Bluegrass Banjo Tutorial: "Pike County Breakdown"

Hear this tune played with guitar rhythm backup (slow, medium, fast) starting at 12:21. Guitar chords are provided on-screen.

This is an instructional tutorial 5-string bluegrass banjo lesson demonstrating the popular bluegrass banjo instrumental, "Pike County Breakdown." The tune is attributed to Rupert Jones, a name which is usually considered a pseudonym for Bill Monroe. It was released on record in 1952 by Monroe, and, later the same year, by Flatt and Scruggs (who attributed it to Monroe by name). The Scruggs version is what I base my version on.

On this video I teach the tune lick by lick, phrase by phrase, using on-screen tablature, then I put it together -- slowly at first, then faster toward the end, adding rhythm guitar audio overlay and on-screen chord prompts.

Free tab sheets (PDF) and play-along tracks (MP3) for this and many other tunes are available at my website, www.littlerockbanjo.com.

Hope you enjoy. Be patient with yourself and work diligently, focusing extra time on the more difficult passages.

I have posted this teaching video for instructional purposes only and, in my opinion, it constitutes fair use:

"The fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright."