--- title: A Quick Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse description: The zombie apocalypse can be a real drag. Luckily, nothing wards off that craving for brains quite like the sound of a 5-string banjo! image: https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/hubfs/Blog%20Images/Screen%20Shot%202017-02-27%20at%202.54.15%20PM.png --- [![Deering Banjos - The Great American Banjo Company](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/hubfs/Logos/Deering%20Logo.png "Deering Banjos - The Great American Banjo Company")](https://www.deeringbanjos.com/) - [Hooks & Nuts](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com) - [Banjos](https://www.deeringbanjos.com/collections/banjos) - [Find A Dealer](https://www.deeringbanjos.com/apps/store-locator/) - [Support](https://help.deeringbanjos.com/knowledge) - [Accessories](https://www.deeringbanjos.com/collections/accessories) [Zombie Killer](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/topic/zombie-killer) # A Quick Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse by [Jonathan Galletti](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/author/jonathan-galletti) on February 27, 2017 ##### Share The zombie apocalypse can be a real drag. Luckily, nothing wards off that craving for brains quite like the sound of a 5-string banjo! - Step 1: Don’t get bitten. - Step 2: Play banjo! If you’re like me, watching The Walking Dead on Sunday nights has become somewhat of a ritual. Every time I hear the sound of those haunting strings start, I get ready to see what trouble Rick and the group will get themselves into. There is just one thing wrong with the opening theme, IT’S NOT ON A BANJO! So, I decided to fix that. >   > > [It's that time again!!! #walkingdead #banjo #💀 @amcthewalkingdead @amctalkingdead](https://www.instagram.com/p/BQbxGaoFdg8/) > > A post shared by Jonathan Galletti Music (@jonathangalletti) on Feb 12, 2017 at 5:47pm PST ## Tuning The main challenge to coming up with this arrangement is that the standard banjo tuning, gDGBD, would not work because you would need to go down to a low C to stay as true as possible to the original sound. So, I worked it out in C tuning, gCGBD (like Earl used on Home Sweet Home!). This worked out ok, but required the use of a hammer-on/pull-off lick on the Eb minor part. I found that this slowed me down and lost that signature driving sound of the theme. I finally settled on f#CGBD, so that every note could be plucked and keep as much resonance as possible. ## The Rolls I suggest three different roll patterns for this arrangement, though, much like choosing a zombie slaying weapon, there are many options and you should use whatever works best for you. I start with just alternating between my thumb and middle finger because I like how it has more attack than doing TMIM IMTM IMIM TMIM. For the second pattern, I just use a forward reverse roll. For the third pattern, I suggest using the same forward reverse roll, BUT instead of hitting the 5th string with your thumb, I hit the 2nd string with my thumb. This may seem strange if you are not used to using your thumb on that string much, but I am able to get a more driving tone like that. If you are not comfortable with that, an alternative roll pattern would be TIMIMITI MIMI TIMI. ## Enter the Form Below To Download the Banjo Tab!   I hope you enjoy this arrangement of The Walking Dead theme and remember: the next time you find a zombie herd scratching at your door, just grab your banjo and invite them in for a jam… that’s the way Earl would have done it! [![If you still need help with your banjo chord shapes you can download a free banjo chord chart here!](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/1901150/2c4ebf16-5926-42e5-948d-4d9a2a31cd00.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/1901150/2c4ebf16-5926-42e5-948d-4d9a2a31cd00) ## COMMENTS [![Deering Rustic Wreath banjo ad](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/1901150/d031fb3a-1cee-4fe5-ac40-1292f8b42d7a.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/1901150/d031fb3a-1cee-4fe5-ac40-1292f8b42d7a) [![New Call-to-action](https://hubspot-no-cache-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/default/1901150/3f66a7bc-9ab8-4280-b8db-3bcdbab9e0a4.png)](https://hubspot-cta-redirect-na2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/1901150/3f66a7bc-9ab8-4280-b8db-3bcdbab9e0a4) ## Search Blog Post ## YOU MAY ALSO LIKE Mar 20.2013 [5-String Banjo](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/topic/5-string-banjo), [Deering Banjos](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/topic/deering-banjos), [Goodtime](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/topic/goodtime), [Inside Deering](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/topic/inside-deering), [New Banjo](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/topic/new-banjo), [New Model](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/topic/new-model), [News](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/topic/news), [Zombie](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/topic/zombie), [Zombie Killer](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/topic/zombie-killer), [Zombieland](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/topic/zombieland) ## [Did You Know Banjos Kill Zombies?](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/did-you-know-banjos-kill-zombies) Inspired by the movie “Zombieland” featuring Woody Harrelson whose character at one point uses a banjo to fight off Zombies, Greg Deering created the latest... 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[December 2024 (1)](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/archive/2024/12) - [March 2025 (1)](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/archive/2025/03) see all [![Deering Banjos - the Great American Banjo Company](https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/hubfs/Logos/Deering%20Logo.png "Deering Banjos - the Great American Banjo Company")](https://www.deeringbanjos.com/) 3733 Kenora Dr. Spring Valley, CA 91977 - [619-464-8252](tel:+619-464-8252) - [info@deeringbanjos.com](mailto:info@deeringbanjos.com) - [HOME](https://www.deeringbanjos.com/) - [BANJOS](https://www.deeringbanjos.com/collections/banjos) - [FIND A DEALER](https://www.deeringbanjos.com/apps/store-locator/) - [ARTISTS](https://www.deeringbanjos.com/blogs/deering-artists) - [CONTACT US](https://www.deeringbanjos.com/pages/contact-us) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Jonathan Galletti", "url" : "https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/author/jonathan-galletti" }, "dateModified" : "2019-11-10T20:45:52.749Z", "datePublished" : "2017-02-27T20:55:29.000Z", "headline" : "A Quick Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse", "image" : [ "https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/hubfs/Blog%20Images/Screen%20Shot%202017-02-27%20at%202.54.15%20PM.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/a-quick-guide-to-surviving-the-zombie-apocalypse", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/hubfs/Logos/deering-logo-green-406325-800x163.png" }, "name" : "Deering Banjos" } } ```