Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Hi,
Just before I was about to send this email, I was notified by the management at the Pioneer Building that next Wednesday (April 25th), our jam space at Jenny's Lunchline will not be available for us to use. So, the next beginner jam will be two weeks from now: Wednesday, May 2nd.
The song of the week will be 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken' in the key of G.

Progression
Until last night, at the beginner jam, we have used the following chord progression for playing 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken':

1111
4411
1111
1511
This is the same chord progression that is used to play 'I'll Fly Away' and 'Mountain Dew' (Prog. V3 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout).

However, when leading the song last night, I modified the progression for Will The Circle Be Unbroken to:

1111
4411
1116m
1511
In the key of G: 6m = Em

This how I will lead the song for the next two beginner jams. If you print off one or more of the attached melody sheets, you may wish to pencil in 'Em' in parentheses above the 12th measure (i.e., the last measure of the third line).

While I prefer to play Will The Circle Be Unbroken as a three chord song, it often gets played at jams with the 6m chord substituted in place of the 1 in the last measure of the 3rd line. Because of this, I have chosen to introduce this variant progression as an option for playing Will The Circle Be Unbroken at the beginner jam in recycling the song as a song of the week for jam.

From now on, when someone calls Will The Circle Be Unbroken at the jam, be prepared for either progression to be used in playing it. I may sometimes ask the person calling or leading the song to specify whether they want to play it with or without the 6m chord. Others times, the person may volunteer this information without being asked.  

Yet at other times, we will not know whether the 6m chord will be used in the song until we get to the end of line 3 of the intro break. So be sure to keep your ears and eyes open for this, so that we don't end up with a situation in which, throughout the whole song, some people are playing one progression for the song while others are playing another progression for the song. It is especially important for players of the lower-pitched instruments (guitar & bass) to catch on as quickly as possible whether or not the 6m is being used in the progression, since they, much more so than the players of the higher-pitched instruments, are responsible for making it clear what the chord progression is for a song by way of playing a low-pitched root note of the chord when a chord change occurs.

In cases where it is not clear which progression is intended by the person leading the song (e.g., when the person leading of the song is also the person who plays the intro break, or when the person leading the song is playing backup during the intro break on their instrument in a manner in which the distinction between the 1 and the 6m is not readily visible or audible), it is best for everyone, including the person leading the song, to copy the chord progression used by the strongest/loudest/most confident rhythm guitar player.

Recordings
The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - on their classic 3-record 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken' album: with Earl Scruggs on banjo, Vassar Clements on fiddle, Doc Watson on guitar, and Mother Maybelle Carter, Jimmy Martin, and Roy Acuff taking turns singing the verses

key of A (no 6m chord in the progression)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn8aruzfRAA

Here's a version of the song that uses the 6m chord in place of the 1 in the last measure of the 3rd line:
Key of G: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQxTop7XtoA

6m in place of 1
The 6m chord is called the 'relative minor' of the 1 chord. The 6m chord shares two of its three notes in common with the 1 chord, and the note that the 6m does not have in common with the 1 chord (an E note when Em is the 6m) does not severely clash with the note that the 1 chord has that the 6m does not have (a D note when G is the 1). 

So, while one's backup playing is affected by whether a 6m or a 1 chord is being used, especially on the instruments that make use of a lot of complete chords for backup playing, or zero in a lot on the root note of the chord, one need not change what one plays for a break for Will The Circle Be Unbroken when the 6m is put in place of the 1 chord. Sung harmony parts also need not be affected by the presence or absence of the 6m in the progression.

Another common variant on the V3 Progression that involves the use of the 6m chord is:
1111
4411
116m6m
1511

This progression is commonly used at jams for playing 'Sitting On Top Of The World'. I have also seen it used occasionally for Will The Circle Be Unbroken.

A few other progressions on the basic chord progressions chart that lend themselves well to the substitution of the 6m chord in place of a measure of the 1 chord are:

Prog. V4      Prog. V4 variant:
1111             1111          
4411             4411
4411             4416m
1511             1511
'You Are My Sunshine' may be played with either of these progressions.

Prog. W4      Prog. W4 variant:
1111              1111         
4411              4411
4411              4416m
5511              5511
I have heard 'Lonesome Road Blues' played occasionally with this variant on W4.

Prog. V6        Prog. V6 variant
1141              1141
1155              1155
1141              1141
1511              6m511
Either of these progressions will work well for 'Amazing Grace'.

Relative Majors & Minors
For each of the 8 Major keys we play in at the jam, here is a chart comparing the notes that make up the 1 and 6m chords with each other:

                  1                   6m
Key of G:   G (=GBD)     Em (=EGB)
Key of A:    A  (=AC#E)   F#m (=F#AC#)
Key of Bb:  Bb (=BbDF)  Gm (=GBbD)
Key of B:    B (=BD#F#)  G#m (=G#,B,D#)
Key of C:    C (=CEG)     Am (=ACE)
Key of D:    D (=DF#A)    Bm (=BDF#)
Key of E:    E (=EG#B)    C#m (=C#EG#)
Key of F:     F (=FAC)      Dm (=DFA)

Liza Jane - A
Note: The old-time tune 'Liza Jane' that was played at last night's jam is a different tune than the '(Little) Liza Jane' that is sometimes played at the intermediate jam. 

The chord progression used for last night's Liza Jane was:
A-Part: 1116m        B-Part: 1114
              1151                        5551

Happy Pickin',
Jason

Will The Circle Be Unbroken - banjo tab
Download File

Will The Circle Be Unbroken - guitar tab
Download File

Will The Circle  - mandolin tab
Download File

Will The Circle - melody in G
Download File