Banjo Newsletter Columns
1 and 5 Chords: G and D, C and G, etc.

Popular Bluegrass Songs

  • Handsome Molly
  • Shady Grove
  • John Henry
  • Little Birdie
  • Hot Corn Cold Corn
  • Reuben's Train/Train 45
  • Bringing in the Georgia Mail
  • Fire Ball Mail
  • Jimmie Brown the Newsboy
  • I'll Go Steppin' Too
  • Katy Daley
  • You Are My Flower
  • On My Mind
  • Get In Line Brother
  • Will You Be Lonesome Too
  • Somehow Tonight
  • My Home's Across the Blue Ridge Mountains
  • I'm Going Back to Old Kentucky
  • Working on a Building
  • Wild Bill Jones
  • Pretty Polly
  • Stay All Night
  • Ashes of Love
  • Driving Nails in My Coffin
  • Pretty Fair Maid in the Garden
  • Darling Corey
  • Buffalo Gals
  • Where the Soul Never Dies
  • What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul

Other Bluegrass

  • The Old Crossroads
  • Mansions for Me
  • Sharecropper's Son
  • Mountain Folk
  • Old Gospel Ship
  • There's No Hiding Place Down Here
  • See That My Grave Is Kept Green (or Clean)
  • Who's That Knocking At My Door
  • I'll Be There
  • Don't Lie to Me
  • Walking in My Sleep
  • It's Too Late to Walk the Floor
  • Kentucky Girl
  • I'm Gonna Love You Like There's No Tomorrow
  • It Ain't Gonna Rain No More
  • Little Liza Jane
  • It's Goodbye and So Long to You
  • I Might Take You Back Again
  • Poison Love

Favorite Country Songs

  • Take Me Back to Tulsa
  • Jambalaya
  • Pistol Packin' Mama
  • Honky Tonkin'
  • Waltz Across Texas
  • I Love You a Thousand Ways

Favorite Folk Songs

  • Tom Dooley
  • Puttin' On The Style
  • He's Got The Whole World In His Hands
  • Boll Weevil
  • Skip To My Lou
  • Shortnin' Bread
  • Go Tell Aunt Rhody
  • Down In The Valley
  • Clementine
1 and 4 Chords: G and C, D and G, etc.
  • Things in Life
  • Walls of Time
  • Be Proud of the Gray in Your Hair
  • Roving Gambler
  • Great High Mountain
  • Ho Honey Ho
  • These Blues Have Got Me
1 Minor and 7 Chords: Em and D, Am and G, etc.
  • What Should we do with the Drunken Sailor
  • Sinner Man
  • Shady Grove (minor key version)
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Each song uses only two chords, and starts on the "1" chord. Pick a key, and that is the "1" chord. (If you picked G, G is the 1 and D is the 5). Try guessing when the changes happen. At any point, the choice is between two chords, so experiment to see which sounds better. Working out when the chord changes happen is a great way to develop your ear skills. Check your guesswork with a songbook or knowledgeable musician.

Please suggest additional songs to Pete at pete@drbanjo.com


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