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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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