Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Hi everyone,
The song of the week is 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken' in the key of G.

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
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - YouTube

Bill Monroe (live) - key of Bb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67Uk42Q-51o 

Ralph Stanley - key of A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFqL6BprLZM

Jason Homey & The Snake River Boys - key of G (starts at 15:24)
Jason Homey and the Snake River boys, IBA Open Mic, 10_22_19 - YouTube

Jam Videos
Here are four youtube jam videos I have made for Will The Circle Be Unbroken. I recommend starting with the one listed last. In that one, I am on guitar, and am playing in the key of G.
Jason’s YouTube Links – Alphabetical Listing – Parisology (cyberplasm.com)


Progression
As it has been played at the Beginner Jam so far, Will The Circle Be Unbroken uses the same chord progression as I'll Fly Away (Prog. V3 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout):

1111
4411
1111
1511

In the key of G: 1 = G, 4 = C, and 5 = D.
In the key of A: 1 = A, 4 = D, and 5 = E.
In the key of Bb: 1 = Bb, 4 = Eb, and 5 = F  Etc.

Be sure to conceptualize the progression in terms of four 4-measure lines, just as presented above: a line of 1111, followed by a line of 4411, followed by a line that is the same as the first line, namely 1111, followed by the most typical ending line of a progression for vocal bluegrass songs 1511. Do not fall into the trap of thinking of the progression as 1111441111111511: that is: four measures of the 1 chord, followed by two measures of the 4 chord, followed by seven measures of the 1 chord, followed by one measure of the 5 chord, followed by two measures of the 1 chord. That is a very awkward and ineffective way to keep track of where the change to the 5 chord occurs in the progression.

Other songs that use the same chord progression include:
Cryin' Holy (a.k.a., On The Rock Where Moses Stood)  
Darling, Say Won't You Be Mine - chorus  
Glory, Glory (a.k.a., When I Lay My Burdens Down) - has a melody that is almost the same as the melody for Will The Circle Be Unbroken 
I Hear A Choo-Choo Coming
In Despair - verses  
It's Mighty Dark To Travel - chorus, and in some versions, the verses as well
Life Is Like A Mountain Railroad (a.k.a., Life's Railway To Heaven) - second half of the verses  
Mountain Dew
Precious Memories - chorus
Sitting On Top Of The World - some versions
Waves On The Sea  
When My Time Comes To Go
Will My Mother Know Me There - verses

Other progressions that have been used on recordings and at jams for Will The Circle Be Unbroken include:

1111
4411
1111
5511
(Prog. W3)

1111
4411
1116m
1511
(This is the most common alternative progression at bluegrass jams for Will The Circle Be Unbroken.)

1111
4411
116m6m
1511
(In the key of G: 6m=Em. In the key of A: 6m = F#m. In the key of Bb: 6m = Gm. Etc. The 6m chord is the relative minor chord of the 1 chord.)

Since the person leading the song is responsible for determining which progression will be used for the song, it is important at a jam to pay attention to the choice of chord changes being used by the person leading the song, so that you don't find yourself using a different progression than that used by the leader.


Melody
Notice the melody notes in the second line of Will The Circle Be Unbroken. (See the files at the bottom of this write-up.) The root note of the key is the main note dwelt on during the 4 chord measures (a G note during the C chord measures when in the key of G; an A note during the D chord measures when in the key of A, etc.), the last note in the second of the two 4 chord measures is the 6th note of the Major Scale of the key (an E note when in the key of G; an F# note when in the key of A, etc.), and the note that follows this note is the 5th note of the Major Scale of the key, and this note coincides with the change back to the 1 chord (a D note that coincides with the return to the G chord when in the key of G, an E note that coincides with the return to the A chord when in the key of A). All of this is typical in the second line of songs that use the V3 or W3 progressions. Compare the second line of the melody of 'I'll Fly Away' with the second line of the melody of Will The Circle Be Unbroken: 
https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/ill-fly-away (scroll down to the bottom of the page for the melody sheet files)

Notice that while the G Major Scale consists of the 7 notes G, A, B, C, D, E, and F#, only five of these notes are used for the melody of Will The Circle Be Unbroken; these are the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th notes of the G Major Scale: G, A, B, D, and E. This 5-note subset of the G Major Scale forms what is called the G Major Pentatonic Scale.

Knowing which 5 notes of the major scale form the Major Pentatonic scale can be very useful when trying to find the melody of a song on an instrument, because there are many songs like Will The Circle Be Unbroken that have melodies that use only the notes of the Major Pentatonic scale, and even in songs that use more notes, the notes of the Pentatonic Scale tend to show up more frequently than the two major scale notes that are not included in the Major Pentatonic Scale.

Some other songs that use only the notes of the Major Pentatonic Scale in their melodies are: 
All The Good Times Are Past And Gone 
Amazing Grace 
Auld Lang Syne
Camptown Races
Canaan's Land
Come Back Darling
The Crawdad Song
Down The Road
Foggy Mountain Top
Handsome Molly
Let Me Be Your Friend
Light At The River
Little Liza Jane
Long Journey Home
Mountain Dew
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains
Nine Pound Hammer
Shortnin' Bread
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Tom Dooley 
Just like in Nine Pound Hammer, Foggy Mountain Top, and My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains, the lowest and highest notes of the melody for Will The Circle Be Unbroken are the 5th note of the Major Scale, with the lower 5th and the higher 5th being an octave apart from each other. (D notes when in the key of G; E notes when in the key of A, etc.)

Examples of songs on the current main song list and the additional songs list that have one or two more notes in their melodies besides the notes of the Major Pentatonic scale, but which still have for the most part a Major Pentatonic sound because these extra notes occur only once or twice in the melody and/or are used only in passing between two more prominent melody notes in the tune, include: 'Angeline The Baker' (some versions of the melody for 'Angeline The Baker' are entirely pentatonic), 'Cripple Creek', 'Gathering Flowers From The Hillside', 'I'll Fly Away', 'I'll Still Write Your Name In The Sand', 'Leaning On The Everlasting Arms', 'Mama Don't Allow', 'O Susanna', 'This Little Light Of Mine', 'Will You Be Loving Another Man' and 'Worried Man Blues'.
Here is a comparison of the Major Scales and Major Pentatonic Scales for the 8 major keys we play in at the jam:

                                        1      2     3     4     5     6     7
G Major                         G    A     B     C    D     E     F#
G Major Pentatonic     G    A     B           D     E

A Major                          A    B     C#   D    E     F#   G#
A Major Pentatonic      A    B     C#          E     F#

Bb Major                       Bb   C    D     Eb   F     G     A
Bb Major Pentatonic   Bb   C    D             F     G

B Major                          B    C#   D#   E    F#   G#   A#      
B Major Pentatonic      B    C#   D#          F#   G#   

C Major                          C    D     E     F    G     A     B
C Major Pentatonic      C    D     E           G     A

D Major                          D     E     F#   G   A     B     C#
D Major Pentatonic      D     E     F#          A    B

E Major                           E     F#   G#   A    B    C#   D#
E Major Pentatonic       E     F#   G#         B    C#   

F Major                           F     G     A    Bb   C    D    E
F Major Pentatonic       F     G     A            C    D


Pickups
For Will The Circle Be Unbroken, use the same set of pickups to lead into a break, especially an intro break, that you would use to start Nine Pound Hammer, Little Birdie, or She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain. Notice that the melody of Will The Circle has two pickup notes built into it. These are the same two pickup notes that are built into the melodies of Little Birdie and She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain, and they are also the same as the last two pickup notes that are built into the melody of Nine Pound Hammer. When a song has built-in pickups, it is usually best to include these in one's pickup phrase for leading into a break, rather than selecting pickup notes that don't imply the melody. A simple way to turn the pickup notes in  the melodies of Little Birdie, She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain, and Will The Circle Be Unbroken into a pickup phrase that consists of three quarter notes (using three quarter notes rather than just two is usually a more effective way to start an intro break at a jam) is to double up on the first pickup note in the melody:

                 5     5     6      leading to    1   
                 sol  sol   la                        do
key of G:   D    D     E                         G  
key of A:    E    E     F#                        A  
key of Bb:  F    F     G                         Bb 
key of B:    F#  F#   G#                        B 
key of C:    G   G     A                          C 
key of D:     A    A     B                          D  
key of E;     B    B     C#                       E  
key of F:     C    C     D                         F   

On banjo, another effective way to start an intro break for Little Birdie, Nine Pound Hammer, She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain, and Will The Circle Be Unbroken is to play a half-note pinch (e.g., 5th and 1st strings played together simultaneously, lasting for half a measure before the next note is played) followed by the two quarter note pickup notes that the melody starts with.


Fill-ins
Use fill-in licks on the 1 chord measures in the same two places in the progression in your breaks and backup playing for Will The Circle Be Unbroken as in 'I'll Fly Away', 'Nine Pound Hammer', 'Little Birdie', and 'Blue Ridge Cabin Home' (i.e., within the last half of lines 2 and 4):
https://www.idahobluegrassassociation.org/jasons-beginner-jam-blog-2019---2020/category/ill-fly-away  (scroll down to the 'Fill-in Licks' section in either of the write-ups in the link, and then go to the bottom of the page for the file showing examples of G chord fill-in licks).


Lyrics
At jams, it is common for the song to be sung with either 3 or 4 verses:
1. I Was standing by my window...
2. Lord I told that undertaker... (or Well I told that undertaker... or Undertaker, undertaker...)
3. Lord I followed close behind her... (or Well I followed close behind her...)
(4. I went home Lord, my home was lonesome...)


Song List
16 songs were played at last night's jam: 10 from the main list, 5 from the additional songs list, and 1 that is on neither list:

All The Good Times Are Past And Gone - Bb
Angeline The Baker - D
Blue Ridge Cabin Home - A
Boil The Cabbage Down - A
Gathering Flowers From The Hillside - G
Little Birdie - Bb
My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains - G
Old Joe Clark - A
Soldier's Joy - D
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - G
Amazing Grace - G
Before I Met You - C
Gold Watch And Chain - A
Hand Me Down My Walking Cane - G
I'll Fly Away - G
Cherokee Shuffle - A

Happy Pickin',
Jason


Will The Circle Be Unbroken - banjo tab
Download File

Will The Circle Be Unbroken - guitar tab
Download File

Will The Circle Be Unbroken  - mandolin tab
Download File

Will The Circle Be Unbroken  - melody in G
Download File