Description

What do you do when they say: "TAKE IT DOC," but you don know a break to the song? You say, "NO THANKS, ILL PASS". Pretty embarrassing & not much fun. Youve seen guitar players who are so good that they can just "FAKE IT." In other words: they can make up a solo on the spot even if theyve never heard the song before. Did you know there are two ways to approach this problem? The first is the approach of stringing together a bunch of licks that fit the chords. Thats kind of a beginner approach to playing a solo. The advanced approach is to not only play really hot licks, but for the melody of the song to also be identifiable. Let Chris Jones take you beyond "lick soloing" to advanced melody soloing... Chris takes you beyond "lick oriented" soloing, showing you how to translate banjo instrumentals into guitar instrumentals, by replacing the fingerpicked banjo roll with the more linear "guitaristic" componentry, while being careful to maintain the integrity of the original banjo piece. Watch Chris as he analyzes and teaches 5 example songs, & explains why he chose what he played, every step of the way. By learning this approach, you will be able to invent your own intelligent, melody oriented solo for any banjo instrumental you encounter! Tunes taught and analyzed include: Fireball Mail, Dear Old Dixie, Ruben, Cluck Old Hen, & Lonesome Road Blues

Reviews

Flatpicking Guitar Magazine Review March 2000 With these two videos, Chris Jones has answered the question of a lot of flatpickers: "How do I play guitar breaks for banjo instrumentals & 'singing songs'?" There's so many notes in the former that it's sometimes hard to translate to guitar, & so few notes in the latter that it's sometimes tricky to play a "hot" break that still sounds like the song. Chris tackles these two subjects in separate, but similar videos that should definitely help beginning/intermediate flatpickers. Both videos feature almost identical production, with some great additions to the video learning world. Chris plays the tune & then sets up a pattern of learning the melody first, followed by "connector licks" & "embellishments." A really neat feature is on-screen tab concepts in different colors. This makes it really easy to see just exactly how Chris is using connector links & embellishments to add to, (not instead of) "replace", the melody. Another feature that every learning video should have, & which both of Chris' do, is screen titles for each song which make it easy to skip from section to section. There's the requisite split screen for showing right & left hands. We're also taught various kickoffs which can be used in many other songs. And finally Chris touches on "safe" notes & how to sketch out melodies. Chris is accompanied by his wife Sally Jones on rhythm guitar in both videos. On the vocal tape, he sings the songs, then tears them apart for us to show how he created the break he played. For the most part, his breaks are in first positions, using simple songs, although towards the end of each tape he gets more complicated. The banjo tapes covers the tunes Fireball Mail, Dear Old Dixie, Ruben, Cluck Old Hen, & Lonesome Road Blues, while the "song video" covers Shady Grove, Pig in a Pen, In the Pines, Bury Me Beneath The Willow, & Bridge to Portsmouth. Both videos are excellent & a recommended addition to your video learning library. Oh...be sure to watch the banjo video all the way to the end for some hilarious outtakes. Reviewed by Bryan Kimsey

Review: Acoustic Guitar Magazine January 2001 issue. Banjo repertoire provides fodder for many flatpicking guitarists, although those semi-melodic tunes can be difficult. Chris Jones has played with bluegrass banjo greats Greg Cahill, Lynn Lorris, & many others, & he has perfected a method of crafting distinctive guitar solos for nearly any banjo tune. "CREATING GUITAR SOLOS FOR BANJO INSTRUMENTALS" takes advanced guitarists through such elemental steps as finding the key melody notes of banjo classics like "FIREBALL MAIL," "REUBEN," & "DEAR OLD DIXIE." The goal, Jones explains, is to develop a guitar solo that mimics the unique features of the banjo rolls, slurs, hammer-ons, & pull-offs--& captures some of the tune’s melodic content. "You don’t want to sound like you’re just jamming over banjo-tune chord changes," he advises. This excellent video, complete with tab/notation booklet, will provide you with enough musical tricks to make your guitar solos on banjo tunes sound fresh & exciting. --David McCarty (writer for Acoustic Guitar Magazine).

Customer Compliments

Dan, Sorry it took so long to get back with you but I just wanted to say thanks for the free DVD!!! You have a customer for life. By the way I just wanted to let you know that I have about $500 to $600 worth of your competitor (homespun) instructionals for many different instruments by different people and the Chris Jones series by far blows all of them out of the water on the subject of how and why. Thanks again, C Leftwich...King, North Carolina