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Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/159071
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Rob Bourassa - Posted - 09/30/2009: 10:10:01
Hi folks,
I had been asked to post lessons for Foggy Mountain Breakdown here, because I couldn't link them in order on my Youtube page. I had a few people that said it was too advanced for them to follow at this point, and wanted to know if I could use a beginners tune, with the same teaching method.
Here it is, for any 1st time banjo pickers. I hope it helps till you can find a teacher.
Cripple Creek;
1. youtube.com/watch?v=oP31xrg05N..._response
2. youtube.com/watch?v=JLD5_1qntW...e=related
3. youtube.com/watch?v=dmvMpl3NW1...nse_watch
4. youtube.com/watch?v=j_mCQn0lLg...nse_watch
5. youtube.com/watch?v=i8tP_n0mg8...nse_watch
6. youtube.com/watch?v=JD7O0C50H1...nse_watch
7. youtube.com/watch?v=tGpJQyizC3...nse_watch
8. youtube.com/watch?v=zJrGbh4Cpq...nse_watch
9. youtube.com/watch?v=eYCZGRw0fc...nse_watch
10. youtube.com/watch?v=5F1D7auUrA...nse_watch
11. youtube.com/watch?v=2hKgXZ60SH...nse_watch
12. youtube.com/watch?v=oyOldC5jJN...nse_watch
13. youtube.com/watch?v=Wv9fvi09Yy...nse_watch
14. youtube.com/watch?v=K9aQmaLjpW...nse_watch
Hope it helps.
Rob
walshb - Posted - 09/30/2009: 14:10:28
It looks like another great lesson Rob! Thanks, I'm sure this will help some others besides me.
Don't forget to practice those rolls!
Rob Bourassa - Posted - 09/30/2009: 14:45:29
Thanks Bill,
Funny you should mention rolls.
I get hate mail because I tell people in my warm up not to worry about rolls till we learn the tune.
Here is the reason.
I will give a lesson to someone who has never touched a banjo before, and they will have the first part of Cripple Creek within a half hour. Within 3 half hour lessons, they will complete it.
For someone who has practiced the in and out roll, it seems to be a bit harder to take it out of context and morph it into Cripple Creek. They have to break the roll up, and it is a bit harder to do if they are used to the roll as an isolated exercise.
After they learn Cripple Creek, I then start them on their in and out roll. In the big picture, it shouldn't get anyone too cheesed if I wait 3 weeks to start someone on rolls, but it seems to be a constant source of aggravation. I have learned to streamline my lessons, so that everyone is done with Cripple Creek in 3 weeks, because people will get bored if they do the same thing for too long.
I think working over the forward roll is about the most important exercise for a bluegrass banjo player.
hfader - Posted - 09/30/2009: 20:15:49
And if you've already taken a few guitar lessons from Rob before you start on banjo, you'll learn Cripple Creek ONE half hour lesson.
walshb - Posted - 10/01/2009: 04:37:00
Rob, I can't argue with that philosophy at all. When I switched over from guitar to banjo, at first I tried to learn by ear, and did ok with that, well enough to get me hooked on banjo. I really started learning different rolls when I began using tab, but I still wasn't really practicing rolls much at all, I was learning songs and through the songs, learning rolls automatically. Never had a teacher so I'm sure I picked up some bad habits. For years I've had a problem with hitting the head with my thumbpick, which I think was causing both timing and sloppiness issues. I'm getting beyond some of those issues now by just practicing rolls repeatedly, which is boring, but I do it while watching TV with my banjo mute installed. The mute also helps because I really notice when my thumbpick hits the head. Your lessons help also!
Don't forget to practice those rolls!
kyblugrass - Posted - 10/03/2009: 08:37:19
I have worked through this after trying it with the Janet Davis book. Your style of instruction makes it so much easier for us noobs. I just started on the FMB. Thanks tons Rob!!!!
Scott
“You Can Hang a Sign on a Pig Saying It's a Horse...But It’s Still Just a Pig.”
veijo - Posted - 10/03/2009: 09:48:23
These are very handy for banjo students. Good job and thanks for delivering them!
sillanpaa.info
myspace.com/sillanpaas
Rob Bourassa - Posted - 10/03/2009: 19:26:58
I'm glad to hear it works for folks.
I will try to get another one within a month or so.
pablojesus - Posted - 10/24/2009: 17:54:22
Dear Rob, it's me Pablo the future Cuban Banjo Player LMAO. I am already Cuban, just want to play the banjo. I finaly got Cripple Creek!!! Millions of Thanx! I will download Skype and looking forward for a few lessons. Best regards, Pablo.
CosmicMaskedAvenger - Posted - 10/24/2009: 20:21:52
Thank you Rob!
I caught this when you first posted it on Youtube.
Love your style of teaching...it has helped me a great deal. THANK YOU!
Deering Sierra
Deering Goodtime
dgill - Posted - 12/06/2009: 04:56:01
I want to extend my appreciation to you. You are not only a great musician, but a great man. I have always heard that great men are not remembered for what they do while they are here, but for what they have left behind.
With you sharing your talents and skills as a great teacher, you are surely to be remembered for ever. Thank you so very much.
david419 - Posted - 12/06/2009: 09:45:31
brilliant lessons Rob, thank you, i am a newbie banjo player and have been trying to play part A & B today, i can do it slowly,so i will keep practicing and hopefully move on to the next part, like i say many thanks for the helpfull and detailed lessons. 
Nicholas Glardon - Posted - 12/11/2009: 19:20:44
Hey Rob thanks for your time and great lessons I only looked at one because with this slow dail up it takes to long to veiw the lesson are there other ways i dont know about ??? Since i live out in the woods and cant get high speed . Thx Nick 
Ol Lefty - Posted - 12/12/2009: 16:24:32
STICKY PLEASE??? Not trying to give Rob a "leg up" but his tutorials are so clear and above all, patient. Thanks to him I now own a vintage Seth Thomas metronome(all solid walnut and an Ebay Bargain; I feel so vintage now, myself<G>)-Murphy and Rob-a double team that doesn't know they are a team. They do dovetail perfectly, doncha think? Ol Lefty(aka PPOL= PatheticPickerOlLefty). Anybody else join in the request? o'l
GlennM - Posted - 12/17/2009: 04:42:37
Instead of clogging the forum up with many STICKIES why don't he just put the cripple creek lessons with the Foggy Mt lesson that is already Sticky.
NickC - Posted - 01/02/2010: 02:09:23
These are the clearest lessons I have found for learning cripple creek.. very methodical, informative and patient.
quite wonderful for a beginner like me. thanks!
BadTaco - Posted - 01/02/2010: 07:40:49
That is a really great lesson. In fact, I literally started playing the banjo yesterday afternoon and went for that first. I can play the song!
I have had a lot of other (instruments) music lessons, so I was already kind of "in gear" for it, but Rob's lesson is really, really well done and the fundamental explanations are perfect. He deserves all the 'atta boys he has coming to him for that one, and I hope more follow.
I really dug the line, "You can't teach someone to pole vault in slow motion." I'm sure to use that somewhere, too!
wouldbepicker - Posted - 01/19/2010: 03:13:17
To add my applause for your talent and generosity: grateful and very, but very, appreciative (living as I do on an island where I may be the only one with a banjo, let alone trying to play one).
On rolls or no rolls prior to 'learning songs', as it were: when beginning, I was told to learn the rolls 'soon as poswsible', and I did so. Thereafter, I've found it to be advantageous as I can see the rolls as patterns within songs and that has been quite helpful, especially in getting my fingers to learn the 'what goes where' together with the 'why' in the style of picking with three fingers --- though, not to say that the variety of combinations that are a bit analogous to rubbing the stomach while patting the head and then switching quickly don't come to mind when my fingers get all tangled. Well, the learning of particular arrangements are as much tasks of taking on the arranger's fingers as getting into his/her mind, aren't they?
Again, many kudos for your lessons.
Richard
MonkeyBoy - Posted - 01/21/2010: 12:51:35
Thanks Rob, this is brilliant for a noob like me. Thanks again.
JCat - Posted - 01/24/2010: 21:56:42
quote:This is an excellent idea. Could edit the first post that has links for FMB and "nest the links" under Cripple Creek lesson heading. Just a thought.
Originally posted by 555Glenn
Instead of clogging the forum up with many STICKIES why don't he just put the cripple creek lessons with the Foggy Mt lesson that is already Sticky.
rockytopdoc - Posted - 02/12/2010: 12:26:31
Rob,
I join the grateful masses in expressing my heartfelt thanks for your time and effort. These lessons are great! Your method is the clearest I've come across
Pickin' and grinnin' in Tennessee.
Faerun - Posted - 05/20/2010: 13:16:04
Thanks a lot for this!
Got my banjo today, and this is what I'm starting with! Seems all to be very clear (I'm at the 5th video now).
Thanks again, much appreciated!
Ken_in_IN - Posted - 05/20/2010: 18:09:29
Great teaching videos Rob. I've been working with them this week (just starting with the banjo).
thanks so much!!
Ken
Old git - Posted - 06/27/2010: 12:35:04
quote:I agree entirely, when Rob teaches its very much like a one on one, he doesn't bull or try to make himself look good, or show off. When he makes a mistake he laughs like any decent teacher would, he doesn't edit it out to look better than the poor sod he is trying to teach. Good on yer Rob, and a thousand thanks.
Originally posted by dgill
I want to extend my appreciation to you. You are not only a great musician, but a great man. I have always heard that great men are not remembered for what they do while they are here, but for what they have left behind.
With you sharing your talents and skills as a great teacher, you are surely to be remembered for ever. Thank you so very much.
blkfir - Posted - 09/11/2010: 07:37:47
Thanks for these videos. I spent months practicing rolls until I came across these. Though I'm not done, I finally feel like I'm accomplishing something. I agree about not practicing rolls before playing this. My fingers get a memory, and it's a bit more difficult. IMHO anyway...
subbuteo - Posted - 11/17/2010: 00:58:23
Rob, huge thanks for posting your videos. I'm so close to playing an actual tune for the first time. I have A, B and C down, just need to string them together. Only had my banjo for ten weeks but I am feeling like I'm getting somewhere after your lessons.
Rick Anderson - Posted - 11/17/2010: 05:40:45
Great lessons! I like the fact that you teach syncopation and metronome use from the very beginning. A lot of videos teach the mechanical aspects of the licks and the rolls necessary to get there, but then you have to go back and relearn the bounce after you get the muscle memory down. Your method is much more intuitive and less stressful for myself, who has never picked up a musical instrument, or really even listened to music much, in my 44 years.
tex77 - Posted - 11/17/2010: 06:48:46
Thanks Rob! As a beginner, I've started working through your FMB videos and while the instruction method is great it is a bit difficult. I can't wait to get home and start cranking on this.
thanks again!
Rob Bourassa - Posted - 11/17/2010: 13:01:02
quote:
Originally posted by 555Glenn
Instead of clogging the forum up with many STICKIES why don't he just put the cripple creek lessons with the Foggy Mt lesson that is already Sticky.
Mudpie - Posted - 11/17/2010: 17:40:06
I love your vids, and yes, they are very helpful. I also just love watching you play. Thanks, Rob.
k-dawg - Posted - 03/08/2011: 19:02:25
Hi Rob. Thanks for the video lessons. I've been playing with it now for about 2 weeks, and really enjoying it.
Thank you also for the email about the Skype, and other online lessons.
I did get the number of a teacher here in the Phoenix area, and I'll give him a try in awhile, but for now, I'll keep up my practice, and see how it goes.
You're really great for doing these, and I have a hard time believing you haven't had any practice youself in 30 years. C'mon, not any??
Keep up the good work.
Pick on!
Ken
Rob Bourassa - Posted - 03/10/2011: 08:52:15
Glad to be of help Mudpie and Michael.
K-dawg, there are a ton of teachers that use Skype, and lots of free lessons online now, though you have to hunt a bit for them now, because there is just so much stuff out there.
I practiced 8 hours or more a day from the time I was 11 or 12, until it was no longer doable. I picked 5 string several nights a week, but when I graduated high school, the grades reflected my obsession with the banjo, and I could not get into a good university. I signed up for community college, and then got an offer for a road gig, and left. It was playing guitar, and I had only so much I could take on the road, and only so much I could afford to keep as well, so the banjo was gone, and now I was playing nothing but guitar.
In the 90s, I got a Goodtime at a store I happened to be doing a guitar workshop at, and threw it in the back of a sea chest on a boat I did a dixieland vaudeville act with a 6 String banjo. The only time I would practice was when I would play a quick tune for the crowd when some smart guy would quip that I really didn't know how to play banjo. The reason I kept it on the boat, was because I didn't like the upturned eyes when I would explain that I used to play 5 string. So many people BS, so I can't blame them, but I used to really play a lot, so I could still turn it on a bit.
I still teach with the Goodtime, but the neck was broken, and is wobbly to the point I can't really record any more Youtube videos, because everyone is a real critic about that kind of stuff, and I would spend more time explaining the out of tune sound than I care to.
I do practice for every video I have shot, but beyond that, no, I unfortunately don't have time. I wish I did, but my wife and I have 4 kids, and she has not worked outside the house in 22 years. All I do is teach guitar and gig, which means I am always having to keep busy, just to make sure food is on the table.
I practiced enough in the 70s to still know how to play. I have had requests from different groups who have seen me on Youtube to play with them, but they would soon find out, I don't remember half the tunes they know. They come back right away if I hear them, and after a tweak or two, I can pick them. My fingers still work fine, but I don't have the command of the instrument I used to have. My purpose on Youtube, is simply to show people how to learn, isolate and memorize banjo arrangements, so they can develop that process enough to do it on their own.
I would like to get a banjo again some day, take a month or two, and get back into the swing of things, record a few albums and have some fun. I just can't afford it right now. The Goodtime with the broken neck is good enough to teach on, and will have to suffice for now. I couldn't play a job with it even if I wanted to, so I have a good excuse. If I get a good banjo at some point, I am sure I will practice and perform once in awhile. Life has just been going by faster than I thought it would.
Everything is good the way it is though.
k-dawg - Posted - 03/10/2011: 13:48:27
Hi Rob. I did see a video of your guitar playing, and I see how you've kept your fingers alive, even if not with the banjo.
My nephew is going to help me with Skype this weekend, so I can look around for banjo lessons. I'm sure there are a lot of resources out there now.
It's a shame that life does go as fast as it does. I wish I would have had the resources in my teens to learn and stick to the banjo.
I've played guitar with friends over the years, but all have gone one way or the other, now, my playing just stinks, and I really have no interest to play alone anymore.
I have recently found some places to jam, with the acoustic guitar, and while learning banjo, so I'll be keeping with that avenue for as long as I can.
Enjoy what you do, while you're doing it.
Ken
LandSailor - Posted - 03/11/2011: 11:32:37
Rob,
I'm amazed at the sound coming out of that "cheap" Goodtime. There's one in town that I'm considering buying for my Dad if I can get a good deal. Is it the banjo or the excellent mic?
BTW, I'd happily donate to the "Get Rob a New Neck/Banjo Fund" after the hours and hours of enjoyment I've gotten out of your videos.
I have to admit, I'm having more fun learning Cripple Creek than I did learning FMB first. I just wish I'd had more time recently to practice. Hard to believe it's been five months and I expected to be much faster by now, but that darned work thing got in the way.
Rob Bourassa - Posted - 03/12/2011: 12:23:19
Land Sailor,
The Goodtime is a great way to go. I would go with the one with the most brackets, but I don't care about a resonator. The lack of quality in the sound in some of the videos is not due to the banjo as much as it was that I recorded everything hot, but then at transfer to MP4, it had a gain and distortion for some reason. Not all of my videos did that, but some sound pretty crumby.
I use an Avalon VT-737SP pre amp, and an AKG-414-buls for the banjo, which does make the sound of any banjo better in my opinion. I do a lot of session work with that mic too, (guitar) and it has a very distinctive sound.
k-dawg - Posted - 03/18/2011: 10:43:08
I agree with landsailor, on the "Get Rob a New Neck/Banjo Fund".
You've spent a lot of time helping some of us along. We could call it the GRNNB Fund, or GreenBee.
My Cripple Creek is comming along. I have all the parts together now, and I'm working on speed and perfection.
I do go back and check the video from time to time, just to review, and make sure I'm not working in mistakes.
I'm still working with the Hal Leonard books, and learning chord shapes I'll need, so I'm on my way to "stardom".
Next stop, FMB!
Ken
njwater - Posted - 03/18/2011: 11:04:56
quote:
Originally posted by Rob Bourassa
...
I use an Avalon VT-737SP pre amp, and an AKG-414-buls for the banjo, which does make the sound of any banjo better in my opinion. I do a lot of session work with that mic too, (guitar) and it has a very distinctive sound.
LandSailor - Posted - 03/18/2011: 11:34:22
K-Dawg,
It was a good thought until I called Deering and found out a replacement neck is $199, so it looks like a new banjo would be the best idea if we can't find a used neck.
Although, as much goodwill and sales as his videos generate for Deering, someone with some pull ought to "see what can be done".
k-dawg - Posted - 03/18/2011: 16:32:41
I hear that.
C'mon Janet, what do you think? Help a brother out.
Ken
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