Ask the Banjo Teacher

Question: Hi! Wil, I'm new again to the Banjo. I took lessons and played back in my twenties and early thirties, then family and job responsibilities took over, now in my mid 60s I purchased a new banjo and want to start playing again. One thing I was never very good at and never quite seemed to do right was to replace the strings and get them wound with out a lot of undue effort. Can you give me some help here or suggest a place to go that spells out how to do this with the least amount of fuss. I don't seem to have the problem with my bass as the strings are bigger. Thanks. Dave

Answer: Hey Dave, Sometimes changing strings can be tricky. However, I've found that people tend to make it more complicated than it really is. I've seen some guys that have this special technique to double wrap then loop under, over and around, etc....I tell them "dude, you're not roping a cow, its just a string!" I'll tell you the way I do it and hopefully it will help.

First, let me say that whenever you change your strings, it's a good habit to get into to oil your fretboard with lemon oil (not furniture polish!). You can buy lemon oil for the fretboard at any good music store or online www.angiesbanjo.com. Just a little goes a long way. BTW... you'll have to remove the bridge completely so make sure you mark with a pencil exactly where it goes.
OK...now you're ready to put your strings on. Start with the 5th. Attach the loop end to your tailpiece and keep taught so it won't come off. Feed the other end thru the hole in the tuner making sure that you feed it from the fretboard side of the tuner going out.

Now, keep the string tight on both ends and pull it away from the banjo about 8". Crimp the tuner end and begin to tighten keeping it tight. Make one wrap on top of the string and the next wrap underneath the string. This pinches the string so that it will not go anywhere. Now, just wind until it becomes tight enough to not go anywhere. Remember, you've got to slip the bridge underneath the strings and stand it up so don't get it too tight.

Once you've done that for all 5 strings, slip the bridge underneath and stand it up and back in place where you marked it.

Tighten up your strings a little at a time, watching your bridge so that it does not lean forward. If it does, just put a thumb on either side and stand it straight. Clear as mud, right? Seriously, its easy with a little practice. Thanks, Wil - www.BanjoMd.com

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Angie's Banjo.com

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Improvising or Memorizing

Improvising or Memorizing:

Being able to improvise isn't something genetic or a born ability that a select few have. This is a common misconception. The ability to improvise comes from experience and acquiring allot of banjo knowledge and some theory application. Any great player who can improvise is drawing from a reserve of stored licks, tunes, phrasings, chords, etc., but assembling them in a random manner. How would they know what works and what doesn't? It comes from developing the sensibilities and ear to feel/know what logically works in a given situation. This comes from practice, playing and experimenting.

This is why is crucial to learn all the established Scruggs licks, single string ideas, melodic ideas, chordal ideas-any and ALL things banjo. This is your future reservoir of ideas that will be where you improvise from.

Players that don't know many ideas and don't have much experience with using them are much less likely to be good at improvising. How good you are at this skill is based on how well you did your 'homework' in learning the foundation things. This is your basic 'vocabulary.' Once you've learned the standard tunes, licks and throw in some theory, scales, etc, you are adding to the pool of knowledge from which you'll draw your improvising.

Your rhythmic sensibilities, hearing, motor skills-all these improve over time and once the mind/ear/hands connection is made, it only improves with practice.

Getting great at improvising is work, just like anything else. But it rewards you with coming up with your own unique style and approach to banjo. That is the ultimate goal as a player.

Keep on Pickin'

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Back to the Basics - Using a Metronome

Back to the Basics - Using a Metronome by Geoff Hohwald

You may have heard or read of the great players saying that timing is everything.. "The power of the banjo break or the lick has more to do with timing than the lick itself." "Any lick played in perfect time is a hot lick." "You can stop your quest for the next hot lick and just look inside yourself and you will find power... you just have to harness it with good timing"

Case in point.. Most of the licks that J D Crowe and Earl Scruggs play can be played by any intermediate banjo player. If that is so then how come so many banjo players strive to copy them? The answer is because of the power they convey when they play based on their precise timing.

After conducting over a dozen banjo clinics in 2007 and working with high school students for 3 months in Dahlonega Georgia, I have been struck by the lack of basic knowledge banjo players have of playing in time and what it means to play in time. This seems to be prevalent among all age groups as the youngest student in these groups was 9 and the oldest 84.

My specific lack of precise timing was exposed when I recorded a CD with guitarist/mandolinist Curtis Jones last year. Curtis has recorded and played extensively with Dan Timinsky, Patti Loveless, Allison Brown, Bluegrass Etc, Blue Highway and has been a session player in Nashville's top studios. To make a long story short the CD Project quickly became an education for me in what playing in time really is.

Having a local reputation for having great timing, I was surprised by how hard I had to work to be in sync with Curtis. I spent hours working with a click track, recording myself, listening to it, making corrections, and then doing it again. As this process was going on my head would gradually clear of all non-musical thoughts and I would relax. Once relaxation set in I was able to play in perfect timing. As a result of the attention to timing, the CD turned out great. Listening to it carefully has actually helped several of my students understand the power of playing in time and the clarity that happens when the instruments do not overplay and crowd each other.

In order to use this information to help these students, Curtis and I have been conducting monthly Clinics/ Group Lessons to aid beginning and intermediate players to improve their playing, understand timing, learn to relax and develop confidence. As we develop techniques and insights I will share them with you.

Another thing we have noticed in these clinics is in almost all cases the students feel that they should be progressing much faster than they are. This causes them to not relax completely when playing. This small amount of tension actually slows the students down. In addition the students do not understand how to count or how to use a metronome. In some cases they understand the theory but aren't concentrating on the beat consistently.

The lack of formal bluegrass timing training comes from a long tradition of playing by ear and applies to all of the folk instruments. Because bluegrass instruments are not taught in schools, there has not been the urgency to get together and come up with standardized, agreed upon, ways of explaining and teaching music.

To further illustrate the lack of musical training required to play bluegrass, I played in the late 60's with a Singer/Guitarist in Columbus, Ohio who performed 2 or 3 nights a week and did not know the names of his chords. If I said make a C chord he did not know what that was even though he was an accomplished singer who knew hundreds of songs.

Because of the lack of trained bluegrass teachers, it is clear to me that learning to play in time and improving your speed will require some effort on your part. Once you accept this, your journey will become much clearer and you will probably experience greater success because I am sure you are very resourceful. You may have to go through a few teachers, you may even have to travel an hour or 2 to find that special someone. In this case, I recommend at least an hour lesson maybe every 2 weeks and I recommend you videotape not the entire lesson but the specific exercises and songs. If you're working with a metronome you will know at what speeds you are comfortable. Take your metronome along and have your instructor play on the video at those speeds. In addition have each song and example played at at least 2 speeds.

Make sure you can hear the metronome click when you play it back. Also make sure the instructor counts off each piece.

Another common belief regarding timing by people who play bluegrass instruments successfully is that the beginning player will eventually pick up timing. This leads the aspiring musician to believe that if they just hang around jam sessions this knowledge will somehow filter to them through the air. Well interestingly enough the idea of the music coming to you passively through the air might actually have merit. This has occurred historically in families in the mountains where even in the womb the young child has heard his parents and kin folk play music, later to see it from the crib and then later as an observer on the porch and at Sunday dinner. In Italy, which has a much stronger tradition in the Arts than here, it is not uncommon for the parents to put a metronome in the crib starting the young infant on the road to internalizing timing.

If you have not been fortunate enough to have listened to bluegrass music in the womb or had a metronome in your crib, there are other ways to acquire good timing. Since you are getting this information by reading we are unfortunately not present to give you a live demonstration. I will explain it as best I can.

If you want to experience better timing, let me suggest that you start by reviewing the January Article about "How To Use A Metronome," get out the old metronome, play it without your instrument, relax and tap your foot to it until you start feeling the beat.

Once this happens then play your best song with the metronome and see if you can transfer your natural rhythm to the banjo. If a whole song is too much try this with a couple measures of a song. Try this back and forth several times and see if you start sensing power. This may take a while and may require the assistance of a teacher or other musician.

Basically the route to achieving this is based on clearing your mind playing slowly and accurately but not thinking about your playing. Relax and try to eliminate all thoughts from your head. Now lets go on to feedback another important factor in the learning quest. Well low and behold in reflecting on my musical journey, there has always been an interest in seeing what I sounded like. I also had an interest in what I looked like until I gained about 40 pounds and lost some of my hair. I now avoid mirrors. But I do get constant feedback from my wife and doctor about getting into better shape. On the musical side of the coin and unlike my current physical state, I actually listen to feedback and make changes to my playing.

This journey started in the early 60's by me recording myself on a Sony reel to reel tape recorder. I would have my buddies come over and record stuff. I remember I did not want to fork out the $5 for a microphone stand so we just taped the microphone to a lamp in my bedroom. The microphone incidentally was one that came with another tape recorder. These recordings were inconsistent and I continually strived to sound like the professionals and occasionally got a glimmer of great sound. I could also see if I was playing in time, which was a big help. Later I wanted to be able to play a rhythm track and record the banjo against it and then listen back to it. I would use 2 tape recorders.

The rhythm track would be recorded onto one recorder and then played into another recorder while playing the banjo into a microphone. (Rube Goldberg would be proud). I've also done multitrack recording by recording the rhythm track onto a tape and then playing the tape through a boom box and then recording this and my banjo on a second tape recorder as the tape was playing. I would stand different distances from the microphone with the banjo to adjust the volume of the banjo on the tape. This was rather cumbersome but accomplished the feedback goal.

The point here was I went to a lot of effort to listen to my playing. I could then make adjustments, re-record the piece and hopefully improve. The other thing I used to do when my band played out was to record the performance on a cassette tape and listen to it on the way home. This would enable me to hear which banjo breaks and licks worked out and which did not work. Many times the hot lick that I thought was attracting attention and admiration just did not work out whereas the more straight simple playing sounded better with a particular song. What we're talking about here is that receiving feedback is a necessary part of learning to play for any musician. This also includes reactions and suggestions from musicians who have been at it longer than you. However, beware... feedback from your mother, spouse, employees and people that owe you money is many times inaccurate and may actually lead you to believe that you are better than you are.

I recommend that you do not sell all of your possessions, quit your job and buy a bus based on their feedback alone. Seriously though, if you will find a way to record and listen to your playing, it will help you tremendously. Playing with a metronome is very helpful but you can turbocharge the experience by recording your playing with the metronome and listening back to it. Well that's it for this month. If you to listen to your playing, use a metronome and relax you will see dramatic changes in your playing. You may even become more popular. Some of you are using transcriber programs, programs that slow the music down and jam along tracks. If these are working for you continue their use and make sure to record yourself playing with these. When you have timing, speed or clarity problems with a particular piece of music bring out the metronome.

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Old Tyme Banjo by Ross May

When playing old time banjo, many players say that to be authentic, that one must have an “old time tone”. I would think that they are talking about the “thunky-de-thunk” sound of an old slick-neck, with a calf-skin head nailed on. I, myself prefer something with a little more resonance, although most of the time I keep my head a little looser than I do on my “bluegrass” banjo.

And is it necessary that one play without a resonator, to get that “authentic” old-time sound? I have one banjo that I use for old-time playing that has a resonator and one that doesn’t. In fact, the one that I won in the recent raffle, the Gold Tone open-back with the vine inlay, a beautiful lady if there ever was one, actually came to me with a genuine skin head. Boy, what a tone that one has. I love it. It doesn’t resonate too much, but it does have a kind of yubby-dubby resonance, that I dearly love. One can even get a pretty good old time stylistic effect with a Bluegrass-tight-head-set-up-for-Scruggs-playing banjo. So what is the “old time sound”?

Actually, there is no “authentic” old-time sound, since there were so many different styles of banjo out there in the land-of-banjo-past, that one could not settle on any one instrument and say that it was the optimum sound. I dearly love the plethora of sounds that I hear played by the many Old Time pickers that abound today. Some of the older banjos were very crude in construction, and others were works of the makers art. Many folks built their own instruments, and others were able to mail-order more sophisticated styles. But one common thread runs through all this and that is the myriad of sounds that beautify old-time playing.

So, is it the tone, or the rhythm of the old-time banjo that makes it so desirable to many? More than likely the rhythm has more to do with that sound than any other factor.

That syncopated, rolling, rollicking rhythm that, when done right, mesmerizes some, and makes others want to jig around, or just bob up and down when one hears it, and is really the thing that I strive for in my own playing. Have I reached it? I don’t know, but I have been trying for many, many years.

What makes that rhythm? Well………I know it when I reach it, thorough a combination of hammers, slides, pull-offs, and maybe a thump on the head now and then with the end of the lead finger, while picking a string. At first that “thunk” on the head was accidental, but then if found that it had a percussive effect one would hear in Irish music, and I came do it purposely in some selections.

(This article was written for "Silver Strings" banjo ezine.)

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Music Theory 101

Music Theory 101 by Sherry Chapman

Everyone cringes at the words "Music Theory," but this is mainly banjo related and very important to learning how to play.

#1 BLUEGRASS MUSIC THEORY 101

What is a scale?

A scale is an ascending and descending, ordered collection of notes that spans an interval of an octave. (Say that again in English) A scale is a group of notes spanning 7 notes and the beginning note again an octave higher.

Example: G Scale: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G (octave)

All major scales are made up of 7 notes ranging from A to G. The D scale begins on D and goes as follows: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D.

What is an octave?

An octave encompasses all notes from a given note to its next repetition. (What did she just say?) An octave is 8 notes starting on C and ending on C. Example: C Scale: C D E F G A B C (octave)

A scale is made of up whole steps and half steps. In the G Major scale you have the following steps: whole step, whole step , half step , whole step, whole step , whole step, half step. (This is supposed to mean something to me?) Hang on, it will. Example: Let's take the 3rd string on the banjo — open G.

Let's walk down that string and see what happens.

Open G 1st fret G# 2nd fret A 3rd fret A# 4th fret B 5th fret C 6th fret C# 7th fret D 8th fret D# 9th fret E 10th fret F 11th fret F# 12th fret G (octave)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1--2--3--4--5--6--7--8--9--10--11-12------------------------------------------------------------
Each Fret is a HALF STEP on your banjo.

To make a G scale on the 3rd string, you fret as follows: open, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11 & 12. Try it on your banjo, it works. (notice there are two frets between each note EXCEPT B) and C and F# and G — this is why you need to know the whole and half steps. There are NO sharps and flats between B and C and E and F.
------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------
0--2--4--5--7--8--11--12------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------

Why do you need to know this?

As you learn songs, you need to know what notes to play in what scale or key. If you are playing a song in the key of G, you normally start out in G and then as the song progresses, you may go to a D or a C. You need to know the G, D and C scales so you'll know which notes to play and better yet, which notes NOT to play. When you start playing chromatic or melodic, this information is invaluable. Try this and see how it works for you: Take the 1st string of your banjo, it's the D string. Go down the string fretting each fret and see how it sounds. You've got a D chromatic.

Now, fret open, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11 & 12. You've got a D scale.

0 -2--4--5--7--9--11--12--------------- --------------------------------- ---------

Now, if you think this isn't going to help you play the banjo, think again. It's teaching you where the notes are on your fretboard. Next time we'll go into how to play a scale using different open notes and fretted strings -- and how to make hot licks out of those notes.

NOTE: There are several notes in common in the D and G scales — what are they?

#2 BLUEGRASS MUSIC THEORY 101

This installment will show you a couple of hot licks you can use in your picking. Enjoy.

Did you figure out what notes the G and D scales had in common?

Did you see which notes were different? Let's see if you figured as I do:

G Scale: G, A, B, C, D, E, F#, G D Scale: D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D Common notes: G, A, B, D, E Different notes: C - C#

So, the basic difference in these two scales is one note - a C or a C#. Play these two notes together and you'll see that they sound awful. Now, you're never going to play a scale like that on a banjo, right? So, why did I even bother? You need to know your fretboard. This is a great way to learn it and will help you later on when you're playing chromatic/melodic licks.

Let's see if we can make it simpler to play on the banjo. Let's take a G scale and make it playable. (If you have tab paper, you can tab it out and it'll be a whole lot easier).

G Scale

3rd string, open 4th string, 7th fret 2nd string, open 3rd string, 5th fret 1st string, open 2ndstring, 5th fret 1st string, 4th fret 5th string, open

You have just played G, A, B, C, D, E, F# and G on the banjo. You can actually use this scale in as a hot lick on some songs.

You will use the scale tones to form licks. Many licks can be formed from this basic scale. Let's try a simple G lick:

3rd string, open 1st string, open 3rd string, 2nd fret, slide to 4th fret 1st string, open 5th string, open 2nd string, 5th fret 1st string, 4th fret 1st string, open

This is a 4 beat lick with the final G being the 1st note/beat of the next bar. It is counted 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1. Each note is an 8th note and counts as ½ beat.

Another easy G lick that uses the scale:

3rd string, open 4th string, 7th fret 2nd string, open 3rd string, 5th fret 1st string, open 2nd string, 5th fret 1st string, 4th fret 3rd string, open

It is counted as follows: 1, 2 and 3 and 4 and 1, next measure. In this lick the first note gets a full beat, the rest get ½ beat.

Okay, students, here's another music theory lesson on the C and D scales and licks. Some really neat licks in this one, try them, you'll like them!!

#3 BLUEGRASS MUSIC THEORY 101 - D SCALE AND LICKS

Let's take a look at the D scale. You can do it chromatically using the 1st fret and going down:

D 1st open D# 1st fret E 2nd fret F 3rd fret F# 4th fret and so on. D scale on 1st string: 1 open, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12 D scale using all 5 strings: 1st string, open 3rd string, 9th fret 2nd string, 7th fret 5th string, open 2nd string, 10th fret 1st string, 9th fret 5th string, 11th fret 1st string, 12th fret

Let's look at a couple of D licks. Again, these use the notes of the D scale. (And we're just going to say 3 open or 2 fret 3 instead of 3rd string open, 2nd string fret 3 because it saves time and is easier to do). Again, if you have tab paper, you can tab it out.) 3 open, 2 fret 2, hammer 3, 5 open, 2 fret 3, 1 open, 5 open. This is counted: 1, 2 and 3 and 4 and. The first 3 open gets a full beat and everything else gets ½ beat. 1 fret 7, 5 open, 1 fret 4, 2 fret 5, 1 open, 3 fret 5, 2 open, 4 fret 7. This is counted 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and with each note getting ½ beat.

What I've done on these licks is give you a Scruggs type lick and a melodic lick. C SCALE
Again, we'll look at our fretboard. You can start with the 2nd string, first fret and go chromatic C, C#, D, D#, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C. (Note there are no #s between E and F and B and C — this is a given)

Now the scale in C is: 2nd string, fret 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13.

The easy way to play it on the banjo: 3 fret 5, 1 open, 2 fret 5, 1 fret 3, 5 open, 2 fret 10, 1 fret 9 and 5 fret 10 (yes, you can fret the 5th string).

Two C licks:

2 fret 1, 1 fret 1, 5 open, 2 fret 1, 1 fret 2, 2 fret 1, 3 fret 2, 1 fret 2.
1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 3 open, 1 open, 2 fret 5, 1 fret 3, 5 open, 2 fret 10, 1 fret 9. 1, 2 and 3 and 4 and.

Now do you begin to see why you need to know scales?

#4 BLUEGRASSS MUSIC THEORY 101 CHORDS

We've gone through the G, C and D scales, told you what notes were in each and gave you examples of scales and licks.

Now, let's see how those scales make chords and why.

A Chord is made up of 3 notes. These notes are the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of the scale (ah, there's that scale again). These notes harmonize or sound good when played as a group.
In the key of G you have the following chords: G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em F#dim and G (octave). This is supposed to mean something to me? It will, trust me!

To make a G chord on the banjo, just strum open, that's a G chord. But I'm strumming 4 notes, not 3! Yes, but you're strumming D, B, G and another D -- that's 3 notes with the D notes being an octave apart.

You can also make a G closed chord (no open notes) as follows: 2nd string, 3rd fret (index finger), 3rd string, 4th fret (middle finger), 4th string, 5th fret (ring finger) and 1st string 5th fret (pinkie). (This is called the 1st or F position on a banjo and you can make many, many chords using this position.) Again you have D, B, G, G.

A “C” chord is C, E, G -- which can be made several ways on the banjo. The first C Chord on the banjo is as follows: 2nd string, 1st fret (index finger), 1st string 2nd fret (ring finger) and 4thstring 2nd fret (middle finger). This makes a complete C chord - C, E, G and C. (Note: the G (3rd string) is picked open.

A “D” chord is D, F#, A and can also be made several ways on the banjo. The first D chord on the banjo is made as follows: 3rd string, 2nd fret (index), 2nd string, 3rd fret (middle), 1st string 4thfret (ring) and 4th string, 4th fret (pinkie). (This is called the 2nd or D position and also makes many chords). You have notes A, D, F#, F#.

We'll get into the why of minor chords later if anyone is interested. Right now, just note that they are made up of 3 notes -- the 1st, 3rd and 5th, just like a major chord, but the inversion is different (no, you aren't supposed to understand that now, just take it at face value).

So, all the chords in the G scale are as follows:

G: G, B, D Am: A, C, E Bm: B, D, F# C: C, E, G D: D, F#, A Em: E, G, B F#dim: F#, A, C# (You'll probably never need to know this one -- it's seldom used in bluegrass, it's just for information). And back to G which starts it all over.

NOTE: the pitch of the fretted first string and forth strings will indicate the Major chord name.
This chord shape is a really useful one when used in backup. In many tunes the forth string is not actually played so many players don't fret the forth string but it is best practice to learn the chord on all four strings so that it can be played at all fret positions as a closed chord.

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Improvising

Improvising is very different from playing backup.

When you play backup, you're playing to make the lead instrument stand out and sound good. So you craft your backup based on the specific instrument (voice, fiddle, mando, guitar, dobro) that is currently in lead position. As an example, when the mandolin takes a break, you'll usually (but not always since it depends on the situation) play a very rhythmic back up by "chunking." This is because the mando was previously filling that role in its own backup and just left that role to play a lead. You're filling in the gap. Likewise, you may play some forward rolls with bass line type movement when the fiddle is playing its solo, or maybe light chunking when the singer is singing but switch into a fill-in lick just at the end of a phrase when the singer would normally take a breath.

There is some thought and method to back up. But the general rule is that you don't play "over" somebody else and you do what you can to make the lead sound even better.

When you play lead, you're playing in the spotlight and to be noticed. You're playing something interesting but you're also playing something that will fit with the "mood" of the tune. This is important even if you don't play the melody at all. For example, if you were playing lead to a waltz or ballad you've never heard before, you would keep it straight thinking in terms of moving chord shapes to give a melody of types of its own and playing some tasteful tremelo with a little straightforward melodic phrase here and there. If you were playing a breakdown you'd shoot for driving rolls, perhaps hold the IV chord in the 7th form a half measure longer than the rest of the group, and fill with a snazzy chromatic lick. All the time trying to do what's right for the mood of the tune.

As you can see, there is some thought that goes into each. However, you don't have to beat yourself up over it. Start simple. Know what you are comfortable with and use it in various situations. It's like speaking a foreign language - you're never going to be fluent unless you try to speak it - and make mistakes - with native speakers in real life situations. But it doesn't take too long before you're not thinking of the translation and you just DO it.

A great resource to get you on the road to improvising right away is "Building Blocks for Bluegrass Jamming for 5-String Banjo Book/CD Introducing the "Cut n Paste" Method by Wil Huckabay. It's fun and easy and you'll be making easy and interesting breaks to songs you haven't played before. It comes with a CD demonstrating everything in the book along with playalong tracks to practice with.

Here's an example of "Blue Ridge Cabing Home" demonstrating how the "Cut n' Paste" Method works.

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Angie
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Building Blocks to Bluegrass Jamming - The "Cut n Paste" Method by Wil Huckabay

Building Blocks to Bluegrass Jamming - The "Cut n Paste" Method by Wil Huckabay

Has there ever been an instance where you've watched several strangers come together and begin jamming to a song they've never played together before? And when it comes the banjo player's turn he/she will crank out a break that sounds like they've been playing the song for years even though it might be their first time to play it. How does this happen? This is what the "Cut n Paste Method" (CnP) is all about.

Customer Reviews:

Hi! Wil, I purchased your book from Angie's Banjo several months ago and it is my goto banjo book. It has helped me more than I can tell you. Thanks! My question is when are you coming out with the next book of "up the neck and melodic licks and turn around" that you mention in the current book? I will be first in line! Your faith in The Lord is evident in your book and that is refreshing in our current times. Randy D.

Dear Mr. Huckabay, I received your CnP course two days ago. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am. This appears to be exactly what I need at this point in my learning experence. This may be the greatest book ever for this type of lesson. Thank you. Dick Chesser

Hello Wil, I recently purchased your Banjo Building Blocks Cut n Paste and I just love it. I have been playing nearly 2 years and your book has come along at exactly the time and point that I need it. Please get a follow up book done soon. Thanks again for a great book and you can bet I'll buy the next one that you publish. Ross Fox, Ringgold, GA

Pete Wernick - Dr. Banjo (http://www.drbanjo.com/) "The Cut 'n Paste Method" is an easily-digested introduction to the use of movable phrases in makeshift solos. I recommend this book to banjo pickers needing help in "faking" solos in jam sessions (melody-based soloing is not the focus here), as it presents a practical and appropriate method to manipulate the building blocks of Scruggs-style banjo. In a concise format the player learns the principles and some good examples. The door can then be opened to the wide world of banjo licks, using favorites from many different sources."

Find an example of how the "Cut 'n Paste Method" works with Blue Ridge Cabin Home in the June Banjo ezine "Silver Strings."

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New Guardian Fiberglass Banjo Case

IMPACT-RESISTANT FIBERGLASS BANJO CASE - CG-061-J

Guardian introduces a much sough-after fiberglass banjo case with the impact-resistant, water-repellent and durable features of similar cases three times the price.

Guardian Fiberglass Case for Banjo (CG-061-J) has a 6mm fiberglass shell for superior protection, crushed black velvet interior, six latches including three around the area of the banjo resonator, fitted hygrometer, comfortable leather handle and headstock wedges for excellent fitting.

The case fits resonator banjos and was developed with the help of professional artists who tested prototypes in real-world situations, such as air and road travel during bluegrass festival season.
The fiberglass case comes in a glossy dark grey exterior and is perfect for players looking for complete protection from low to medium-level impact.

Keep on Pickin'

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