How to Play Sally Goodwin Up the Neck

Getting Started playing Up the Neck

Learn some basics of playing Scruggs style banjo up the neck. Sally Goodin is absolute standard in Bluegrass, and a quintessential song for learning up the neck banjo.

1

Overview

Looking Ahead

In this unit you'll be introduced to some fundamentals of up the neck Scruggs style banjo. We'll use Sally Goodin' as a vehicle to study a variety of up the neck techniques, positions and a few lic...
2

First things First

The A part

If you have not played anything up the neck before, the hand position used for Sally Goodin' will be new -and could be challenging. It may look very strange, but check out the finger positions. R...
3

A Little Further up the Neck

The B Part

The B part moves up to the twelfth fret. It's actually a lot easier to play than the A part, but we will revisit the hand position we used in the A part in the end of the last measure.
4

A New Lick

Simple but Effective

We're not adding much with this lick, but style doesn't need to be outlandish to be effective or interesting. Two nice double stop bends at the beginning of the measure are different enough from th...
5

Syncopation

A Stylish Scruggs Riff

This is one cool riff. Earl Scruggs would often syncopate beats in his playing. It gave his already amazing style an extra element of cool. The rhythmic flair that comes from syncopating the beat c...
6

An Added Challenge

Context Changes (Almost) Everything

The challenge with this lick comes when the measure before ends with a 16th note. In that case you have to use your thumb to hit the last note of the previous measure, and the first note of the lic...
7

Putting it All Together

The Whole Song

Now let's put together the song. Practice the song just as you did the individual sections. Put in your reps to really get this thing nailed down.
8

Where to Go Now?

What Goes Up, Must Come Down

Now that you've learned Sally Goodwin up the neck, learning a down the neck break will be a great addition to you repertoire. If you haven't played up the neck backup, chek out the up the neck back...