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Will The Circle Be Unbroken

2/5/2016

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Another excellent jam last night! The song of the week is 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken' in the key of G.
 
As I play it, this song uses the same chord progression as I'll Fly Away (Prog. V3 on the Basic Chord Progressions handout):
 
1111
4411
1111
1511
 
Other progressions that have been used on recordings of the song include:
 
1111
4411
1111
5511
 
1111
4411
1116m
1511
 
1111
4411
116m6m
1511
 
(In the key of G: 1=G; 4=C; 5=D; 6m=Em.)
 
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.
 
Here are some youtube links to listen to of 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken'
 
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
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn8aruzfRAA
 
Will The Circle Be Unbroken bluegrass version - Key of G:
​http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQxTop7XtoA
(Notice that this version uses the 6m chord in place of the 1 in the last measure of the 3rd line, and ends with an a capela chorus.)
 
The Carter Family: Key of Ab
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjHjm5sRqSA
(I include this version for historical reasons - although it is pre-bluegrass, and is quite 'crooked' (1/2 measures being used in place of full measures in various spots within the song), and uses 5511 instead of 1511 for the last line of the progression.
 
About the melody sheets attached here: 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: 'Amazing Grace', 'Shortnin' Bread', 'My Home's Across The Blue Ridge Mountains', 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot', 'Canaan's Land', 'Mountain Dew', 'All The Good Times Are Past And Gone', 'Down The Road', 'Nine Pound Hammer', 'Handsome Molly', 'Camptown Races', and 'Liza Jane'.
 
Examples of songs on the top 20 and additional 30 lists 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: 'I'll Fly Away', 'Mama Don't Allow', 'Shady Grove', 'Angeline The Baker' (some versions of the melody for 'Angeline The Baker' are entirely pentatonic), 'Leaning On The Everlasting Arms', 'Worried Man Blues', 'She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain', and 'This Little Light Of Mine'.
 
Here is a comparison of the major scales and major pentatonic scales for the 4 keys we play in most frequently 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#
 
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
 
Happy Pickin',
Jason
Will The Circle - banjo tab
File Size: 280 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Will The Circle - guitar tab
File Size: 308 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Will The Circle - mandolin tab
File Size: 241 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Will The Circle - melody in G
File Size: 292 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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    Past
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  • Home
    • About
    • Join Us
    • Donate
    • IBA Newsletter
    • Our Logo
  • Articles & Podcasts
    • Podcasts >
      • ​Jeremy Garrett Interview
      • Keith Reed Interview
      • Jason Homey Interview
      • Becky Smith Interview
      • Marv Quinton Interview
      • Rue Frisbee Interview
      • Donna and Mike Bond Interview
      • Honi Deaton Interview
      • Dennis Stokes Interview
      • Gary Eller Interview
    • Articles >
      • Glen Garrett - The Golden Years
      • Sammie Bush - came to Weiser
      • Mark O’Connor - My History at Weiser
      • Barbara Lamb - Fiddler Extraordinaire
      • Charlie Simmons -The Idaho Bluegrass Association from 1975 to 1985
      • Idaho's 19th century Fiddlers
      • Weiser Fiddle Champions ​ 1950s & 1960s
      • ​Byron Berline
      • Dave Frisbee
      • Weiser Fiddle Champions from 1970s and 80s
      • Megan Lynch Chowning
      • Fiddle Champion ​in 1990s and 2000s
      • Tashina and Tristan Clarridge
    • Snap Shot - Videos from IBA members
  • Events
    • Calendar (BCBB)
    • Open Mic
    • SpringGrass 2023 >
      • Springfest 2022
    • Winterfest
    • IBA Concert Series
    • Virtualgrass
    • Other Bluegrass Events
  • Jam
    • Idaho Jams
    • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2021 - 2022
    • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2021 - 2022
    • All of Jason's Songs
    • Old Blogs from Jason >
      • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2019 - 2021
      • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2019 - 2021
      • Jason's Beginner Jam Blog 2017 - 2018
      • Jason's Intermediate Jam Blog 2017 - 2018
      • Songs in 2016
  • Camps & Contests
    • Idaho Bluegrass and Banjo Camp
    • Banjo Contest
    • National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest
  • Idaho Bands
  • Teachers
  • Classified
  • Links
    • General
    • Learning
    • Specific Instruments