hilltop87
Wholenote
My Strat is my friend
Posts: 885
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Post by hilltop87 on Feb 28, 2020 15:55:05 GMT -5
Any players here? It is difficult to learn?
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The Banjo
Feb 28, 2020 21:46:32 GMT -5
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Post by rickyguitar on Feb 28, 2020 21:46:32 GMT -5
Well, it is normally tuned to an open G chord. For 3 finger style you gave a thumb pick and 2 finger pick. Thete is a forward roll (T,1,2), backward roll (2, 1 t), and alternating (t. 1, t 2), and pinch ( t & finger at the same time). The whole trick is knowing which roll yo use to keep your melody strong. I thought it was fun. I did not pursue real hard, but even a little really helped my finger picking on guitar. Know nothing about failing. Try it!
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Post by rok-a-bill-e on Mar 3, 2020 13:07:44 GMT -5
Left hand is easier than guitar. Right hand is another story. You better love it, because it will take hours from you in order to do much of anything with it. Very few guitar skills transfer and some get in the way.
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hilltop87
Wholenote
My Strat is my friend
Posts: 885
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Post by hilltop87 on Mar 3, 2020 18:47:21 GMT -5
Left hand is easier than guitar. Right hand is another story. You better love it, because it will take hours from you in order to do much of anything with it. Very few guitar skills transfer and some get in the way. That is what I was thinking. I will just stick to watching The Darlings play one on TV. |
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The Banjo
Mar 4, 2020 2:56:40 GMT -5
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Post by rickyguitar on Mar 4, 2020 2:56:40 GMT -5
Aww..dont give up before you start. If you do any finger picking on guitar you have a headstart. Even if you do not grow up to be Earl II you can dabble. It is pretty fun.
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69tele
Halfnote
Rockin the Rock !
Posts: 91
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Post by 69tele on Mar 13, 2020 11:27:09 GMT -5
Been considering one for my country rock band.. would a 6 string banjo be convincing for an occasional song or two ?
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The Banjo
Mar 13, 2020 17:45:16 GMT -5
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Post by rickyguitar on Mar 13, 2020 17:45:16 GMT -5
I don't think so but I once shot a 4 string banjo dead.
Seriously the high G string is what gives a banjo its distinctive sound, 4 and 6 string dont have that, but (and it's a big but) they wouldn't make them if people weren't buying them. Go try one out, let us know.
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Post by jefe46 on Mar 15, 2020 18:41:18 GMT -5
I played bluegrass three finger picking style from 1971-1979.
It used to be all "Scruggs" style pattern picking. ( even though Johnny Whiznant, a mechanic from Florida, was doing it prior and better )
Scruggs style is pattern picking and not at all difficult to learn.
I quit before the cool guys who started playing melodic and single string came along.
In the past 12 years i have dabbled with "clawhammer". Lot of fun. But I am going another direction.
Were I to continue with banjo I'd go another direction. I would not be interested in playing "banjo" music. I would treat the banjo as a musical instrument.
GO to the discussion group banjohangout for more info on banjo.
6 String banjo.. Johhny St Cyr ( check the spelling) played that style.
It is NOT banjo playing. It is guitar playing on a 6 string banjo.
Look up Tuba Skinny on you tube.. you will see it being played there.
There is also 4 string Tenor banjo which was introduced around 1917 an was "instrumental" n early jazz and Dixieland.
There is also the Plectrum banjo. 4 string with a longer scale and slightly different
Then there is Irish style banjo if you like diddly dee.
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Post by walshb 🦒 on Mar 18, 2020 12:49:47 GMT -5
I don't want to discourage you. It's the most fun instrument I've learned, partly because I love Scruggs style. I quit playing guitar for several years and concentrated on banjo, but I didn't take any lessons. I probably should have.
I learned using tab. It's time consuming, to say the least. Not all that difficult, but time consuming. I played every day and back then, I could have more fun playing banjo by myself, than playing guitar in a band.
I made it to *maybe* intermediate level. I wish I had started younger, and taken lessons.
Now, I get bored with it. I'll pick it up and play for a couple of weeks just so that I don't lose it altogether. But I'm not learning any new songs, and not enjoying it like I once did. You have to play just about every day to really be good at it.
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Post by jefe46 on Mar 19, 2020 22:19:45 GMT -5
Contrarily, ..recently I visited my Mom and Pop and Sonny Boy guitar store.
They had a used Tennessee banjo. I had not played for 2 years. Picked it up
and after a few minutes I was able to pick out a couple tunes in spite of not
having played for a couple years. As they say" like riding a bicycle".
One thing I have concluded about banjos, bagpipes and button accordeons..
you are a player or you are not. There is no half way.
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Post by TonyM on Mar 23, 2020 9:16:38 GMT -5
I just bought one. Figured I’d use my home time to learn something new.
I’ll let you know how it goes 😆🪕
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The Banjo
Mar 23, 2020 20:32:23 GMT -5
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Post by rickyguitar on Mar 23, 2020 20:32:23 GMT -5
Good on ya Tony!
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Post by jefe46 on Mar 26, 2020 23:09:56 GMT -5
Congrats Tony. Banjos are just plain fun.
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Post by TonyM on Apr 11, 2020 11:41:19 GMT -5
Well, so far I can play simple versions of Boil Them Cabbage Down and Shady Grove that sound reasonably recognizable.
Now on to Cripple Creek.
It’s definitely fun.
I find left hand easier than right hand, which for me is opposite from guitar, where my right hand has always been way ahead of my fretting hand.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on Apr 15, 2020 20:40:55 GMT -5
It is a blast. About 10 years ago I decided to try it and sprung for a Gold Tone CB100 open back.
I tried Scruggs and clawhammer/frailing, and gravitated to clawhammer (think Grandpa Jones). I can find my way around on it pretty well and can nail chord melodies, etc. It does take some practice and it does require thinking differently from guitar technique. What helped me greatly was using a metronme and playing very slowly at first before building speed.
The easy thing about banjo is when changing keys: you plop a capo on; the chord shapes don't change much at all. I installed a 5th-string sliding capo on mine to simplify this.
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Post by rickyguitar on May 2, 2020 23:32:22 GMT -5
So my wife just bought one off Musicians Friend for my birthday. So some day next week I will be trying to remember how it goes. It has been...30 years!
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 22, 2020 23:43:08 GMT -5
If you need a refresher, check out Leroy Troy.
Don't know who Leroy Troy is?
He's a traditional clawhammer player who keeps things pretty simple...but the way he plays is mind blowing.
Click the vid below and grab ahold of something because you'll fall down if you don't.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on May 24, 2020 16:51:35 GMT -5
I'm not a big fan of the banjo but I think this was a magical musical moment
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Post by rickyguitar on May 24, 2020 23:16:38 GMT -5
Not really a fan of frailing, at least till I say this one with Steve Martin, (oh and Leroy is the real deal).
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 25, 2020 0:38:30 GMT -5
Steve Martin is quite a picker.
This is one of my favorite Martin banjo vids.
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The Banjo
May 30, 2020 1:44:03 GMT -5
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Post by rickyguitar on May 30, 2020 1:44:03 GMT -5
Got back from the shop I took it to for a set up, nice enough but cheap tuners. Oh well, not a Mastertone.
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twangmeister
Wholenote
Posts: 349
Formerly Known As: Twangmeister
Age: 72 and fading fast.....
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Post by twangmeister on Jul 17, 2020 15:09:48 GMT -5
I used to play a 5 string banjo clawhammer-style. More recently I joined a mummer's string band and play a six-string and a Chicago-tuned plectrum banjo. Chicago tuning is for lazy people like me who don't want to deal with traditional plectrum chords. It is like the top 4 strings on a guitar. The plectrum banjo is a Fender Artist series model with a built in pickup and is stupid heavy (13.5 lbs)thanks to a massive brass tone ring. I don't like toting that for a three mile parade in full costume and do fancy maneurvers, which is why the six string with no tone ring has its place. Probably some day I'll replace it with a Chicago-tuned tenor banjo.
The plectrum banjo has two volume levels: loud and REALLY LOUD
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