A New Backing Track For “Forked Deer”

This is an Old Time fiddle tune called, “Forked Deer,” played on the 5-string banjo in the Standard tuning (gDGBD tuning); capo 2nd fret, 5th string capo 7th fret, for key of A. Here is some information about the song. I have made backing tracks at various speeds in the keys of A and G for your preference. Enjoy!

• Forked Deer (a video lesson by Eli Gilbert)
• Forked Deer (a video lesson by Mike Hedding)
• Forked Deer .PDF Tablature (by Jack Beuthin)
• Forked Deer (key of A, normal)
• Forked Deer (key of A, slower)
• Forked Deer (key of A, slow)
• Forked Deer (key of A, very slow)
• Forked Deer (key of A, woodshed)
• Forked Deer (key of G, normal)
• Forked Deer (key of G, slower)
• Forked Deer (key of G, slow)
• Forked Deer (key of G, very slow)
• Forked Deer (key of G, woodshed)

I used MIDI for the drums, bass, flute, keyboard and piano parts. Real audio was used for the tambourine and Cajon box.

Dave Hum

(April 11, 1966 - November 14, 2012)

Banjo Intros And Endings

Here's some helpful banjo resources...

49 Bluegrass Banjo Endings!

(by Eli Gilbert)

13 Cool Intros For Banjo

(by Eddie Collins)

Roy Clark Style Endings For Bluegrass Banjo

(by Jim Pankey)

I use this next ending quite often...

Easy 'Shave And A Haircut' Ending Banjo Lick

(by Richie Dotson)

Shave and a Haircut Two Bits - A Fun Song Ending for Bluegrass Banjo

(by Jim Pankey)

Jim Pankey is a tremendous banjoist and a really nice guy...

Learn to Play Bluegrass Banjo - Lesson 1
(by Jim Pankey)

Jim Pankey's Beginner Bluegrass Banjo Lessons

Enjoy!

A New Improved Backing Track For “Maid Behind The Bar”

I redid the backing track for “Maid Behind The Bar,” which is one of my favorite tunes to play using the 'Double C' tuning. It is such a peaceful song. This track is a bit brighter. Here is the original backing track that I made in May of 2024. In the original recording I missed some timing with the guitar strums, which I have tried to fix in this newer track. Dave recorded the tune in the key of D; capo the 2nd fret, and the 7th fret on the fifth string. I used Dave Hum's performance as a template. I have made backing tracks in both keys of C and D for your preference. I also made additional tracks with a mandolin down this webpage. Enjoy!

• Tablature For The Maid Behind The Bar in 'Double C Tuning' (.PDF | .TEF)
• Maid Behind The Bar  (faster, key of D)
• Maid Behind The Bar (normal, key of D)
• Maid Behind The Bar  (slower, key of D)
• Maid Behind The Bar (slow, key of D)
• Maid Behind The Bar (very slow, key of D)
• Maid Behind The Bar (woodshed, key of D)
• Maid Behind The Bar  (faster, key of C)
• Maid Behind The Bar  (normal, key of C)
• Maid Behind The Bar (slower, key of C)
• Maid Behind The Bar (slow, key of C)
• Maid Behind The Bar (very slow, key of C)
• Maid Behind The Bar (woodshed, key of C)
• Maid Behind The Bar | Slower (a backing track by Anurakt Scheepers)

I used MIDI for the drums, bass and piano. I am playing my Cort acoustic guitar, which is the nicest sounding and natural feeling guitar I've ever owned (for just $130 at Guitar Center). 

Sadly, my guitar strap twisted its way off a couple years ago and cracked the body of the guitar. Yikes! I put Duck tape over it. Thankfully the guitar still sounds just as pleasant, but since that mishap I am now using (and I highly recommend that you do the same) Guitar Strap Locks (only $4.99 for 4 of them at Amazon). I have these locks on all my instruments where there's a risk of the strap working its way off.

The original backing track for this song and 114 more are available at Dave Hum's website. I encourage you to buy them. My backing tracks pale in comparison to Dave's. I am so thankful for his music and backing tracks, and to Dave's family for making them available to everyone. God bless and keep on pickin'.

I added a mandolin to this next track in January of 2026, trying different things to make a better backing track. Also, I am using a bass MODO plugin by IK Multimedia for a realistic bass and percussion as well. I am always trying to improve my backing tracks. Some tracks come out better than others, but all sound nice. I am confident that you will enjoy playing along with these newest backing tracks...

• Maid Behind The Bar  (key of C, faster)
• Maid Behind The Bar  (key of C, normal)
• Maid Behind The Bar  (key of C, slower)
• Maid Behind The Bar  (key of C, slow)
• Maid Behind The Bar  (key of C, very slow)
• Maid Behind The Bar  (key of C, woodshed)
• Maid Behind The Bar  (key of D, faster)
• Maid Behind The Bar  (key of D, normal)
• Maid Behind The Bar  (key of D, slower)
• Maid Behind The Bar  (key of D, slow)
• Maid Behind The Bar  (key of D, very slow)
• Maid Behind The Bar  (key of D, woodshed)

Of all Dave Hum's precious recordings, this tune is arguably one of his greatest masterpieces. Dave took each song and made it his own, putting his own touch upon it while bringing the song alive with his masterful banjo articulation. Each song tells a story, taking the listener on a musical journey. I have no doubt that when other banjoists here Dave Hum play a song, they think the same thing I do: “Now that's how the song is supposed to be played!”

Dave Hum

(April 11, 1966 - November 14, 2012)

Free Banjo Backup Tracks By Sean Ray

Sean Ray Videos

I enjoy learning from Sean Ray and playing along with his quality-made backing tracks. If you haven't purchased his 'THE SESSION BOOK' yet for $50, I highly recommend it.

Sean's website says...

The Session eBook features 26 of the finest Scruggs-style banjo instrumentals ever played.

This Package includes 147 page PDF eBook/52 track MP3 download as well as 26 TablEdit files.

MP3 Play-Along files features full arrangements, played by real musicians. These are not your typical, generic MIDI, BIAB backing tracks.

I purchased 'The Session Book' last year and am sure glad that I did. Great stuff!

Sean Ray Studios

Gotta love banjos!

A New Backing Track For “Off She Goes”

This is a fun jig called “Off She Goes,” played on the 5-string banjo by Dave Hum in standard tuning (gDGBD); capo 2nd fret, 5th string capo 7th fret, for key of A. Also known as “Humpty Dumpty” or “Lancer's Quadrille.” There is a key change in Dave's backing track half way through the tune to the key of E, but to keep things simple I chose to make my backing track entirely in the key of A. Playing in the key of E felt awkward for me, so I just kept the track in one key. I have made tracks in both keys of A and G for your preference. Enjoy!

• Off She Goes Tabs (.pdf)
• Off She Goes Tabs (.tef)
• Off She Goes (key of A, normal)
• Off She Goes (key of A, slower)
• Off She Goes (key of A, slow)
• Off She Goes (key of A, very slow)
• Off She Goes (key of A, woodshed)
• Off She Goes (key of G, normal)
• Off She Goes (key of G, slower)
• Off She Goes (key of G, slow)
• Off She Goes (key of G, very slow)
• Off She Goes (key of G, woodshed)

I used MIDI for the bass, drums, piano padding and keyboard parts. I used real audio for the tambourine and shaker. This is a fun tune to learn and play.

Dave Hum

(April 11, 1966 - November 14, 2012)

A New Backing Track For “Salt Creek”

“Salt Creek” is a fiddle tune that was popularized by Bluegrass legend Bill Monroe (1911-1996). The tune is a Bluegrass staple that originated as “Salt River,” an old Irish-American tune. Dave Hum recorded the song in standard tuning (gDGBD); capo 2nd fret, 5th string capo 7th fret for key of A. I have made backing tracks in the keys of A and G for your preference. Enjoy!

• Salt Creek (Jim Pankey lesson)
• Salt Creek (key of A, normal)
• Salt Creek (key of A, slower)
• Salt Creek (key of A, slow)
• Salt Creek (key of A, very slow)
• Salt Creek (key of A, woodshed)
• Salt Creek (key of G, normal)
• Salt Creek (key of G, slower)
• Salt Creek (key of G, slow)
• Salt Creek (key of G, very slow)
• Salt Creek (key of G, woodshed)

I used MIDI for the bass, piano and drums. I used real audio for the shaker and tambourine. I'm also playing my Cort 6-string acoustic guitar, and MD505CC Eastman mandolin.

Dave Hum

(April 11, 1966 - November 14, 2012)

A New Backing Track For “Whisnant's Rag”

Here's a Ragtime tune called, “Whisnant's Rag” (also called “Wiznant's Rag”) written by Johnny Whisnant (1921-1992), played on the 5-string banjo in standard tuning (gDGBD), key of G. I used Dave Hum's performance as a template to make backing tracks at various speeds in the keys of A and G for your preference. Tabs and the original backing track for this tune are available at Dave Hum's website. Enjoy!

• Whisnant's Rag Tablature (from Banjo Hangout)
• Whisnant's Rag (key of A, normal)
• Whisnant's Rag (key of A, slower)
• Whisnant's Rag (key of A, slow)
• Whisnant's Rag (key of A, very slow)
• Whisnant's Rag (key of A, woodshed)
• Whisnant's Rag (key of G, normal)
• Whisnant's Rag (key of G, slower)
• Whisnant's Rag (key of G, slow)
• Whisnant's Rag (key of G, very slow)
• Whisnant's Rag (key of G, woodshed)

I used MIDI for the bass. drums and piano, real audio for the tambourine and shaker. I found this old recording on YouTube of Johnny Whisnant playing “Home Sweet Home.”

Lou Ellen Wilkie on Facebook posted the following biographical information about Johnny Whisnant, which I reposted here to preserve. Good stuff! ...

Remembering Johnny Whisnant (December 12, 1921 - February 2, 1992) grew up being called "half pint," wound up underrated and under-recorded might have seemed predictable. They were still calling Johnny Whisnant that nickname when he went on the road professionally at the age of 11 as a member of J.E. Clark and the Lonesome Mountaineers, and he no doubt looked the part. But one thing should be clear -- there was nothing half-grown or dinky about this man's banjo sound. 

It seems like Whisnant lived, slept, and probably ate banjos, and he could build them as well. He was known as a superb craftsman and instrumental builder, and also invented the most practical version of a quick-change banjo tuning peg, called a cheater. Why the man wound up with such a small recorded catalog is certainly a mystery, attributed to some by his unwillingness to compromise and his perfectionist nature. 

Whisnant began playing banjo during a childhood illness, when he was handed the mighty five-banger as a proposed distraction. He was entering amateur contests by the age of seven, heavily inspired by his collection of Charlie Poole records. 

In 1930, his father, Old John Whisnant, was working at a furniture factory and thought his son might enjoy meeting one of the other employees, a young fiddler by the name of Carl Story, who later went on to become a major bluegrass figure. After gigging together at parties and local square dances, they formed a group together with a local promoter, J.E. Clark. 

It was 1932 and the beginning of Whisnant's professional career. The band began appearing over WSPA radio in Spartanburg, SC. Like many bands of the day, they picked up a commercial sponsor, Vim Herb, the patent makers of Scalf's Indian River Medicine. During this period, the band did their first studio recordings, a series of sides cut for Vocalion. 

In 1936, they moved on to WHKY in Hickory, NC. And so it went until World War II broke out, the band shifting their allegiance from one radio station to another. Whisnant was drafted in 1942. He shifted his locale to Tennessee after getting out of the armed services, working with the Lane Brothers, Willie Brewster, and brothers Hack and Clyde Johnson. But something dissatisfied Whisnant and he wound up ditching the Tennessee bluegrass scene for a job as an auto mechanic back in Lenoir. 

As the years went on, he kept bouncing back and forth between the latter form of work and bluegrass playing around the South, all the time changing and developing his banjo work. 

In 1953 he developed a one-man act, billing himself as Cousin Johnnie and His Banjo. In the late '50s, he relocated to Florida, working with the Cherokee Ramblers and finally deciding to hang up his lug wrenches once and for all and concentrate on the banjo. Actually, he didn't hang up the tools, he just quit using them to work on cars. He invented his own set of banjo cheaters, a device that instantly switches the tuning a banjo player is in, allowing them to play in several tunings in the course of a song. Banjo giant Earl Scruggs created several famous tunes around one such device. But most banjo players are more aware of the Keith peg, invented by banjoist Bill Keith, that does the same trick. Being the underdog in such a competition was a familiar role for Whisnant, and there are fans of his who insist that some of Scruggs' trademark devices were actually learned from Whisnant. 

In the early '60s, he headed up north a bit, beginning a stint of gigs in the Washington and Baltimore area that are remembered with enthusiasm by local bluegrass fans. A box set of his recordings entitled The Rebel Set was said to have existed at this time, but seems to have vanished off the face of the earth. 

After fronting a band called the Countrymen for several years, Whisnant finally got an opportunity to release an album of his own on the well-distributed Rounder label. Although banjo players and bluegrass fans were thrilled with this album and the Whisnant version of "Maple Leaf Rag" on a Rounder banjo anthology, there was never a second album released. 

In the style of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' kin, Whisnant's daughter, Judy, has written on the Internet in search of a half sister from her father's first marriage. She also reminisces about a banjo her father had made: "...with an Eagle perched on top carved and a colored eagle with spread wings on back of the resonator... beautiful... I'd like to know if it ended up in a good home."

Dave Hum

(April 11, 1966 - November 14, 2012)