Wreck of the Old 97 Build-a-Break

Ben Clark Leader · 24 Oct

https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/wreck-of-the-old-97-build-a-break-banjo Let’s start with the basic melody, then add a few rolls, then beef it up a bit to create our own banjo solo for this great tune! Even more, let’s learn how to create solos for any song we want to play.

Lee Goulding · 10 Apr

Im loving this lesson Ben what a great tune… Thanks

Thomas Schroefel · 28 Apr

Hi Ben…one question, at solo Nbr3, measure 36…is it right you strike the last note instead of open 1st string at 3rd fred second string and run/silde into the first note of measure 37 ?..

Ben Clark Leader · 28 Apr

I do play the open 1st string, but I’m also getting a slide up to the 5th fret that isn’t notated in the tab. I bet that I talk about it in the lesson.

Thomas Schroefel · 29 Apr

Thks Ben…

Thomas Schroefel · 6 Jul

Hey folks,it works …, able to play the tune now,slowly (120 BPM,s)

Archie Cairns Leader · 7 Jul

able to play the tune now,slowly (120 BPM,s) Thats great news Tom If you have TablEdit or TefView you can use it to help you increase your speed in small increments using the TAB Tef files.

Gunnar Salyer · 27 Apr

I just downloaded the Tef tab, but it’s completely blank? Help?

Luke Lindblom · 27 Apr

PDF tab works fine for me

Archie Cairns Leader · 27 Apr

Tef File worked fine for me earlier today. Gunnar

Gunnar Salyer · 28 Apr

Ok it’s fine, I just learned it from the video instead

Bryan Watts · 1 May

So, for the “Beef it Up” version, going slow, measures 38-40 (especially 40) don’t sound very nice. Is that something that will just sound better as I’m able to speed up? Perhaps I just need to tune my banjo better…

Archie Cairns Leader · 1 May

Hi Bryan, to @BanjoBen 's Forum That’s a great question. Measure 40 is a D lick and many beginners struggle with the D chord. If you watch the video closely you will see that Ben explains in some detail how he frets the strings with just two fingers and plays a simple forward roll proceeded by a pinch where he uses his index and middle finger to pick the strings It does take a little while to nail it but it’s not really all that difficult. Try not to over-think it just do it and it will come good. Trust me I have been there.

Ben Clark Leader · 1 May

It does sound like there’s a clash because you’re playing two notes that are only a half step apart. It’s gonna sound funny slow and especially with banjo only and no backup happening. But if you speed it up a bit and have a guitar playing, it sounds great! It still has grit in it, but that’s what playing banjo is all about

Luke Lindblom · 20 Oct

My 6 year old brother Leo wanted me to share a video of him working on this song. Thanks @BanjoBen

Archie Cairns Leader · 20 Oct

Great job Leo

Severin Neukom · 21 Oct

Great picking!

Ben Clark Leader · 23 Oct

Holy smokes, that’s incredible!

Paige Lettington · 28 Feb

I can’t open the PDF tab for this lesson. I get an error message that says “This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.” Some XML follows that. I’m using Chrome (but I get the same result with Bing). I have not had trouble (even today) with other PDFs on your site.

Ben Clark Leader · 28 Feb

Hmm they download just fine for me, sorry! I’m sure you’ve tried refreshing your browser but please try again