King of the Hill Main Theme - for Banjo
One of Mike Judge’s works King of the Hill has such an iconic opening tune; Yahoos and Triangles. As it’s about the everyday life of Texans, I had to create an arrangement for a 5-string Banjo.
King of the Hill
This cartoon series may not be too popular in Japan or anywhere else in the world but in the United States where there are so many hardcore fans even after more than a decade after the last episode airing.
The producer of this show, Mike Judge has been continuously delivering us great comedy works flavored with his unique and subtle sense of humor. I think most of you can agree that this is one of his masterpieces.
The show is about the ordinary life of an ordinary family in a humble-sized fictional town in Texas, and somehow it’s so extraordinary. The characters are depicted in such realistic ways, and subtle jokes are spread out perfectly here and there making the viewers’ experience of this show very addictive. For Americans the show is relatable, and for others, it’s a great and fun way to learn about their culture.
Not to mention the amazing regular and guest cast members such as Tom Petty.
Yahoos and Triangles
Now, let’s talk about the opening song we are going to play. This catchy country-style tune was written by The Refreshments.
The very fun and driving-forward atmosphere of the original version contributes to the creation of such a unique experience of this TV series.
Sheet Music & Banjo TAB
Sheet Music and Banjo TAB are available on:
Banjo Playing Tips
I arranged this tune for a 5 string banjo. Let me explain briefly about the playing tips.
The Clawhammer technique
Clawhammering is such a fun and rhythmic playing style for 5-string banjoes. I thought there is no better style for this tune, so my arrangement is based on the clawhammer pattern.
I am not going deeper into this playing technique here as you can find a ton of videos and tutorials for it on the internet. If you are not familiar, you can start by Googling “banjo clawhammer.”
The Tuning
Usually, banjoes are tuned in open G in many cases. But this tune is originally in the key of A major, so we would like to get it in open A somehow.
Here are the two ways to achieve it:
aDGBD + Capo 2
I used this setup for the video as you can see the capo on the 2nd fret. You can tune it in regular open G and the high resonator to A. Capos are very useful.
aEAC#E
This is the actual open A tuning. The string tension might go up slightly higher if you decided to tune up the strings to these notes.
Playing Tips
I recommend practicing the clawhammer technique at a very slow tempo first. Once your muscles remember the pattern and you feel comfortable enough, you can move on to playing the melody with your middle finger along with clawhammer keep going.
The bridge section is chord playing. It’s all on up-beats so be careful not to rush.
Enjoy playing!