Bernie P. - Posted - 09/09/2009:  13:46:24

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Is it just me or do banjo's really sound better and just a whole lot more fun to play when outside.I can sit for hours pick'n away out on the porch but rarely play more than an hour if that when inside.I also find my playing technique's are much more varied and creative outdoors as well.Often I'll hit on something nice I'd never played quite that way and just enjoying the whole experience so much more.

Banjov1 - Posted - 09/09/2009:  14:00:36

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No doubt playing outside is an enjoyable experience. But sometimes the acoustics of the room you're practicing in have a little to do with how much you enjoy it. My practice room is really dead, but when I play at a friends house, he's got a really lively acoustic room... lot's of natural reverb and it just seems a lot more enjoyable to play there.

Tony

carteru93 - Posted - 09/09/2009:  14:32:36

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My banjo goes dead outside. I dont hear the sound enough when I'm in a big open area.

___________________________________________________
Carter
Blaylock Bear Tracks Banjo the "Growler"
You can't fix stupid!

wrentree - Posted - 09/09/2009:  17:30:18

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If you want loud, play in a small tiled bathroom. Face the mirror for an audience.

Harold

KANINJACK - Posted - 09/09/2009:  17:34:04

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Depends on the time of the year, but just about everything's better outside. Food even tastes better when eaten around a campfire. I agree the banjo seems to be happier when in the outdoors. I never heard my grandpa pick anywhere other than on a porch.

gottasmilealot - Posted - 09/09/2009:  17:48:08

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I like pavilions with concrete floors and a roof. The sound bounces around and it's easier to hear one's own playing. Playing in cool air sounds neat also.

Keith

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Edited by - gottasmilealot on 09/09/2009 17:48:33

wrentree - Posted - 09/09/2009:  18:52:35

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Just about like having monitors isn't it Keith.

Harold

liljoe - Posted - 09/09/2009:  22:40:29

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You know, I am a backpacker. I backpack the Northern Sierra's in a place called Emigrant Wilderness. I started the banjo just for the very reason I had always thought that if you could get a banjo player back there and get him to carry with him down those mountains, it would be worth it.

So...two years ago I received a banjo for my B-day. And I have been hooked ever since trying to learn the thing. Often more discouraged than not to be honest. So after about two years of beating on it, I took my banjo and what extremely limited skills down this mountain side. It was brutal.

But that night by the camp fire. Well...just close your eyes. Even to my limted playing ability. No wonder it was often played in the mountains.

I put some pictures on my profile of where we often back pack. If you are ever in the central valley of California near Lodi, (Think of the Credence Song) look me up. I would love to take you kayaking and/or backpacking. You have to play me a song though. Only fair!!

Joseph
(Frustrated Banjo Player)

Just nobody special

Bernie P. - Posted - 09/10/2009:  06:27:32

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Joe I think of SOT kayaks (WS Tarpon 160 in my case) as the banjo's of watercraft.

Deaf David - Posted - 09/10/2009:  07:05:33

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Up a holler facing a ridge, you can get the echo to come back at you and play that much despised song with your self.

________________________________________________

It's never a good sign when the musician introduces the song by saying, "See if you can tell what this is."
________________________________________________

kboone - Posted - 09/10/2009:  07:10:42

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Wrentree - No doubt - the bathroom makes my banjo playing sound awesome!!! ;)

Pjotor - Posted - 09/10/2009:  08:35:05

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Try to face the wall when playing. Lots of lovely banjo decibels start a-flying.

http://www.theleavingband.com -- Swedish bluegrass and more

Mopick - Posted - 09/10/2009:  11:49:26

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quote:

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Originally posted by wrentree

If you want loud, play in a small tiled bathroom. Face the mirror for an audience.

Harold

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Good one. But really, someone told me if you want to hear what your banjo sounds like, play sitting directly in front of a glass door (patio door) or a big mirror or a sound reflective surface. It does sound a lot different when sitting behind the banjo (picking) than sitting in front of the banjo. I have a big melamine double door cabinet in my practice room and sometimes I pull my chair right up in front of that smooth surface to hear the banjo from a different perspective.

I live in the mountains.....
The mountainous region of Central Florida.
Sugarloaf Mountain; 312 feet above sea level.

Randy

1four5 - Posted - 09/10/2009:  11:59:54

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I LOVE playing outside. In the city, by the golf course it can be interesting. Wish I had a nickle for every time someone slaps their knees and does a hilbilly dance. So far so good though, aint had the cops called on me yet. The squirrels don't run and the birds chirp along. This is the season too, when the tems are just right!

Dean

BvilleDon - Posted - 09/10/2009:  14:14:34

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Yall inspired me to pick to the mailbox and bacl!


Don

steve davis - Posted - 09/10/2009:  15:01:36

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We often sit around the BBQ pit and pick the evening away.

banjo321 - Posted - 09/16/2009:  17:42:16

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My family loves it when i go outside to play, I take the door key with me cause its always locked when i try to get back in.

barbbanjo - Posted - 09/16/2009:  20:44:34

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My husband and I love to play on the porch together and our whole family gets together and we play in the orchard. Like Dean said, no one has called the cops on us ..... yet. One question though. What do you do when you play at some event and there are no mics and you are just surrounded by air? The sound seems to go out into the air and gets lost. We play for free for community things and since we aren't professionals there aren't mics and monitors and when we play outside it is really hard. Any advice?

10gauge - Posted - 09/16/2009:  22:03:16

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I can't stand playing outside. It's just more human to be inside enjoying the stale air and closed in comfort.

Jonathan O'bug

Grumps - Posted - 09/18/2009:  13:15:18

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It's REALLY rubbish in the closet! surely I ought to take the hint eh?

Edwin T (Grumps)

Klondike Waldo - Posted - 09/18/2009:  17:25:37

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Well, not in February around here anyway.

I'll never play like Earl Scruggs or sing like Luciano Pavarotti, but I'll pick better than Luciano and sing tenor better than Earl
deligo ergo renideo,
Bob Cameron

ifish - Posted - 09/19/2009:  08:53:25

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I also love to play outside on my porch. I'm not so sure about my neighbors.

HorseHannah - Posted - 09/19/2009:  11:00:02

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playing outside has a certain taste to it. You can feel the vibrations in the air and somehow your fingers pick that up. I often play in my room with my window closed since I don't want to disturb any more people than I have to, and I do OK... but when the window's open for some reason it makes a difference in the sound. I don't know exactly what it is but it's really neat. :-)
HH

I would love to say that Twang is my middle name, but since it isn't I just wish it were, as that would truly be me. :-)

John Allison - Posted - 09/19/2009:  15:28:02

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I really enjoy playing outdoors, on the front porch, at block parties, at dock parties, whatever: however, if it is windy, my banjo is hard to keep in tune. Irregardless, it is always worth the effort.

Froggie
"Courage is Fear that has said its prayers.

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Edited by - John Allison on 09/19/2009 15:30:22

Poppy - Posted - 09/19/2009:  16:07:40

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Outside for me is always fun, even just on the deck. Maybe it is because around here the weather is nice right now, but sound carries through the mountains.

"What kind of man would live in a world where there is no daring? I don't believe in taking foolish chances, but nothing can be accomplished without taking any chance at all." -- Charles Lindberg

bosborne - Posted - 09/19/2009:  19:01:05

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quote:

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Originally posted by Bernie P.

Is it just me or do banjo's really sound better and just a whole lot more fun to play when outside.I can sit for hours pick'n away out on the porch but rarely play more than an hour if that when inside.I also find my playing technique's are much more varied and creative outdoors as well.Often I'll hit on something nice I'd never played quite that way and just enjoying the whole experience so much more.

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Bernie, it's definitely not just you! My favorite place to play is the porch. And this summer we spent a week at a cottage out in the woods of Vermont, I loved playing under the stars every night. Very special.

Booger McGee - Posted - 09/20/2009:  20:42:58

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quote:

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Originally posted by barbbanjo

My husband and I love to play on the porch together and our whole family gets together and we play in the orchard. Like Dean said, no one has called the cops on us ..... yet. One question though. What do you do when you play at some event and there are no mics and you are just surrounded by air? The sound seems to go out into the air and gets lost. We play for free for community things and since we aren't professionals there aren't mics and monitors and when we play outside it is really hard. Any advice?

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Hi Barbara,

From what little I know about staging and acoustics, I'd recommend playing with your back to a wall or other hard surface when possible. That way you're bouncing the sound forward towards your listeners. I was at an open-air concert (the Gorge) a few years ago. Besides using microphones, the band also had a portable wall / shell behind them.

Booger

duke13 - Posted - 09/21/2009:  09:09:53

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all instruments seem to sound better outdoors. i take my banjo to deer camp every weekend and pick around the campfire. Can't beat it!

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