Contact erstokke

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www.bluegrass.no
Playing Since: 1968

Experience Level: Novice

erstokke has made 195 additions to Banjo Hangout

Interests:
[Teaching] [Jamming] [Socializing] [Helping]

Occupation: Information Officer

Gender: Male

Age: 55

My Instruments:
Framus 1960s open back, Recording King RK-R80 #60, Ome deLuxe Jubilee Silverspun 1995, Levin model 174 guitar from 1974, Blueridge BR-160A guitar, Michael Kelly FSE mandolin

Favorite Bands/Musicians:
In random order: Tony Trischka, Ron Block, Frank Proffitt, Ricky Skaggs, Ry Cooder, David Lindley, Tom Waits, Gillian Welch, Planxty, Bruce Molsky, Uncle Earl, Reeltime Travelers.

Profile Info:
Visible to: Public
Created 3/20/2007
Last Visit 11/20/2009

MyFeed

	erstokke replied to topic 'What do you do to stay positive?' 11/19/2009 8:35:42 AM
	erstokke replied to topic 'Best Book/DVD, etc. for ABSOLUTE(!) beginner' 11/19/2009 6:54:59 AM
	erstokke replied to topic 'Best Book/DVD, etc. for ABSOLUTE(!) beginner' 11/19/2009 6:54:05 AM
	erstokke replied to topic 'the "renaissance head"' 11/19/2009 4:39:04 AM
	erstokke replied to topic 'Bluesageband.com website' 11/18/2009 10:42:37 AM
	erstokke replied to topic 'Help: Tunes To Play Along With' 11/18/2009 10:00:03 AM
	erstokke replied to topic 'Recording tunes to sound better...' 11/18/2009 8:29:46 AM
	erstokke replied to topic 'Have new Clinch Moutain Backstep tab' 11/17/2009 1:57:17 PM
	erstokke replied to topic '5th String tuner' 11/17/2009 12:59:47 PM
	erstokke replied to topic 'Banjo Weight' 11/17/2009 12:34:23 PM

Latest Blog Entry

Go jamming!

Sunday, February 10, 2008 @4:10:28 PM

In Norway there aren't any jams to go to, so I put in an ad and then invited them to my house. In the US, I guess you need a pretty large house to do that, but here it is OK. Three guys showed up, another one had got the flu.

I learned a few things: 1. My RK banjo is LOUD. There was no trouble cutting through the sound of a Martin HD28 and dobro. This however calls for caution. The best dynamic sound was when picking very quiet backup and then digging in on the solos. Anyway, this banjo rules!

2. My picking was much better than I thought. I was afraid that I wasn't good enough with my half year of bluegrass picking (not completely true, I played banjo back in the 1970s). But I was able to follow songs in almost any key and I even improvised a solo on 'Nine Pound Hammer' and a few other songs.

3. We all needed to practice more how to start and end the songs.

4. Everybody makes mistakes - but it doesn't matter much if you keep in tune and in tempo.

5. When playing with others, it is very important that each musician are aware of their instrument's role. And when someone plays solo, all the other musicians' task is to make that solo sound good.

But my main message to everyone is this: Don't just stay at home (well I was actually at home) but reach out and find other musicians. They can even be found here in Norway.
9 comments erstokke's Blog Archive