Grandpa Jones

By Charles Wolf

It was a hot night at the Grand Ole Opry in the summer of 1995. Out frontthe crowd in the Opry house was stocking up on Cokes and trying to explain to northern visitors what Goo ­Goos were. Backstage the talk was about whether or not the Houston Oilers were serious about moving to Nashville. An­nouncer Kyle Cantrell was checking over his schedule and getting ready to intro­duce the host for the 8:30 P.M. segment of the world’s longest running radio show. He smiled when he saw who was up next.­

Bradley-Kincaid,-Joe-Troyan-and-Grandpa-JonesAccompanied by his back-up band of

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Bigfoot’s Gone Away (+tab for banjo,fiddle & mandolin)

bigfoot Bigfoot. Sasquatch. Abominable Snowman. Whatever name you want to call him, this mythical creature has crept into our collective imaginations as far back as 1811. That year, just outside what is now the town of Jasper, Canada, a trader by the name of David Thompson discovered footprints in the snow that made him stop in his tracks. He swore that the impression left in the snow had four toes, was fourteen inches long and eight inches wide. Word quickly spread and imaginations ran wild about the existence of a huge hairy ape-like creature that walked upright on two legs. Of

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Welcome to Our New Website

We’re happy to launch our brand-new site!

So, what did we change? Most importantly, we’ve improved the product search so it will be easier for you to browse our books and recordings. You’ll find it easier to locate the specific book you’re looking for. We also upgraded the process for placing individual and wholesale orders.

We also made sure that the free stuff — the articles, tabs, and videos that were on our previous site — are all still available for you.

Thanks for stopping by! We hope you enjoy the new site.

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Wayne Erbsen teaches C run for Bluegrass guitar

In Bluegrass, you will often be in the key of G which means you will frequently be changing chords to C.  In this lesson, Wayne teaches you different fingering options for the G chord to help you most efficiently change chords.

To learn more about playing bluegrass guitar, check out Wayne’s guitar instruction book, ‘Flatpicking Guitar for the Complete Ignoramus!

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‘Run Mountain’ – Music + Lyrics

Among the more bizarre songs in old-time and early country music is one called Run Mountain. The song is curious both for the melody and because some of the lyrics are rather mysterious. The melody is set in the key of G but it starts in the key of A. By the time the chorus comes around, it is in the key of G. Are you confused yet? If so, join the club!  As if the melody and the key changes are not strange enough, what really takes the cake are the words to the chorus. More on this

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Katie Dear

Katie Dear

Oh Katie dear go ask your mother,
If you can be a bride of mine.
If she says yes, come back and tell me,
If she says no, we’ll run away.

Oh Willie dear I cannot ask her,
She’s in her room taking a rest.
And by her side is a silver dagger,
To slay the man that I love best.

Oh Katie dear go ask your father,
If you can be a bride of mine.
If he says yes come back and tell me,
If he says no, we’ll run away,

Oh Willie dear I cannot ask

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Ground Hog

Clawhammer banjo for the complete ignoramus cover

Ground Hog

Shoulder up your gun and whistle up your dog
Shoulder up your gun and whistle up your dog
Off to the woods to catch a ground hog
Oh, ground hog.

In come Sal with a snigger and a grin
In come Sal with a snigger and a grin
With ground hog grease all over her chin
Oh, ground hog.

In come grandma hopping on a cane
In come grandma hopping on a cane
I’m gonna have that ground hog’s brains
Oh, ground hog.

Ground hog stewed and ground hog fried
Ground hog stewed and ground hog fried
It’s

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One-Finger Easy Chords for Banjo

By Wayne Erbsen

People are always searching the Internet for the easiest way to play the banjo. Who can blame them? Aren’t we all looking for the easiest way to do things? Many of them end up on this website, and find the article Banjo Chords. This article demonstrates that with two- and three-finger chords, the beginner can play thousands of bluegrass, folk, and gospel songs.

Right now I’m going to make things even easier! Many thousands of songs can be played using just one-finger chords. Yes that’s right. One finger.

For bluegrass music, banjos are generally tuned in

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The Hanging of Fiddlin’ Joe Coleman

American Fiddler cBy Wayne Erbsen

The story of the hanging of Fiddlin’ Joe Coleman is enough to send chills up and down your spine. In 1847, near the town of Slate Fork, in Adair County, Kentucky, a shoemaker and fiddler named Joe Coleman was living with his wife, and his wife’s mother and sister. According to some accounts, Joe had been acting erratically and not long after that, someone smothered his mother-in-law to death with a pillow. A few days later, Joe’s wife went into the woods to gather bark and never came back. Joe went searching for his wife in the

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The Hanging of Fiddlin’ Joe Coleman

By Wayne Erbsen

The story of the hanging of Fiddlin’ Joe Coleman is enough to send chills up and down your spine. In 1847, near the town of Slate Fork, in Adair County, Kentucky, a shoemaker and fiddler named Joe Coleman was living with his wife, and his wife’s mother and sister. According to some accounts, Joe had been acting erratically and not long after that, someone smothered his mother-in-law to death with a pillow. A few days later, Joe’s wife went into the woods to gather bark and never came back. Joe went searching for his wife in the

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