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Banjo tablatures for Salt Creek

Traditional

Recomended level: Intermediate

Tags: #fiddle tune, #old time, #guitar tune, #medium-tempo, #bluesy

It is quite unclear if this is the original title of the tune or if it had been changed. Jabbour might have changed the name because "Salt Creek" was the name of a stream running through its site of the Bean Blossom Festival. This may be the bluegrass re-titling of "Salt River" by Mandolinist Bill Monroe, although there are claims that his record company, Decca, was liable because Monroe's last song was "Big Sandy River." The record company, the story goes, assumed that misunderstanding due to the similarities in the names might mess with marketing, and they decided on switching' river' to' creek.' In 1963, Monroe recorded the song with banjo by Bill Keith. Popular in West Virginia Central and South (Krassen). Hobart Smith called the tune "Pateroller", but this is not the tune usually called "Pateroller", "The Pateroller (Song)", or "Run, N.... r, Run" and variants. AB (Silberberg, Krassen): AABB (Brody, Lowinger): AABBAA'B'B' (Phillips). D Modern {Krassen}: A Major / Mixolydian (Silberberg, Brody, and Phillips). He believes Monroe's tune was learned from the banjoist Don Stover (who knew it as "Salt River").

  • Banjo Salt Creek Scruggs Style

    Scruggs Style

    • Difficulty
    • Key
      G
    • Tempo
      120 bpm
    • Tuning
      gDGBD

    Salt Creek is a popular jam tune, and is a great introduction to single string playing in the context of a song.

    Banjo Salt Creek Scruggs Style
    Learn
  • Banjo Salt Creek Melodic Style

    Melodic Style

    • Difficulty
    • Key
      G
    • Tempo
      120 bpm
    • Tuning
      gDGBD

    Play like a fiddle player! A lot of melodic style banjo players listen to fiddle players for articulations and popular licks.

    Banjo Salt Creek Melodic Style
    Learn
  • Banjo Salt Creek Backup

    Backup

    • Difficulty
    • Key
      G
    • Tempo
      120 bpm
    • Tuning
      gDGBD

    This is a fairly difficult backup arrangement of Salt Creek with a lot of common licks to keep things interesting when playing behind another instrumentalist.

    Banjo Salt Creek Backup
    Learn



Practicing Tips

If you're an intermediate banjo player looking to develop your skills further, 'Salt Creek' provides an excellent opportunity. With tablatures available in Scruggs, Melodic, and Backup Styles, this resource is both versatile and challenging. Key concepts include elements of the fiddle tune, old time, guitar tune and bluesy, medium-tempo.

One of the most effective features of the Tunefox platform is the Lick Switcher. By adding new lick vocabulary, you can truly make the song your own. Each individual measure can be altered, providing a slew of variations for you to learn and practice. Simply tap on a measure to discover hidden licks.

The Arrange slider is another powerful tool. Slide it left for a simplified, core arrangement or right for the full song, complete with all the extra notes. The Tempo Slider allows you to adjust the tempo accordingly, supporting effective practice and learning.

Additionally, practicing 'Salt Creek' with backing tracks is not only fun but also enriching. Choose the measures you'd like to focus on, and use the 'Speed Up' function to gradually increase the tempo. Begin at a comfortable pace, and let 'Speed Up' take you to higher speeds progressively for optimal skill enhancement.

For overall success, employ regular practice, patience, and constant exploration. Each variation is a new opportunity to understand the song better while building your own unique style.