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Fire Ball Mail

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Fire Ball Mail
Up-the-neck Break +

Banjo Tab PDF

Up-the-neck break from the studio version on the album Foggy Mountain Banjo +

All 3 down-the-neck breaks as heard on the YouTube video of the Flatt & Scruggs TV Show.


Read the full description:

The video clip of this tune that is posted on YouTube, does not include the Lester Flatt introduction, which may have contributed to the shaky start by Scruggs. The full video, which is part of the DVD series "Best of the Flatt & Scruggs TV Show", shows Lester introducing the tune by saying, "Earl Scruggs, let's have the Farewell Blues" - a tune that is in a different banjo tuning, in a different Key and at a different tempo than anyone in the band would have been prepared for.

My tab of the kickoff of the 1st Break is what I think Scruggs was intending to play, rather than a transcription of the error you hear and see on the video. The other band members are seen having quite a fun time having just heard the legendary master of the banjo blow the kickoff to a medium tempo 2-chord tune that he had previously kicked off perfectly countless times.

You can either play this tab as 3 separate breaks as heard in the video, or you can connect them by following these instructions: go directly from measure 16 to 19 to connect the end of the 1st break to the start of the 2nd break - and go directly from measure 34 to 37 to connect the end of the 2nd break to the start of the 3rd break.

The above text is included in the descriptive notes with the tab.

The tab of the up-the-neck break to "Fire Ball Mail" as heard on the original 1960 recording shows both suggested right hand and left hand fingering.

To listen to "Fire Ball Mail" click the arrow on the banjo image at top of page to reveal the tune posted on YouTube.
You will get the following files:
  • PDF (52KB)
  • PDF (31KB)