Why would anyone want to play in the key of F using G tuning? Partly for the reason people climb mountains: because it's there.

Seriously, there are some very good reasons. Playing in open G is what bluegrass banjo is all about, isn't it? Undoubtedly, but at the same time it has a some limitations.

Let's start with the fact that there are songs or tunes that actually are in the key of F. We could capo up to the 10th fret and play in G, but we'd then be playing in dog-hearing range. Also, who wants to put a railroad spike at the 15th fret for their 5th string? Otherwise we need to play in a key other that G anyway. The options are capoing at the 3rd fret and playing in D, or capoing at the 5th fret and playing in C. These work fine, but we're still moving out of G fingering. The 3rd option is playing in the key of F without using a capo. It seems to me to be the simplest solution.

Also, if you've played in G for a length of time you might be getting a little tired of playing the same licks over and over. I know I feel this way from time to time. It's really hard to come up with a new way to play a G chord tag lick. Also, just playing anything using the same chords, G, C, and D, for almost every song gets old after awhile. One way to make old songs sound new again is just to capo up 2 fret and play in F instead of G. It's probably the easiest way to make the old standards that everyone knows and loves sound like they're brand new again! You'll stand out in jam or playing with a band and not have to break a sweat to do it! That's what this lesson is all about.

I choose the examples for this lesson with 2 things in mind. First I wanted to show how to take a common song played in G and “translate” it into the key of F. I choose “Roll in my Sweet Baby's Arms” for this. Starting with a very simple version I show how to build it up into a finished arrangement in F.

Next I choose another classic G song, “Salty Dog Blues” that adds some new chords to our mix. We include the G and D chords chords that we're already familiar with, but use them in a different context. I show you how to do this both down and up the neck. Playing up the neck in F also has a very distinctive sound compared to playing the same thing in G.

I wanted to include a song that's often done in F. “Man of Constant Sorrow” is an obvious choice. F is probably the most common key to do this song in. Often people use D tuning capoed at the 3rd fret (Ron Block does at least) which sound great, but I think this version sounds very good. You'll find 2 versions for up and down the neck on this one also.

Finally I include “Wreck of the Old 97 ” and “Wildwood Flower.” They both have great melodies that fit nicely in F. I particularly like the way you can use hammer-ons in F that give this version a sound similar to playing the song in C on the guitar. I'm sure you will enjoy these two.

Here are some samples of what you'll find in the lesson:

I hope you'll give this lesson a try. Like all of my lessons I've tried to make it as complete as possible with detailed explanations and examples of all of the techniques presented. The tablature is easy to read and includes left-hand fingering as well as diagrams for right hand chord positions. I recorded slow and fast version of each song so you can play along. I also include videos showing left-hand techniques that you will use in any key!

There are more lessons coming soon! Future lessons will include:

	Playing in different keys using G tuning.
	Intermediate Scruggs style.
	Basics of Melodic Style.
	Breaking the tab habit: learning and playing by ear.

Please email me if you have questions or requests for future lessons!