You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks

So maybe now is a good time to give a progress report from someone who took up learning the banjo on her own at 50 years of age with no previous musical experience (except singing in the church choir many years ago). I hope this helps to be a motivator for you if you ever get a notion that learning to play the banjo after "50" is impossible. Well, it's NOT!

My first challenge was putting the finger picks on. Okay, let me see a show of hands for those of you who put the picks on backwards the first time. Come on, you know who you are. My husband thought they made really great back scratchers.

The first song I learned was "Boil That Cabbage Down." I must have played that song at least a thousand times before I felt like I could get it up to a speed past slow.

Then a little later on came learning chord progression. As we all know when we get older the brain cells aren't as plentiful as they were when we were younger. It took me a little while to get my brain to learn what "up and down the neck" meant. When I was working on "up the neck" my brain kept thinking "down the neck" and vice versa. So I decided that was a little to much for it to handle and to not think about that part just yet because I was about to give it a real workout by tackling the 4-fingered chords. Now, that took a little doing and it's still a work in progress.

The bottom line is you can learn to play the banjo at any age with a good instructor and/or good instructional teaching materials even if you don't have as many brain cells as you use to.

I'm a firm believer in setting personal goals and doing my best to reach them no matter what obstacles get in the way. But my main goal is to have fun on this banjo learning journey. Life is to short not to have fun in whatever we do. And we all should pat ourselves on the back for the progress we make each step of the way while moving forward to whatever goal we set.

Keep on pickn' and having fun!

Angie (experienced "middle-aged newbie")

Improving Timing

To improve on timing, SLOW DOWN! Most all banjo pickers tend to want to play too fast too soon and that makes for sloppy banjo pickers.

Get a metronome or something that will give you a good, solid beat to work with. Start SLOW, whether you're doing rolls or chords or moving up and down the neck. Go only as fast as you can smoothly and cleanly do whatever exercise you're trying to do.

When you can do that particular exercise perfectly at a slow speed at least 5 times without a mistake, THEN bump up the speed about 5 and try it again and so on. Eventually, you'll be able to do that exercise at a good rate of speed. But, again, speed only comes with time, effort, practice, sweat and tears!

Angie's Banjo.com

When did Bluegrass begin?

Bluegrass as a style developed during the mid 1940s. Because of war rationing, recording was limited during this time, and the best we can say is that bluegrass was not played before World War II, and it was being played after. As with any musical genre, no one person can claim to have "invented" it. Rather, bluegrass is an amalgam of old-time music, blues, ragtime and jazz. Nevertheless, bluegrass's beginnings can be traced to one band. Today Bill Monroe is referred to as the "founding father" of bluegrass music; the bluegrass style was named for his band, the Blue Grass Boys, formed in 1939. The 1945 addition of banjo player Earl Scruggs, who played with a three-finger roll now known as "Scruggs style," is pointed to as the key moment in the development of this genre. Monroe's 1945-48 band, which featured banjo player Earl Scruggs, singer/guitarist Lester Flatt, fiddler Chubby Wise and bassist Howard Watts, aka "Cedric Rainwater," created the definitive sound and instrumental configuration that remains a model to this day.

By some arguments, as long as the Blue Grass Boys were the only band playing this music, it was just their unique style; it could not be considered a musical genre until other bands began performing the same style. In 1947 the Stanley Brothers recorded the traditional song "Molly and Tenbrooks" in the Blue Grass Boys' style, and this could also be pointed to as the beginning of bluegrass as a genre.

It is important to note that bluegrass is not and never was a folk music under a strict definition, however the topical and narrative themes of many bluegrass songs are highly reminiscent of "folk music". In fact many songs that are widely considered to be "bluegrass" are older works legitimately classified as "folk" or "old-time" performed in a "bluegrass" style. From its earliest days to today, bluegrass has been recorded and performed by professional musicians. Although amateur bluegrass musicians and trends such as "parking lot picking" are too important to be ignored, it is professional musicians who have set the direction of the genre. While bluegrass is not a folk music in the strictest sense, the interplay between bluegrass music and other folk forms has been studied. Folklorist Dr. Neil Rosenberg, for example, shows that most devoted bluegrass fans and musicians are familiar with traditional folk songs and old-time music and that these songs are often played at shows and festivals.

Angie's Banjo.com

How to use a Metronome

With a metronome, you can use it either as one pick per click or two picks per click. That is, you can count 1, 2, 3, 4, as it clicks or you can count 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & as it clicks. Because it takes some getting used to you should start out slow, say at 60 bpm and use 1 pick per click until you can do a forward roll smoothly and without pause. Then bump it up to 80 until smooth, and so on.

Don't worry about speed at this point, worry about timing, timing, timing. Without correct timing, you can't play with others. Music is really a mathematical exercise so knowing how to count and stay in time is essential.

There are several good metronomes out on the market these days.

Here's a few:

STMX-1 Sieko Clip-On Auto Tuner & Metronome Combination

This has a clip on tuner and tunes by vibration or sound. It also has a built in metronome which is very easy to use. Versatile and compact, swivel arm for easy display, lights allow tuning in the dark. Having this combination will save space in your gear bag. Very cool!

Korg TM40Digital Metronome &Instrument Tuner Combination

MT-50 METRONOME

I hope this information is helpful. Timing is very important when playing any instrument and it's best to start out learning your timing correctly at the beginning. You won't be sorry you did.

For more unique banjo gear products check out our Banjo Gear page.

Keep on pickn'

Angie

Banjo Teacher Directory

If your looking to find a banjo teacher in your area of the US check out the Banjo Teacher's Directory at Angie's Banjo.com. This directory is kept up to date regularly.

If you are a banjo teacher and would like to be listed on the free directory just send your contact information to angiesumpter@aol.com

Keep on pickn'

Angie

Have you been told to "put a sock in it!"?

When your first learning to play the banjo your practice sessions can get a little annoying to family members and animals. After all how many times can you hear the same rolls over and over without your spouse wanting to wrap the darn banjo around your neck.

But there is something that can really help to save your marriage during times like these. It's called a Fielding-Cutler banjo mute. This is one of the best mutes I've every tried. It not only mutes the strings to where you can practice while other people are in the same room watching TV but the sound is still good enough to hear what your playing. It's easy to put on and it stays on until your ready to take it off.

This mute until recently was only available in Canada but now it's available at Angie's Banjo.com, the only US web site carrying it.