Practice Tips for Learning the Banjo

Slow it Down - This is virtually a cure-all for any problems arising during practice. You can work through almost anything if you slow down enough. Beginners may learn a piece in sections by practicing short phrases of 2 or 4 measures and then playing the sections in order after the piece has become easier.

Learn to sing the melody of any piece you practice. Musicians have a saying, "If you can't sing it, you don't know it." Singing is a powerful tool for developing the "musical ear."

Practice a piece backwards. It will force you to learn it more thoroughly. Not note-by-note backwards, but learning it phrase by phrase backwards. That is, work up the last phrase until you have it in mind. Maybe not up to speed, but so that you're comfortable with it and have no doubt how it's played. Then work the next-to-last phrase, continuing through the last phrase. Then work the third-last-phrase, continuing through to the end. At any point, you'll have practiced what comes up later, so that there's no need to stop. Once learned, you will have learned everything as it flows, and you're not so likely to get to a "joint" where you can't remember what comes next.

Have a healthy, positive attitude. Rome wasn't built in a day. It takes years to master an instrument - you'll get there with practice and perseverance. Have patience in the short term, perseverance in the long term, and faith in yourself always.

Keep on pickin'
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