With so many clawhammer tutorials out there, we wanted to create one with our own spin. Barry Hunn has been teaching newcomers to the banjo for over 30 years and in this video you will start as a beginner and end with a firm foundation on basic clawhammer technique.
]]>Once you have mastered this section, part two is just a click away.
CLICK HERE FOR PART 2
So grab your banjo and enjoy.
Part 1: An Introduction to Clawhammer.
]]>The first lesson is the most successful video we have posted to date and is presented by Barry Hunn.
In part two, Barry will allow you to use the clawhammer technique learned in the previous video, through to playing a full song with advanced techniques. Enjoy!
Part 2: This Land Is Your Land/Incorporating advanced techniques.
Practice Videos
Below is a playlist of videos to allow you to play along with the various steps of each video to perfect your technique.
]]>This first exercise is going to teach you the chords on a banjo all the way up the neck. By learning all of the chord inversions, the fingerboard will open up to you and those notes up the fretboard won't be so intimidating. It will also open up your playing to a whole new world of ideas.
]]>Before we get started lets make sure we all know the notes of the strings of a 5-string banjo in G tuning.
This first exercise is going to teach you the chords on a banjo all the way up the neck. By learning all of the chord inversions, the fingerboard will open up to you and those notes up the fretboard won't be so intimidating. It will also open up your playing to a whole new world of ideas.
We are going to start by learning our chords in root position (the root of a chord is the note or pitch upon which such a chord is built. The name of the note which is the root is used to denote the chord - a G note would be the root of a G chord, an A would be the root of an A or Am chord, etc.). When the root of a chord is the bass note, or lowest note, of the expressed chord, the chord is in root position. We will go up the neck and play all of the chords within the G major scale (G , Am, Bm, C, D, Em, F#dim, G) in root position. This will cause us to play a G major scale on the 3rd string while harmonizing on the 1st and 2nd string. This can be seen in tablature below on the first line.
I suggest going very slowly and to use a metronome. Play one chord for 4 beats and then move to the next chord. Try to stay in rhythm. If you cannot, then go slower. Go all of the way up the fingerboard and then all the way back down. After you become comfortable at going straight up and down the scale, try to play a chord, skip the next one and play the one after it (G to Bm, Am to C, Bm to D, C to Em….).
We then are going to move on to the next line of tab and take on the 1st inversion of the chords. Now the root of the chord has moved to the highest note of the chord and is on the 1st string. Practice using the same methods as above.
The last one we are going to tackle is the second inversion of the chord. Can anyone guess where the root is now within the chord? Yes, the man in the striped sweater in the back of the classroom is correct - it is in the middle of the chord on the 2nd string. Practice using the same methods as above.
You might ask "Why are some chords major and some chords minor?" or "What are those roman numerals beneath the chords?" We will be answering those questions and more in the coming articles. For now lets get familiar with the different chord fingerings and sound of moving up and down the neck.
]]>When my mother retired she used to tell me she was busier than ever! As a lifelong volunteer, I remember being told that if you wanted to get a project done, look for a busy person. Both of these statements seem at odds with one another, right? But, what do both of these statements have in common? The “busy” person has learned how to prioritize their time to get things done. They have looked at their “finite” time and carved out specific “moments” to help them complete their “to do” list.
The hardest part for all of us in this busy world is finding the time to practice. It’s not wanting, needing, or learning how to practice so much as it is carving out some time in our very busy lives to practice, right?
What do other people do to overcome this very common thread among those of us who want to learn to play the banjo? Because “practice”, my friends, really is one of the most important keys to learning to play the banjo. And you know what? It is fun!
How much time is needed? If you can only practice 5 minutes, then do so. If you can get in more time, say 15-20 minutes, then more is better. But remember, if you only practiced at 5 minute intervals, several times a day...you would be at 30 minutes in no time, right?
You might have to leave it on a stand near a comfortable chair in the living room. There are some folks who keep one by their desk in their office at work. I know of a busy truck driver who keeps it in the cab with him as he drives across country. You have to be able to pick up your banjo to practice! So if you can easily reach for it, then you are one step closer to your practice session. If you are walking through the living room on the way to the kitchen, take a 5 minute break and pick up your banjo. If you get a 15 minute break at work, pick up your banjo and walk outside and practice for 5 minutes (please wear a strap for safety!). If you are on a long distance trip and stop for a bathroom and beverage break, take out the banjo and include 5 minutes to play. Your brain will enjoy the break and your picking hand will get just that much MORE muscle memory. Get creative! Look at your day and see where you might be able to carve out just 5 minutes to play your banjo.
Sounds counter productive, right? Nope. You can still hear your banjo and be close to your family, friends, neighbors, or people in the hotel room next to you. Mutes make banjos very “user friendly” in close quarters. For the openback banjo player this can be something as simple as a towel sandwiched between your coordinator rod and the banjo head, a foam wedge can do the same thing, or you can buy a commercial mute (http://www.deeringbanjos.com/products/deering-banjo-mute) if you have a resonator model to make life easier...and still get in that practice time. You can be with your family watching TV and still play the banjo. Think of how many commercials we are bombarded with when watching television? Now that is surely more than 5 minutes of practice time, right?
]]>
This is actually a pretty accurate appraisal and one that is worthwhile evaluating.
Playing the banjo is more than just using your fingers. No matter what style of banjo playing, there are physical considerations that can be helpful in fostering a healthy approach to your banjo. Because no two people are alike in the way they walk, talk, dance, sing, run, stand, sit, swim, play tennis etc, we must allow for a huge range of tolerance to allow individuals to find their own personal comfort zone. The suggestions here are not meant as “absolute” or “iron clad” or “cast in stone.”
These are mere guidelines that might aid in facilitating greater comfort while playing.
]]>This is actually a pretty accurate appraisal and one that is worthwhile evaluating.
Playing the banjo is more than just using your fingers. No matter what style of banjo playing, there are physical considerations that can be helpful in fostering a healthy approach to your banjo. Because no two people are alike in the way they walk, talk, dance, sing, run, stand, sit, swim, play tennis etc, we must allow for a huge range of tolerance to allow individuals to find their own personal comfort zone. The suggestions here are not meant as “absolute” or “iron clad” or “cast in stone.”
These are mere guidelines that might aid in facilitating greater comfort while playing.
Wrist Posture
Hand Posture
Forearm, Elbow and Shoulder
The more you can allow your elbow to hang naturally down from you shoulder, the more relaxed your neck and upper back will feel.
If you can keep your elbow hanging down naturally, and position your forearm so that your wrist doesn’t bend sharply over the banjo, you will have the greatest freedom of movement possible.
Here is where it is best to move your banjo so that it accommodates you. Many players angle the face of the banjo head at a slight angle toward the ceiling and often with the neck angled up around 45 degrees.
If you keep the face of the banjo at 90 degrees to the floor and the neck parallel to the floor, like guitar players often do, you will have to bend yourself around the banjo. These angles of body bending will constrict blood flow, force your body to move in cramped positions and it will make it harder to play fast, relaxed and smooth.
Neck and Back
You will eventually get to a point where you don’t have to look at your picking hand, but until that glorious day, make your banjo angled enough to minimize your neck strain.
Reaching your elbow too far away from your body can cause your upper back to strain from holding your arm in position for long periods. The angling of your banjo will minimize this reach for greater relaxation.
Practice Slow to Troubleshoot
If you practice slow, you can “feel” when your body is awkward. If you “push” yourself to play fast, your awareness gets overridden and you may not feel “where” you are feeling awkward. Typically, this develops a “tick” or “stumbling spot” in the music you are trying to play and you tend to repeat it over and over again. Now, you have “trained in a bad habit” and because you are used to “pushing past your comfort zone,” diagnosing the “trouble spot” becomes more difficult.
But, if you slow down, analyzing a bad habit gets a little easier because your awareness increases.
Slow training encourages analysis. Pushing speed discourages analysis.
Time Is A Good Teacher
If you tire quickly when you practice, analyze how you are feeling. Tense muscles and awkward repetition is exhausting. But relaxed picking can go for hours.
If you “push” yourself to practice for long hours, you must do it while you are “ergonomically comfortable.” That is, your body must be relaxed from head to toe. If your technique analysis shows you to be relaxed, you will find that your endurance is probably based more on when you get hungry or sleepy and not tired from actually playing.
You can practice tense and awkward for a while, but you will tire quickly. The longer you can play your banjo comfortably, the more relaxed your technique is and the more musical possibilities will be at your command. This is how time can “teach” you what is comfortable and what is not.
Relax and be Healthy
When you are practicing your banjo playing, think about these points:
Whether you are strumming, clawhammering, fingerpicking, or playing with a plectrum (flat pick), these basic concepts apply with equal importance.
You will always play better, learn better and feel better when you practice slow and focus on being comfortable.
]]>These are violin, viola, cello, bass.
All except the bass are tuned in fifths. A bass is tuned in fourths. The mandolin family copies these tunings in fifths:
mandolin = violin
mandola = viola
mandocello = cello
Click here to learn what a fifth is.
Their tunings from the lowest note to the highest is:
Violin/Mandolin = G, D, A, E
Viola/Mandola = C, G, D, A
Cello/Mandocello = C, G, D, A (an octave below the viola)
Bass = E, A, D, G
This relates to the tenor banjo because standard tuning for a tenor banjo is tuned the same as a viola/mandola (C, G, D, A). Irish players often tune their tenor banjos also in fifths, but one octave below a violin/mandolin (G, D, A, E).
A tenor banjo is a short necked banjo that has 4-strings.
Nobody really knows where the name "tenor" banjo came from. By calling it a "tenor" it gives the impression that it would be a lower pitched instrument because in classical four part harmony, the parts go from high to low, soprano, alto, tenor, bass.
This is not the case. When compared to other banjos, it is the highest pitched.
There are two variations of this instrument, a 17-fret and a 19-fret type. The more standard type is the 19-fret, though the 17-fret is very common amongst Irish players because the smaller scale length makes it a bit easier to play the quick reels and triplet passages in that style of music.
The tenor banjo was originally made for viola players to double on, that is why it is tuned the same as a viola. The “Irish” tuning makes it easy to play the fiddle melodies in Irish music because of it being the same as violin, only an octave lower.
By nature, the tuning of the tenor banjo in fifths inherently has a major advantage in that chord voicings and scale patterns are symmetrical. The intervallic relationship between an adjacent string is the same. This means that if you make a triad on the fourth, third, and second strings with the root in the bass, a triad shape would be the same if you moved it up one set of strings to the third, second, and first strings.
The same type of thing works with scalar patterns. The shape of a major scale on the fourth and third strings would be the same as if you moved it to another set of strings, let's say the third and second.
This allows you to transpose any lick anywhere on the neck without changing your fingerings. For instance, if you had a D chord lick, you could easily transpose that to an A chord lick by just moving it up one set of strings. This all greatly reduces the number of different fingerings you need to learn for different licks, scales, and chord shapes. The only downsides are that some classic guitar style blues licks are harder to reach, as well as the need to stretch a bit more to play a scale.
Check out a tenor banjo and its symmetrical tuning and see how much fun it can be.
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The Secret
Probably the most important “secret” of improvisation is “familiarity with your instrument.”
The player who knows three songs will approach the banjo using the knowledge from those three songs.
The player who knows three thousand songs will approach the banjo using the knowledge from those three thousand songs.
Familiarity of Songs
The knowledge of how to play more songs, is kind of like a writer who knows more words. The player or writer who knows more, can put together more varied combinations of notes or words than a player or writer with less knowledge.
So, one important ingredient of “familiarity with your instrument” is to learn as many melodies, as many chords and as many picking patterns or picking combinations as possible.
Familiarity of Techniques
Classically trained musicians spend most of their early development on their instrument learning extremely basic technique. A friend of mine said his classical guitar teacher had them plucking one string with all their fingers of the right hand until “the tone from each finger sounded the same as with every other finger.” They did this for a month.
Every great banjoist that I’ve spoken with said their early development was very much like the classical approach in that they would learn one roll, then another, then another. They would practice slowly and precisely and the familiarity with the picking technique would gradually increase.
The more “familiar” you are with rolls or picking patterns, the less “effort” it requires to play them. Also, the more “familiar” you are with rolls, the more easily you can vary the rolls slightly, which allows more variation in what you play.
Trial and Error
A lot of improvisation comes from trying different combinations of rolls and chords and rolls picking different strings from your usual practice. When you finish your regular, daily practice routine, try playing completely random chords, random picking patterns and random notes and listen to what “happy accidents” you stumble across. It is good to allow yourself, in the privacy of your practice room, to play some really odd and clashing notes or chords. What sounds bad in one context, often sounds good in another.
For example, if you fret a normal C chord one fret above the usual first position and strum the banjo, it sounds pretty strange. But this chord, when picked with the appropriate rolls is a chord that can be used in the Beverly Hillbillies song when they sing the “TEE” in the phrase … “you’re all invited back next week to this locali ty….”
Innate Ability
While it is true that some people have an innate musical ability that makes things seem easy for them to spontaneously create, no one can write without words. No one can improvise without “licks” or combinations of rolls and notes. It doesn’t matter whether you play a plectrum or tenor banjo with a flatpick, clawhammer or fingerpick a 5-string, or play 6 string banjo.
Improvisation always boils down to “familiarity.”
“Familiarity” boils down to training and experience.
Every person who plays, whether “blessed” with innate ability or for those of us who struggle, can improvise on a melody. It is important to allow yourself to sound “bad” at times because sometimes bad becomes good when you try it in different settings. You do have to allow yourself the “freedom” of “not always sounding awesome!” Some of your stinkiest errors will yield beautiful results when applied to another text.
Training, trial and error and experience are far more important in improvisation than innate ability.
Committing to Memory
Reading music is NOT a crutch. Reading music is a kind of freedom as it allows us to learn music accurately.
Reading music is also NOT a necessity to enjoy music and have fun. Music is sound….it doesn’t HAVE to be written or read.
Improvisation is based on drawing from your memory the vast number of picking patterns, chords, chord shapes and “licks” that you are comfortable remembering and executing. There is nothing written to follow. You are drawing on what you remember.
You will remember more things if you practice more often; if you try new and different things after your daily practice; and if you allow yourself the freedom of trying some rather strange sounding combinations.
How Can I get there?
The answer to this is really pretty simple: Spend as much time as you can with your banjo and take lessons if you can, read instruction books, watch videos, go to concerts and TAKE YOUR TIME. Give yourself time to “discover” good and “strange” combinations and then try them occasionally after your practice time and with friends.
You will see, with time, that you start having some very happy “accidents”…… or maybe, just maybe, you came up with something beautiful.
Wouldn’t that be wonderful.
]]>We often hear of players who tell us that they are practicing all of the time, but they don't seem to be getting any better.
]]>We often hear of players who tell us that they are practicing all of the time, but they don't seem to be getting any better. I hear of people who are putting in an hour or more a day, but they aren't seeing many results. The problem is very often that they are practicing incorrectly.
Many players will pick up their banjo and play through a couple songs that they know already, maybe try out a couple licks that they already know and then put the banjo down. They never venture out into the unknown and try a new song, new lick, or practice a specific technique.
Maybe they will work on a new song and start it off well, but they hit a sticky point somewhere in the middle. The player then will go and start the song over again until they fall off the tracks at the same point. They will do this over and over until they get frustrated and try something else or put there banjo down and do something else entirely. They never solely focus on the section that is giving them problems. Even if it is just one note, practice that note. Then add the note before it. Gradually expand the phrase out on both sides. When you feel you have it, then start from the beginning and try to play through the section.
Here are a few tips to help you make the most out of your practice sessions:
If you dedicate a third of your "practice" time to a focused practice time. You will see a dramatic improvement in your playing. This focused type of practicing can still be fun, but it should feel like a work out.
]]>BODY PLAYING POSITION:
One of the most critical factors to playing the banjo is playing position.
BODY PLAYING POSITION:
One of the most critical factors to playing the banjo is playing position. A very nice lady asked me about this question on our Support Forum not too long ago. It prompted me to think that I had not shared this point with the rest of you. Try focusing on some of these tips the next time you sit down to play your banjo.
1. You should be sitting in a firm chair with no chair arms. This allows your body to have freedom of movement and good stability. You can use a stool but make sure you can rest your feet comfortably for good stability. Have a good back on the chair is optimum so you are well supported. Let’s face it; banjos are, for the most part, heavy. Having something firm against your back will help you sit up straight.
2. Use a banjo strap. Some folks tell me, “But I sit when I play, so I don’t need a strap.”
What they are addressing is the weight of the banjo. What I am addressing is the ease of movement for your fretting hand. If you are supporting the neck of the banjo as well as trying to move freely up and down the neck as you play, your hand is doing two jobs. A strap that is properly adjusted will allow the banjo to be well supported and give your hands their much needed freedom for playing. If you need to lift the pressure of the banjo off your lap, just adjust your strap accordingly to make it more comfortable for you to play.
3. The banjo should sit about 45 degrees relative to your body while sitting in your lap. The banjo is not a guitar. I can always tell a guitar player when he comes into my showroom. He sits down and cants the banjo onto his thigh which is how he holds his guitar. By placing the banjo in the middle of your lap, you give your arm a much easier access to the neck. Try it and you will see what I mean. You will be able to sit up straighter and not strain your back. Your body will thank you for just this one little change.
4. Try and sit with your shoulders in a relaxed position and sitting fairly straight. This will take the strain off your back. Using the strap just nails this one down.
5. With many upper line banjos, there are dots on the side of the neck for you to use to help your fingers reach the right frets. These will help prevent you from leaning over and straining your neck while you play.
6. If your banjo does not have side dots, try canting the pot just a bit to help so you see the fret markers instead of leaning over to prevent neck and back strain.
HAND POSITION:
Thumb placement is something that many folks forget to consider. Many callers complain about not having long enough fingers to play the banjo. I know…I did too. But my teacher asked me to show him how I hold the banjo. He caught the problem immediately. I had my thumb in the wrong place.
1. The thumb should be at the middle of the back of the neck; thinking of the neck as the “spine.” When you place your thumb at the middle, your fingers have a shorter distance to extend. The thumb then acts as a fulcrum from which you can pivot so that your hand comes OVER the top of the neck and your fingers should come DOWN VERICALLY over the top of the strings for a nice, clean fret.
This is so important that Jens Kruger actually had us put a V-shaped neck on the Tenbrooks banjos so that the player would have an “indexing point” for his thumb to find the best playing position. Because Jens is knows as a virtuoso on the banjo, his focus on thumb position can assure us of its importance.
I know you will see players who put their thumb on the far side of the neck. They are essentially holding the neck in the web of their hand. While it can be done, they usually have much bigger hands or longer fingers.
2. Muddy/fuzzy notes can occur if the fingers of your hand are “leaning” over the strings instead of coming down over the strings. What happens here is that the pads of your fingers are coming into contact with the string next to the one you are fretting. This causes that string to “ring” in response to the pad of the finger touching it. By bringing your fingers up and over so that just the tips of the fingers come into contact with the strings, you will have nice clean notes.
3. Cut your fingernails! I know this sounds basic, but you would be surprised how fast your fingernails can grow. If you trim them so that they do not extend over the pad of the finger, you will have a nice clean sound when you fret. The nails can prevent the fingers from coming into good contact with the strings. Another benefit of this is that you will not wear “valleys” into the fingerboard. Over time, believe it or not, the fingernails can carve out valleys in even ebony fingerboards. Trimming your nails will solve two very important banjo playing issues.
4. Your elbow should come in close to your body, in more or less a vertical position while playing. Again, this will allow your hand and thumb greater ease while playing.
5. Be careful to keep your wrist in a straight alignment with your hand. If you angle the wrist to reach the strings, you run the possible risk of injury. I had this problem when I first started playing. I began to get soreness in the thumb to wrist region. I was told to look at myself in a mirror while playing to watch that I kept the wrist/hand relationship straight on approach when plucking. This took the pain away and it has never returned. It is similar to what folks who have carpel tunnel syndrome complain of so focus on this region may help prevent some future health problems.
HOW MUCH PRESSURE DO I USE WHEN PLAYING?
I am fond of telling the folks who come into our showroom that “You don’t have to be a linebacker to play the banjo.” Why do I say this? Because a well made banjo, the kind we make here at Deering banjos, is a very responsive instrument.
1. Customers sometimes complain about notes sounding “sharp” when they play. This can be caused by using too much pressure on the string when you play. What you are essentially doing is “stretching” the string over the fret instead of have it come into a firm contact with the string with less pressure. If you have this problem, play the string as you usually do. Now play it again, but back off the pressure just a bit. Continue this process until you hear the note ring true and you will begin to understand how much pressure you need.
2. Visitors to our factory sometimes get a “2-finger banjo lesson.” The simple Barre chords that we teach with this method are easy to learn but you do have to learn how much pressure you need to make them ring clear. Again, remember that the strings need to ALL come into contact with the frets. When forming a Barre chord, you have a ridged finger coming into contact with straight frets. You learn, over time, how much pressure you need to flatten your finger so that it connects with all the strings so that they meet the fret at the same time.
3. The banjo head is very responsive the vibration of the strings through the bridge. A good firm strum will sound better than a massive amount of energy. Even a nice, even, light pressure will give you the grandest sparkling sound. If the practice this strumming, you will learn how much pressure you need to give the strings to get the sound you like the best.
4. Pushing or pulling on the string can cause the note to be sharp. Again, remember to come down over the top of the string. The pushing/pulling rather than direct, downward pressure can cause the notes to be sharp. Now, there is a playing technique that is called “a pull” so let us not confuse this with what I am talking about. A “push” or a “pull” (sometimes called choking/bending) is a way to distort a note for intentional musical variety.
Many of these suggestions have come about through my experience as a banjo player or through customer interaction. Each of you may have personal health concerns that prevent you from using any of these ideas. It is always best to consult your physician if you experience any problems. These suggestions are meant to give you some ideas to bring more joy to your journey with banjo. It is, after all, for all of us about having fun with a banjo!
]]>I have been playing banjo for over 10 years. I tell folks that I SOUND like I have been a banjo player for “at least 10 minutes” which always gets a chuckle. The truth is somewhere in between.
The other day I pulled out some of my old song sheets. I was watching the “Muppet Movie” and was inspired to try my old arrangement of “The Rainbow Connection”. It actually has what NOW seem modest chord forms: Em, Bm, Bmajor, C, D7, and of course open G. Back when I first learned it I complained to my teacher about the Em and Bm; “Why are you so mean? Why do I have to do those chords? Can’t you make it easier?”
Today it is a different story. I can easily make those chords and the song is so much fun to play. I had no idea, 8 years ago, that it would EVER happen this way. And when I was first shown a C chord, I moaned for weeks. I can close my eyes and make a good C chord today but I NEVER thought the day would come those many years ago.
Sharing these stories is just a way of telling you that YES, you WILL get better!
So how do you measure this “unknown” progress?
The first time I had to play in front of a group it was at an elementary school. The school called the factory to see if someone would come out and read to the children during “literacy” week. I volunteered…heck, I at least knew how to read.
We set the date. The “week of” they call back to remind me and said, “Oh, and don’t forget your banjo so you can play for the kids.” WHAT? Who said anything about playing? So, I started practicing a couple of simple tunes but quite frankly, I was terrified at the thought of actually playing in front of anyone. I asked for the 1st graders, figuring they wouldn’t notice if I goofed up. I read them the book about the Yak who overcame his fears and we had a good time with that. Hey, I told you I could read. Then it came time to play. I thought it best to be honest with the children so I told them I was afraid because I had never played in front of anyone. I mustered up “Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star” while they sang and we also sang “Happy Birthday” to the child whose birthday was closest to that day. OK…I did miss a few notes but they didn’t notice my fumble or were too polite to say so. They all clapped and one sweet child looked up at me from her seat on the floor and said “You played really good.” God Bless Her! Since that day, I have taught others to strum banjo, played at our factory open house during the holidays and actually did a program or two at our local libraries. If you had told me I would do THAT 10 years ago, I would have questioned your sanity!
If you have never played a banjo or any other acoustic stringed instrument, then now is a great time to start charting your progress.
What do you need to make this happen?
Before long, you will have stories of your own progress to share with others.
That’s the real sign of growth. When you can look back at the “new you” and the “now you” with a smile and a laugh, you will know the real joy of music!
There are many wonderful advantages to strumming a banjo:
]]>I know this statement seems like a “given” but I have spoken with many folks who feel they have to apologize because they “only” strum their 5-string banjo. My favorite way to play the banjo is to strum it! It’s relaxing, it’s easy, and it’s fun.
There are many wonderful advantages to strumming a banjo:
1. For those who have hand issues, the strumming movement is easier to accomplish than either the 3-finger picking patterns or the clawhammer/old time method of playing the banjo.
2. When you become successful with music through strumming, and given that you have no hand issues, it does encourage you to try to expand your playing style to possibly include the bluegrass finger picking or clawhammer/old time style. The “desire” sort of “sneaks” up on you; you begin to yearn for “more” from your playing. There is nothing like a little success to spur you on.
3. It is a great way to practice your chords! Because banjo is traditionally tuned to an open G chord, you already have your first chord without any effort. By adding D7 and C, you open a huge world of songs for practice.
Some examples:
If you use a simple Barre Chord method for C (at the fifth fret) and D (at the 7th fret), you have an easier time making your chords. For a great illustration of this, please look at our “Two-finger Method” DVD. With this method, you learn 3 songs; This Land is Your Land,Tom Dooley, You are My Sunshine
4. Barry Hunn, whose articles on musical inspiration you have read, offered this further insight to the advantages on strumming the banjo.
Many, many folk, popular and bluegrass songs have three chords that make up the song. All chords have a certain “character” in the way they relate to each other. In the famous Scruggs masterpiece, “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” the magic of starting with a G chord and then going to the E-minor chord has unique “sound” or a unique “relationship". Playing a G chord and then changing to a C chord, has a unique “sound” or character in how the two chords relate. The more we strum chords and sing songs, the clearer these “relationships” become. Guitar players, who play chords a lot, have an advantage in that they learn to hear the chord relationships, because they are playing the chords all the time. Sometimes banjo pickers who play notes and mostly leads, don’t have the opportunity to “get a feel” for the chords and how they relate to each other. Strumming chords on your banjo will train your ears and your “musical sense” about how a G chord relates to a C chord and how G chord relates to an F chord. You might not be able to verbally describe this relationship, but you hear it and it helps you learn new songs because you recognize the common chord changes that are the same in many songs.
Whether it’s “Cripple Creek”, “Oh Susanna”, or “Happy Birthday”, the chords and their relationship to each other will become clear after strumming your banjo. This is priceless training in addition to being just plain fun.
In short, STRUM THE BANJO! Not only is it ok, it’s a great way to expand your song repertoire and have fun with folks.
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In conclusion: I am sure you can think of even more ways to improve your playing.This list could be endless. Send me your ideas so we can share them with others.
PLAY…FOR THE LOVE OF PLAYING.
MAKE MUSIC BECAUSE IT IS JUST PLAIN FUN!!
And there is no better time than NOW.
This lesson is all played on a new Deering Eagle II 19-Fret Tenor banjo.
The first thing that you must be able to do before trying to play a chord melody is to figure out the single note melody. In this arrangement, we are going to lay the melody out strictly on the 1st string. I am going to walk you through doing this for the first phrase of this tune, the rest is up to you using the method described below.
The first note of this song is the root (F in the key of F). This note is located on the 8th fret of the 1st string. The next note of the song is the third (an A note in the key of F), which is located at the 12th fret of the 1st string. The following note is a Bb (13th fret), and the last note of this phrase is a C (15th fret).
Let's now try to harmonize these notes with some chords.
The harmony (chords) in this part of the song stays on an F. We are going to play our inversions of an F chord for three of these notes (the F, A, and C) because these notes are found in an F chord. But when we get to the Bb, we have to add a chord substitution. We are going to add the IV chord (a Bb) because this will keep us in the key of F (a Bb chord is found in the key of F).
So the first chords I will be playing will be:
Using the IV chord (Bb) as a pasing chord works when playing over the I chord (F) and is commonly used in gospel music.
In Part 3 below, I am now adding in some right hand technique. I am adding some rhythmic strums and a few arpegiated chords to fill in the spaces where the melody stays on one note for a couple beats.
In Part 4 below, I am now bringing it up to speed, adding some more rhythmic variation and right hand techniques such a tremelo. I also start to branch out from the basic melody and harmony, adding more chord substitutions. In the coming weeks we will talk more about some of these techniques used.
]]>Do you know what the easiest, simplest concept is in speed training?
Practice Technique
Here is a simple exercise that, when practiced slowly and comfortably, has been used by virtually every champion banjoist and guitarist that I know. Please note, this is not music, but speed and dexterity training, designed to enable the student to move both right and left hand with greater ease and accuracy.
Fine Points to Remember:
To illustrate this, think of this exercise like this:
Pluck, space, pluck, space, pluck, space, pluck, space.
Don’t do this:
Pluck, spaaaaaccccee, plk, spc, pluucckk, spaaccce, pluuucckkkkkkk, spce.
Frequency:
Where to Go From Here:
When you have practiced this little exercise for 30 minutes a day, for five weeks, get a copy of Mel Bay’s Banjo Scales Chart and hang it in front of you on the wall. When you are finished with your daily practice of the above exercise, you can start applying the same “even space between the notes, slowly” approach to learning the scales. You will be ready for it after only five weeks of 30 minutes a day with this wonderful little exercise.
What to Expect:
If you make this exercise part of you daily routine with your banjo indefinitely, your skill, speed and dexterity will continue to grow, develop and improve. Sound too good to be true? Try it…. And like virtually all champions and professionals, you’ll roll through “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” or “Blackberry Blossom” with the smooth, effortless speed, we all dream about.