NOTE (10/3/08): Okay, every now and then a guy gets something all wrong, and that’s me today. I had the privilege of meeting Jens Kruger at IBMA, and I asked him to show me how in the world he plays the C part to this tune. He graciously and generously showed me. What I took most careful note of is that the tune is NOT in Mounatin Minor, but rather in open G Minor tuning, i.e., with the B string tuned down to Bb. The transcription is now updated, and I apologize to those, like me, who have tried to learn it the other way - it’s not ALL that much different, but the fingerings are a LOT easier.. Thanks, Jens, for both the tune and the tip!!!

There’s an old banjo joke that goes, “Q: How can you tell one banjo tune from another? A: By their names!” True enough most of the time, but not in this case. You’ve probably never heard anything quite like this on the banjo. And no banjo jokes apply to Jens Kruger. I wish I had the time to learn every note he ever played.

As I’ve probably said before, I am happy to have lived long enough for Jens Kruger and Alison Brown to have brought their respective geniuses to the banjo, and tunes like this one by Jens are the reason for that.

He’s not just kidding about Access All Areas. Any time I think I’m accessing a new area on the banjo, I discover that Jens has already been there, and been there better. I wish I had written this tune, but I had to settle for tabbing it out instead, enough of a challenge in its own right, I might add. It is not easy to play, and you will have to work at the fingerings. It is in G Modal tuning (brought up to A with the capo), also known as Sawmill tuning, or Mountain Minor. Believe me, it is worth the effort to learn! I think it was the Jerry Reed-like “C-Part” that got me going on it - I still think that’s just the coolest thing ever, knuckle-buster that it is.

As I have said in the past, I try not to tab out contemporary music for copyright reasons, but with tunes like this, I can’t believe many people will want to try it, and those who do will want to buy the CD. I would hope that, if anything, it will advertise further for the Kruger Brothers, but, of course, if they object to it here, I will remove it. To me, though, banjo playing is a labor of love, and I’m hoping people will share. This tune is just too great to resist. If you play the banjo, you owe it to yourself to buy every recorded thing by the Kruger Brothers, including their stuff from the Kaufman Kamps, and to download every YouTube!

I have included an exported MIDI of the tab below. It sounds better than when the tab is played directly in TablEdit, but again, it is still nowhere near the actual sounds of acoustic instruments played by people, and especially not by Jens who is as good as it’s possible to get. I have not included the guitar part - maybe I’ll add it when I catch my breath, or if anyone really wants it (this ain’t exactly a jam tune, unless you are the Kruger Brothers!)

Play MIDI of the tab


Download: Access All Areas tab here     (Note: If you have not downloaded this tab since 10/12/08, you do not have the latest version)

(in TablEdit Format, which you can download a free viewer for)

Enjoy!