Here's Some Helpful Banjo Resources

I just wanted to share some nice helpful things I recently found with everyone.

First, go check out this really great YouTube channel at:

Bluegrass Backing Tracks!
(169 free backing Track videos)

*       *       *       *       *       *       *

Second, I love this free Transpose Extension for your Chrome browser. The classic version is totally free and allows you to change the key, pitch and tempo of any YouTube video. You can even loop portions of any song. This is awesome for playing along with your favorite banjo tune in a different key, slower tempo, or focusing on one section of a video to learn it.

After you install the extension, make sure to go up to the right corner in your browser and click the three vertical dots. In the drop down menu click “Extensions, Manage Extensions,” scroll down to the “Transpose” extension and select “Details.” Then make sure “Pin to toolbar” is enabled for easy access. Also, make sure that the extension is enabled. You'll see the yellow icon (with up and down arrows) in the upper right corner of your browser. This is an awesome free tool.

Free Transpose Extension

(transpose; change pitch, tempo, loop)

*       *       *       *       *       *       *

Third, here are some really nice quality MP3 backing tracks made by skilled musician Curtis Jones. Here are nine free songs. He has 37 songs (193 tracks total at various tempos) available for $60. When I ordered they gave me a discount on each pack, which I'm sure you'll also receive. While checking out they asked if I wanted to also purchase the Jam Session Survival book for $5. How could I pass that up? The book contains chords for 100 top Bluegrass songs. I bought the book, so I could easily enter the chords into Band-In-A-Box, which project I plan (Lord willing) to start at some future time, to start making additional folk and Bluegrass backing tracks with BB. I have a lot of ideas for future music projects. Anyway, all toll I paid $53.75 for everything after the discounts were applied.

Bluegrass Jam Tracks

A New Backing Track For “Locust Hill”

This is a Bluegrass instrumental. I used Dave Hum's performance as a template to make my backing track. Dave uses some improvisations in the tune, which he played in the key of G, standard tuning (gDGBD - capo 2nd fret, 5th string capo 7th fret for key of A). I've rendered backing tracks in both keys of G and A for your preference. Enjoy!

• Locust Hill - PDF | TEF (tablature by Robert Gulyas)
• Locust Hill (key of A, faster)
• Locust Hill (key of A, normal)
• Locust Hill (key of A, slower)
• Locust Hill (key of A, slow)
• Locust Hill (key of A, very slow)
• Locust Hill (key of A, woodshed)
• Locust Hill (key of G, faster)
• Locust Hill (key of G, normal)
• Locust Hill (key of G, slower)
• Locust Hill (key of G, slow)
• Locust Hill (key of G, very slow)
• Locust Hill (key of G, woodshed)

To make this backing track I used MIDI for the bass, drums and piano parts. The tambourine is a real audio loop. It's a simple backing track, but effective to accompany the 5-string banjo. 

Also, Dave's original backing tracks are available for purchase from his family. Considering that Dave spent several hundred hours making his backing tracks, I humbly think the tracks are worth much more than the family is selling them for. I haven't found any tracks available that compare to Dave's. They are simple, uncluttered and have a driving beat that inspires the banjo enthusiast to want to play the banjo. I am so thankful for Dave's backing tracks. Thank God for Dave Hum!

Dave Hum
(April 11, 1966 - November 14, 2012)

A New Backing Track For “Soldier's Joy”

This is a popular old folk tune called “Soldier's Joy,” which Dave Hum played on the 5-string banjo using the Drop C tuning (gCGBD). Also known as: “The King's Head,” “French Four” and “The Clap Dance” and “The Gower.” Make sure to lower the 4th string from down D to C. I have made backing tracks in the keys of G and A for your preference. Enjoy!

• Soldier's Joy Tablature (PDF | TEF)
• Soldier's Joy (Casey Henry explains how to play)
• Soldier's Joy (key of G, normal)
• Soldier's Joy (key of G, slower)
• Soldier's Joy (key of G, slow)
• Soldier's Joy (key of G, very slow)
• Soldier's Joy (key of G, woodshed)
• Soldier's Joy (key of A, normal)
• Soldier's Joy (key of A, slower)
• Soldier's Joy (key of A, slow)
• Soldier's Joy (key of A, very slow)
• Soldier's Joy (key of A, woodshed)

For this backing track I used MIDI for the drums, bass and piano. I used real audio loops for the shaker, tambourine and train rhythm.

Dave Hum
(April 11, 1966 - November 14, 2012)

BANJO BACKING TRACKS

Here's a list of all the backing tracks I've made so far (a new backing track is added every Friday). Please download them all, so you'll have them for safe keeping in the future. You are welcome to freely share them elsewhere online; no credit need be given. I just made them for fun for everyone. These 192 kbps MP3's are only temporarily stored on my SteelC6th.com steel guitar website, which if something happens to me WILL disappear from the internet when my web hosting package expires. So, save them while you still can dear reader and share them freely. Consider these backing tracks, YOURS. Enjoy!

1. Arkansas Traveller
2. At The Cross
3. Ballad Of Jed Clampett
4. Banjo In The Hollow
5. Behind The Haystack & The Setting Sun
6. Bill Cheatham
7. Black Mountain Rag
8. Blue Ridge Cabin Home
9. Bluegrass Breakdown
10. Boys Of Blue Hill
11. Boys Of Blue Hill & Harvest Home
12. Boys Of Malin
13. Chicken Reel
14. Clinch Mountain Backstep
15. Cold Frosty Morning
16. Cripple Creek
17. Devil's Dream & Blackberry Blossom
18. Devil's Dream
19. Down The Road
20. Dunphy's Hornpipe
21. Earl's Breakdown
22. Eight More Miles To Louisville
23. Eighth Of January
24. Fergal O'Gara
25. Fireball Mail
26. Five Speed
27. Flop Eared Mule
28. Flying Cloud Cotillion
29. Foggy Mountain Breakdown
30. Foggy Mountain Special
31. Gaspe Reel
32. Golden Slippers
33. Grasshopper Sitting On A Sweet Potato Vine
34. Green Gates
35. Ground Speed
36. Half Past Four
37. Harvest Home
38. Humours Of Glendart
39. I Saw The Light
40. I'll Fly Away
41. I'm Using My Bible As A Roadmap
42. Jerusalem Ridge
43. Jig Runrig
44. Jig Runrig & Wee Todd
45. Just Over In The Gloryland
46. Locust Hill
47. Mason's Apron
48. Merrily Kiss The Quaker's Wife (Improved Track)
49. Miss McLeod's Reel
50. Mississippi Sawyer
51. Mist Covered Mountain
52. Monaghan's Jig
53. Morrison's Jig
54. My Grandfather's Clock
55. Off To California
56. Old Spinning Wheel
57. Over The Waterfall
58. Peaches And Cream
59. Peeler's Jacket
60. Pike County Breakdown
61. Red Haired Boy
62. Rickett's Hornpipe
63. Rocky Top
64. Sailor's Hornpipe
65. Saint Anne's Reel
66. Sally Goodin'
67. Shenandoah Breakdown
68. Shove That Pig's Foot A Little Closer To The Fire
69. Shuckin' The Corn
70. Smoke Behind The Clouds
71. Soldier's Joy
72. Southern Flavour
73. Speed The Plough
74. Sportsman's Hornpipe
75. Star Of Munster
76. Tam Lin
77. Temperance Reel
78. The Crow
79. The Lilting Banshee
80. The Maid Behind The Bar
81. The Mathematician
82. The Merry Blacksmith
83. The Moon Saw Me Crying
84. The Old Home Place
85. The Traveller
86. Third Man Theme
87. Timour The Tartar
88. Tobin's Jig
89. Wabash Cannonball
90. Waiting For The Federals
91. Whisky Before Breakfast

I made these backing tracks for YOU dear friend, meaning everybody who wants them. I have many more backing tracks which, Lord willing, I will be uploading over the next several months. Every Friday my goal is to upload a new backing track. You can do whatever you want with all of these backing tracks. Nothing is copyrighted. I just made them for the love and fun of making music. Backing tracks are invaluable tools to learn and play songs. Dave Hum inspired me by making his own backing tracks, which I have diligently tried to recreate for myself and other banjo enthusiasts.

By the way, if you have a particular song that I haven't done yet, I'll be glad to freely make a backing track, to share with everyone. Just email me a request and include a link to the original song, so I can use it as a template. I enjoy making backing tracks. I'm learning as I go, getting better at making them. I use MixCraft Pro Studio to make all my tracks, which is an awesome Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Interestingly, MixCraft doesn't appear with the other popular DAW's online, but I assure you that it is among the best available.

I made this blog as a tribute to one of my musical heroes, Dave Hum (1966-2012). It is my joy and privilege as a fellow banjo enthusiast to freely share these backing tracks I've made with others, continuing the excellent musical spirit of Dave Hum. I found Dave's wonderful music on YouTube in 2017 and been hooked on the banjo since. Dave Hum's backing tracks are second to none in my humble opinion, which have an alluring driving beat to them.

If you still haven't purchased Dave's original backing tracks, I highly encourage you to do so. His family also has Dave's albums and tablature for the banjo available (not tabs for Locust Hill). The money helps his family, and there's no backing tracks as unique that are available. My tracks pale in comparison to Dave's. He was skilled as a seasoned veteran musician. God bless Dave and his beautiful family. Thank you for reading my banjo blog. Music makes the world a better place.

Dave Hum
(April 11, 1966 - November 14, 2012)

A New Backing Track For “Miss McLeod's Reel”

This is a popular beloved Irish Reel called, “Miss McLeod's Reel.” There are an astonishing 38 different names for this popular tune. Some of the names are: The Brown Cow, Da Broon Coo, Did You Ever Meet The Devil?, Uncle Joe and The Gray Old Lady Of Raasay. Scottish in origin, this tune has become a staple of both the Irish and American musical traditions. In the excellent spirit of Dave Hum, I am looking for new tunes to make backing tracks for, to play along with on the 5-string banjo. I used this music video as a template to make my backing track, in the keys of G and A for your preference. I also made some tabs for you. Enjoy!

• Miss McLeod's Reel (I played the song so you can hear how it songs)
• Miss McLeod's Reel (Here's the same recording I made, but slower)
• Tabs for “Miss McLeod's Reel” (.pdf | .TablEdit tablature)
• Miss McLeod's Reel (key of A, normal)
• Miss McLeod's Reel (key of A, slower)
• Miss McLeod's Reel (key of A, slow)
• Miss McLeod's Reel (key of A, very slow)
• Miss McLeod's Reel (key of A, woodshed)
• Miss McLeod's Reel (key of G, normal)
• Miss McLeod's Reel (key of G, slower)
• Miss McLeod's Reel (key of G, slow)
• Miss McLeod's Reel (key of G, very slow)
• Miss McLeod's Reel (key of G, woodshed)

I used MIDI for the bass, drums and piano. I used real audio loops for the tambourine and shaker. I also found this nice backing track for the tune (for copyright reasons I cannot share the edited track, but if you have MixCraft you can lengthen the song, change the tempo and change the key if you want, which is what I did). Be sure to check out these other free intriguing accompaniment tracks for Jigs, Reels & Hornpipes. As Dave Hum said: So many tunes, so little time!

Lately, I've been playing my Deering Goodtime Special banjo the most, which is a very nice banjo for $1,100. I really like the tone. Plus it's only 9 pounds. I suffer chronic neck pain because of an old injury from 1992, when I got severely rear-ended by a church bus. The lesser 3-pounds on the Goodtime Special make a BIG difference! Honestly, if my house ever burned down or thieves stole my stuff, I would just buy another Deering Goodtime Special as my only banjo. It's that good! The Goodtime Special banjo (which has a tone ring) has grown on me a lot. Granted, it is still a student model, so realistically you're getting what you pay for. I love my Deering Calico, but for practicing I usually grab the Goodtime Special. It's a fun banjo!

Having said that, I think that the high end banjos are ridiculously WAY overpriced. You cannot beat the quality of the Goodtime Special banjo for the very modest price. American made instrument prices are just getting too darn high for the average musician to afford.

I was shocked recently to see that a pedal steel guitar at Jackson Steel Guitars will now cost you $9,000 (for a single neck) to $16,000 (for a double neck); and that's not even including add-ons and tax). That's insane! No steel guitar is worth that much money!!! I only paid $11,000 for my 2013 Honda FIT in 2021. If a Chinese company ever starts building affordable quality pedal steel guitars, they'll put many of the American builders out of business!

I thank God for the 5-string banjo and other awesome musical instruments. I hope you enjoy learning this song as much as I have. Miss McLeod's Reel is listed in the top 100 favorite folk songs of history. God bless.

Dave Hum
(April 11, 1966 - November 14, 2012)

A New Backing Track For “I Saw The Light”

This is a popular gospel favorite which plays well on the 5-string banjo. “I Saw the Light” is a country gospel song written by Hank Williams Sr. (1923-1953). Few people know that Hank Williams Sr. died at only age 29. Williams was inspired to write the song while returning from a concert by a remark his mother made while they were arriving in Montgomery, Alabama. I used a recording by Bill Anderson to make my backing track. You can listen to how he arranged the song, so that my backing track will make sense. Bill did the tune in the key of G#, but I have made backing tracks at various speeds in the keys of G and A for your preference. Enjoy!

• I Saw The Light (key of G, faster)
• I Saw The Light (key of G, normal)
• I Saw The Light (key of G, slower)
• I Saw The Light (key of G, slow)
• I Saw The Light (key of G, woodshed)
• I Saw The Light (key of A, faster)
• I Saw The Light (key of A, normal)
• I Saw The Light (key of A, slower)
• I Saw The Light (key of A, slow)
• I Saw The Light (key of A, woodshed)

I used MIDI for the bass, drums and piano. I'm playing along with my Cort acoustic guitar. The shaker and tambourine are real audio files.

Hank William's Sr. wrote many beautiful songs, including: Cold, Cold, Heart, I Saw The Light, Hey Good Lookin', I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, Your Cheatin' Heart, There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight, Jesus Died For Me and Jesus Remembered Me. Hank Williams Sr. had a remarkable musical career for a man who died so early in life at only age 29, like Dave Hum also died at only age 46 of cancer. I am so thankful for Dave Hum's musical legacy that he left to all of us through his beautiful majestic recordings. Thanks for visiting my blog.

Dave Hum
(April 11, 1966 - November 14, 2012)