pattern to navigate the chord changes for John Hardy. That song will later be used as an example for using other licks you will learn in this series. The Over the Waterfall tab uses the whole lick with an extra pinch.

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  Song

  Vamping Étude - Pentatonic Walk

  • Difficulty
    
  • Key
    G
  • Tuning
    gDGBD

  This étude is a great vamping study that uses the 1st Inversion chord shape on the banjo. It's also known as the "D" shape. Using t...

  Learn
• 

  Song

  Vamping

  • Difficulty
    
  • Key
    D
  • Tuning
    gDGBD

  Learn to use pentatonic walks with the classic "D" shape banjo chord up and down the neck in this version of Over the Waterfall for...

  Learn

Next up, building upon this basic foundation and gettin' fancy.