Banjo Hangout - Music Theory Forum Feed

Pentatonic scale and melody

eric@banjohangout.org — Wed, 22 May 2013 07:49:51 CST

If a tune is in G, when you change to a C, are the melody notes still in the G pentatonic scale or would you swith to a C pentatonic scale.

Getting started on theory?

eric@banjohangout.org — Sat, 18 May 2013 07:09:10 CST

Hey all!

I've been playing the banjo for about 3 or 4 years now, and loving it more with every pick! But it's becoming more and more apparent that learning some beginners music theory would really help. I play in my church band once a month and jam with some of my more musically inclined friends when camping etc, but i tend to get stuck just doing basic rolls with chords which seems to sounds great to everyone else but frankly I just get a bit bored sometimes! Feel like learning some theory would give me the confidence to be a bit more adventurous with my playing, and maybe bash out a solo or two!

Problem is theory also really confuses me! Where do I start? Which theory is the most important to learn?

Trying to track down a BHO theory/exercise

eric@banjohangout.org — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:30 CST

Hi all,

A couple years back I came across a BHO post by someone that was a document which described a three part set of exercises for learning 1st the chords, their positions, and then somehow variations on them. I've lost the .pdf and can't remember who had posted it. I do remember that it involved 3 variations on the chords, each being a bar chord, or one of two other variations. Anyone suggestions would be much appreciated, as this is driving me a little nuts!

Thanks,
David

G Harmonic Minor Scale Cheat sheet

eric@banjohangout.org — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:10:20 CST

Quite often when I want to start learning/noodling around on something new I'll do some searching, gather info up and make myself a cheat sheet of sorts. I'm very much a visual learner and suffer from CRS with what I hear; but If I see it, I can recall it easily. The other day (on a whim) I decided I wanted to try jamming out on the G harmonic minor scale. Below is the cheat sheet I made for myself. I thought somebody else might find it useful. Also: I welcome any suggestions to add/change. Music theory still is a bit of a mystery to me -- it just doesn't click -- so I welcome any critiques that I might have overlooked or screwed something up.

Pentetonic scale

eric@banjohangout.org — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:55:40 CST

What major genre's of music use this scale in most of their particular music. I want to teach my son to play more by ear on guitar and bass using this scale as a guide. He is not into bluegrass much so looking for other genre's to choose from.

Vocal Lessons

eric@banjohangout.org — Thu, 16 May 2013 08:21:22 CST

Important vocal Lessons is needed.Where is the top vocal lessons site.

Maj7 chords?

eric@banjohangout.org — Sun, 12 May 2013 07:23:02 CST

Are there any Major7ths easily available on five string banjo? I see 4th fret on the first D string and all others open is Gmaj7 (40000) I think?

Cmaj7 my little finger won't stretch that far for the b note & I don't want to injure my hand trying.

Playing along with capo'd guitar - converting/transposing

eric@banjohangout.org — Mon, 6 May 2013 14:11:08 CST

First off, this is my first post, so I just want to say that I've been lurking for awhile on the forums and the level of information and helpful, courteous, neighborlyness I see here is just amazing and very encouraging. I aspire to become half as helpful as the people I've seen here.

So, here's my (complete noob) question:

I sorta get that when I'm playing along with a guitar player (and the guitar is in standard tuning) and the guitar plays a G, I can play a G on the banjo to jam along (in the simplest way - I understand there are many other chords I can play to create counterpoints and harmonies, etc - but for right now Im just referring to playing "along" - in unison more or less)...but what I don't quite get is when the guitar has a capo on, and plays a G "SHAPE" - how do I know what chord to play now that matches? Does anyone know of a chart or diagram that I can use to tell me what chord a G shape equates to depending on what fret the guitar capo is on? I think I can almost figure it out for basic chords (G, D, C - ie the whole major ones) using my (very rudimentary) musical knowledge, but I look at someone making a A#dim with a guitar capo'd on the 7th fret and I can almost feel my brain turning to mush.

I don't know for sure (Im hoping you folks can help with this too), but it's possible this isn't as simple as "if the guitar has a capo on the 4th fret and plays a G, you play a __ ". I'm presuming that it might also entail changing the banjo to an alternate tuning (ie "if the guitar has a capo on the 4th fret and plays a G, you tune the banjo to ___ __ tuning and play a __ to match").

And then again, as Im finding with many banjo-related things, I could be dramatically over-thinking this. :-)

So, if anyone could point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it greatly. I believe in pulling my own weight, so I'm not asking to have it all explained to me if the info is readily available - I'm just asking to have someone head me off toward the right resources, armed with the correct terminology, etc.

thanks very much, in advance, for your kind consideration,

jim

9th spike

eric@banjohangout.org — Sun, 5 May 2013 17:54:34 CST

So if the 7th spike is for the key of A, does that mean the 9th is for B?

Questions concerning Chord Types!

eric@banjohangout.org — Sat, 4 May 2013 18:45:57 CST

A few months ago I downloaded a chord dictionary from banjoseen.com and it's been helpful. I am confused on a couple points though: #1 why is there a Diminished 7 chord listed but not a straight Diminished? I went on a music theory website that gave me the formula for making a Diminished chord, so now I know what composes the chord type but I was curious about why it's not in the dictionary. Also(question #2) there are no Add 9 chords. I play a Tenor in the Jazz tuning (CGDA) so it messes with my head sometimes when I go to use an Add 9 chord when transcribing a guitar/piano song onto the Tenor. Since there are only 4 notes I can play for each chord, I have to decide where to put the 9 note (either in a low or high tone). These are probably bone headed questions, but as my knowledge of Theory is limited, I find myself scratching my head and drawing a blank sometimes. Any helpful tips?

Improvising along with a guitar

eric@banjohangout.org — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 22:09:00 CST

My basic understanding of improvising comes from the little guitar knowledge that I have.

Basically, If one person is playing four measures of a G chord then the second guitar can simply pick out notes on the G scale.

Does the same basic principle apply for banjo? If I know all the individual notes for a particular scale can I improvise in this way?

I know this is super basic but wondering how I can "jam" with some backing tracks or my son on his guitar.

Thanks.

Pentatonic Scale Ideas.

eric@banjohangout.org — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:31:14 CST

Hey everyone. Here is something I would like to share; this is a great way to expand your playing using pentatonic scales.
Most of the time if your jamming on a tune, let's say in the key of G, G major pentatonic scale works great for soloing. But let's say the song your playing has a very beautiful/spacey/open sound to it. If this is case you can play a major pentatonic scale a fifth above the key your in. Example: Your playing a very pretty sounding tune in the key of G. For soloing you can play D major pentatonic. It sounds great! In theory your extending the chord harmony to include all the major tones (9's, 6's, 13's....)

Remember, this is a very definite "major" sound. It won't work for bluesy stuff. If you want to learn more about pentatonic scale positions, Pat Cloud has a great book called Key to the 5 string banjo. Enjoy!

Moveable minor chord

eric@banjohangout.org — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 11:31:18 CST

Ok, the thread on the moveable 6th shape got me to thinking about what I use as a moveable minor chord. When holding a C chord at the first and second frets, if I place my pinky on the 3rd string, at the 3rd fret, that is a closed chord C minor, right? If that is the case, wouldn't it be moveable, to other positions? For instance, up 2 frets would be a D minor. Am I right, here, or off base? Any help is appreciated.

Up The Neck Chords

eric@banjohangout.org — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:41:13 CST

Can anyone let me know how to play Am and Em, and any other chords, for that matter, up the neck (like around frets 12-18) for the 5 string banjo with an open G tuning? Is there a chart out there somewhere with this information on it? I have a "500 Chords For The Guitar" book, and that has been very helpful for the guitar, so I was wondering if there was something out there for the banjo. Thank. y'all.

A Moveable 6th Shape?

eric@banjohangout.org — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:35:06 CST

It occurred to me that if you hold your fingers on a diagonal across the strings -- index finger on the 1st string, middle on the 2nd one fret up, ring on the 3rd another fret up, and pinkie on the 4th still another fret up -- you have a sixth chord with its root on the 4th string. So, for example, if you hold the 1st string, 9th fret (B), 2nd string, 10th fret (A), 3rd string, 11th fret (F#), 4th string, 12th fret (D) -- that's a D6.

All it really is is an F-shaped 7th chord with the 1st string (the 7th) moved down one fret (making it a 6th).

I'm sure this is no momentous discovery, but it may prove useful to know. [A friend of mine took banjo lessons from Charles Wood (who appeared on the Letterman Show with Earl Scruggs, Steve Martin, Pete Wernick, and Tony Ellis); Wood told him that a 6th chord is now tending more and more to be used in place of a 7th chord.]

Gypsy, C Dorian and an unknown scale

eric@banjohangout.org — Tue, 9 Apr 2013 02:32:30 CST

Hi banjo enthusiasts!

So while playing around with my banjo I was trying to create some middle-eastern melodies for fun. By chance I landed on 3 scales that I think fit well together:

The G Gypsy scale:

G - G# - B - C - D - D# - F# - G

The C Dorian scale:

C - D - D# - F - G - A - A# - C

And a scale which I don't know if it has a name. Let's call it A Unknown:

A - A# - C# - D - D# - F# - G - A

So, my question is... why exactly does these scales fit together? How can one work out if several scales would fit by just looking at the corresponding notes?

Jim Mills TAB - How Great Thou Art - HELP

eric@banjohangout.org — Sun, 7 Apr 2013 07:57:54 CST

Hi Guy's

I am working my way though Jim Mills TAB of How Great Thou Art and I have come across a couple of music notation terms that has me stuck.

D.S. al coda -- a sign like a $

and a circle with a cross hair.

I think I am supposed to play through till I reach D.S. al coda then go back and continue playing from the $ sign.

However between the $ and D.S. al coda there is a circle with a cross hair then after the D.S. coda there is another circle with a cross hair.

Laid out it would follow like this: Begin ------------ $ --------------- O ------------- D.S. al coda ------- O ----- End

O = circle with the cross hair

Can someone please explain how these notation symbols work.

Question about Modal tuning backup...

eric@banjohangout.org — Thu, 4 Apr 2013 10:44:20 CST

I have a very basic question regarding Modal tuning. If I am playing a song, say in G modal...many of which just use the I & VII chords....can the rest of the band play regular G and F chords in accompaniment? Is the same true for D modal (D & C)or whatever else is out there?

Sorry for the basic question. I love the sound of the Modal tunings and want to explore it more, but want to be sure it is fairly plug and play in different settings....

Thanks!

Reading sheet music?

eric@banjohangout.org — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 04:02:19 CST

Is there a chart online (free hopefully ) that relates sheet music notes to the banjo?

I can read sheet for guitar, but the 5th banjo string and the open g tuning is throwing me right off..

Thanks

Improvising

eric@banjohangout.org — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 15:45:03 CST

I'm trying to understand how to improvise on the banjo. I have been playing the guitar for over 40 years and can improvise in any style of music use the whole fret board without thinking about it and not messing up. Now when it comes to the banjo improvising like I do on the guitar probably wouldn't sound good. So my questions are and I have a few. Once you figure out which scales you are going to use how do you implement them into a solo since pretty much the melody is within rolls for the most part so the scale notes would have to be played within a roll so how do you figure that out and practice it? I also ordered but haven't received the pat cloud book keys to the five string banjo so I would like to get some feedback that that from someone who is using it. I'm guessing that just knowing the scales is not enough. I'm starting to wonder if improvising on the banjo is more of knowing the chords in all inversions up and down the neck and play rolls within the chords instead of knowing the scales up and down the neck I might have figured it out while writing this it makes more sense to me about the chords than the scales. Would love to hear feedback from somebody that is actually improvising successful on the banjo.

Progressions on a Banjo?

eric@banjohangout.org — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 06:45:07 CST

I just have to ask someone who probably knows. Where you Jack H. or John B. How do you play chord progressions on a Banjo? One of my friends suggested to learn how switch chords faster on a banjo this might be helpful. I have heard of G progression D progression etc. Can some please explain this to me, I figured this was the best place to ask. I don't even know if there such a thing to practice on Banjo. I have heard it used for guitar.

Thank you for your help.

Rich Freeze

Why I think the books are right - another thread on time sigs

eric@banjohangout.org — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 19:35:52 CST

Recent discussions have shown that two interpretations of 4/4 time exist in the bluegrass banjo world, one in which banjo notes are counted as 1/8 notes and one in which banjo notes are counted as 1/16 notes. All major publications except for the Scruggs book use the 1/8 note interpretation, while most of the experts on BHO prefer the 1/16 note interpretation.

I believe that the publishers and banjo experts that write the books are right about using 1/8 notes and I'll try to explain why it makes more sense to me. So here's a pretty long explanation, that hopefully explains to you why the banjo stars and publishers might want to choose for a representation of banjo music that is wrong according to some of the experts here.

Let me start of by explaining what information is contained within the time signatures. In music theory terms this information is called metre. The metre of a piece is its basic pulse of alternating strong and weak (stressed and unstressed) beats. The Grove Dictionary of music and musicians describes metre as "the temporal hierarchy of subdivisions, beats and bars that is maintained by performers and inferred by listeners which functions as a dynamic temporal framework for the production and comprehension of musical durations.(...) Metres may be categorized as duple or triple (according to whether the Beat (i) or Pulse is organized in twos or threes).

What this basically says is that some metres are grouped in two (strong-weak-strong-weak...) while others are grouped in three (strong - weak - weak...). Time signatures are meant to reflect these patters that are inherent to most music.
A time signature of 2/4 tells the reader that one measure will consist of one strong and one weak beat (think marching music: right foot - left foot), 3/4 means strong - weak - weak (think waltzes) and 4/4 means strong - weak - medium - weak.

Time signatures don't refer to the metronome clicks, they refer to the metrical beat, the basic pulse of strong and weak (stressed and unstressed) beats.

So to choose the correct note value for banjo notation one needs to identify the metrical beat. To give you guys a break I'll start off with some examples: a slow 4/4 from the Stanleys and a fast 3/4 Jimmy Martin song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YShSCHrVpQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v3zrgRhwMI

In the slow 4/4 Stanley brothers song it's easy to identify the strong and weak beats by listening to the guitar. It plays a bass note on the 1 and 3 and strums on the 2 and 4. If you'd want to add a tasteful banjo backup to the song, you'd probably play 1/8 notes, half as fast as you're used to.
In the fast 3/4 song it's also easy to spot the metrical beat. The bass plays on the downbeat and the guitar strum, mando chop and snare drum accentuate the weak 2nd and 3rd beats. Again the banjo plays 1/8 notes.

Now what about tempo? The slow 4/4 has a nice beat to tap your foot two, even though it's half as fast as most bluegrass songs, and the 3/4 is either pretty fast or rather slow, depending on where you feel the beat. When there's a tempo indication in musical notation it's either some fancy sounding Italian word or the number of beats per minute for a specified note value. This can be anything from a dotted 1/2 note to an 1/8 note, depending on what's most convenient. The Stanley brothers song clocks at 1/4 note = 115 bpm and the Jimmy Martin song at 1/4 note = 175 bpm if we follow this interpretation of the metre of music. Now what happens when we speed things up to the twice the speed of the Stanley Brothers song? We can either keep the same note values and double the tempo or we use the 1/16 note interpretation and cut the note values in half.

If we simply double the tempo we're still counting the same strong and weak beats we counted in the slow 4/4 and the fast 3/4 examples and the banjo will still be playing 1/8 notes. The relative speed of 3/4 and 4/4 would match up and we end up with a page that is just as readable as a slow song would be.
The only price you have to pay is that the tempo of FMB now becomes 1/4 note = 320 bpm, not 160 like we'd like it to be. There's an easy solution to that: we can simply notate the tempo as 1/2 note = 160 bpm, play 4 notes for each click and forget about all this complicated and not strictly necessary information about musical metre.

There's another aspect to this that might be even more important is the readability of the written page. It's obviously easier to read measures with 8 1/8 notes as opposed to 16 1/16 notes. But there are enough other good reasons to choose for representing bluegrass banjo as 4/4 and 1/8 without even regarding the better readability.

For those of you that stayed with me till the end, here are two songs from other genres. The way they are usually written one is 1/4 = 320 bpm, the other is 1/4 note = 160 bpm. This might give you a different perspective on how music is counted and tempo indications are written in other genres.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ca5grSaR8Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0jirlfhyz4

Suggestions on how to memorize chord locations?

eric@banjohangout.org — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:35:31 CST

I'm trying to memorize the chords all the way up the neck. F-shape, Bar, and D-shape. But having a hard time remembering them. My goal is to be able to know and play every chord in each shape on the entire neck.

No problem just memorizing them, but my problem is that if I play a bar chord, say on the 10th fret, in order to know what I'm playing I have to go back to the 5th fret which I know is a C and then move up to remember that it's an F. Does that make sense?

Just wondering if anyone had a method that they used successfully that might help a bit.

The deal with modes?

eric@banjohangout.org — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:38:32 CST

Hi,

I want to begin by saying that I know what modes are and how they are formed. However, I find it difficult to grasp why I should even bother thinking about them?

Let's say I want to improvise over a song in the key of G major. There's a I-IV-V chord progression which would be G, C and D. So if I understand this correctly, when we come to the C chord, I know I can use the C lydian scale because lydian is the fourth mode and C is the "IV chord" in the progression. But, C lydian has the same notes as the G major scale, which I obviously can use to improvise since the song is in G major? So how does this "mode theory" even matter at all? Am I even looking at this the right way?

Thanks in advance

Harmonized chord licks

eric@banjohangout.org — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 13:11:36 CST

When playing a tune, can I use the harmonized chords to pull licks from. Say if the verse is in G, can I take the Bm chord and get licks from it while in G. Or do I have to take licks from the G chord.

Guitar Capos and Keys

eric@banjohangout.org — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:28:49 CST

This seemed simple until I started thinking about it, and now I've confused myself.

I get that a banjo can be tuned in countless ways, and that with the appropriate fingering one can play any given chord no matter how the instrument is tuned. I even understand that when a banjo is in "standard" gDGBD tuning and one capos the second fret, then a G-chord fingering sounds like an A-chord, etc. So far I feel on solid ground. But then I think I was taught that a banjo in "standard" tuning is said to be in the key of G... and maybe that's where things get shaky? Because I'm equating the G CHORD played open with the KEY of G?

It's an issue for me only because I look at a guitar in standard EADGBE tuning it obviously is playing NO open chord. So what KEY is a guitar in, played open?

And to finally get to my question, if I see a guitar capoed at, say, the second fret, what key are we in?

Book reviews

eric@banjohangout.org — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:56:32 CST

I am about 6 months into learning to play the banjo, and while I have a teacher I am also using some books to supplement my lessons. I'm getting more into music theory lately and wondering if anyone has had an opportunity to look at or use and/or review two banjo books.

1. Mel Bay You Can Teach Yourself Banjo by Ear by Jack Hatfield

2. Mel Bay Key to Five-String Banjo: Home Improvisation Workshop by Patrick by Patrick Cloud

Thanks in advance

Minor Key - Song Writing

eric@banjohangout.org — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 14:32:00 CST

Quick question: I know if you were to write a song in say, G you would end up with the following chords: G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em, Fsus7?, G. What would the equivalent t be if you wrote that song in G minor?

Thanks, -Todd

Different tunings? How does THAT work?

eric@banjohangout.org — Fri, 8 Mar 2013 06:27:05 CST

Some guys in the church band perform with a capo and others will not. Some instruments are in standard guitar tuning while other guitars are in G tuning or maybe drop D tuning.

Why do they all seem to function like a fine tuned machine when many of the instruments are tuned differently from others, some are using a capo and some not?

Banjo in G tuning

Electric guitar in standard tuning

Acoustic/electric in G tuning

Another Acoustic/electric in standard tuning WITH a capo at maybe the 2nd or 4th fret

How could this ever work? This should be a train wreck.

G harmonized Scale

eric@banjohangout.org — Sun, 3 Mar 2013 15:44:44 CST

I have a chart showing the G harmonized scale. It goes G, Am, Bm, Cm, D, Em, F#dim and G in chords. What is the difference in that and the G,A,B,C,D, E, F#, and G. Does the Minor make it a harmony chord.

A Pentatonic scale is what?

eric@banjohangout.org — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 19:51:37 CST

I understand it is a five note scale. Does it have a predetermined order such as; Note of scale, whole and a half step, whole step, whole step, whole and a half step? or something else? or do you make up your own 5 notes in order with whole and half steps as you choose?

Please explain in a manner that all new or relatively new banjo pickers will understand.

Thanks

Need Some Advice Where To Go From Here

eric@banjohangout.org — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 19:34:49 CST

Bear with me, folks. I'm not quite sure what I need help with.

I've played guitar on and off for about a decade. I enjoyed the instrument, but it never really excited me all that much. It didn't feel right. I recently picked up a banjo. It was meant to be.

A problem I had with guitar is that I was basically a jukebox. I could play any song I set my mind to learning, but I couldn't really play anything original or improvise. I spent a good deal of time learning some music theory, but it didn't help me with my playing as I didn't understand how to apply it. I got frustrated and gave up learning music theory. It's been so long that about all I remember is how to construct a major scale, build chords, and find notes on the fretboard.

I don't want to go down the same road with my banjo, but I have no idea how to get to where I want to be. Here are some goals I would like to achieve. They're in no particular order. I understand some goals are much more ambitious than others, can you guys point me in the right direction?

1) I'd like to be able to improvise during solos.

2) I'd like to be able to take a song and make it my own or just add a little something to it. For instance, I just learned Mike Iverson's version of Shady Grove. I'd like to be able to add a little something to make mine. No more jukebox.

3) I'd like to be able to write my own songs.

I understand these are some pretty broad subjects that volumes have been written on. I don't expect to find all the answers in this thread. I just need some guidance. Where/how do I start? How do I apply theory in real world situations?

Thank you for your time!

How do you find the melody notes of a song

eric@banjohangout.org — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:02:02 CST

Hi, is there proven or "scientific" method or ways on how to find the melody notes of songs. I see lot of books on technique , chords, licks and tunes but I couldn't find many that shows you how to find melody notes of any song. I mean Besides trail and error. Thanks.

chord generator

eric@banjohangout.org — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 01:39:35 CST

YOU put in the notes, it names the chord and the link http://www.chorderator.com/cgi-bin/designer.py

If you practice scales everyday how do go about it

eric@banjohangout.org — Thu, 7 Feb 2013 09:45:48 CST

Hi , I just bought John Bullard's scales and arpeggios for classical banjo ,but how do you go about learning or practicing the scales from this book or any other scale book. Thanks.

what is this mode?

eric@banjohangout.org — Tue, 5 Feb 2013 08:02:36 CST

In A the scale is...

A, C, D, E, G, A

so...what mode is this?

Thank you all you music theory wonderful people

what is this chord and Crested Hens

eric@banjohangout.org — Tue, 5 Feb 2013 07:59:55 CST

I am a chord Nazi...don't worry....I attend weekly meetings of Chord Nazi Anonymous :)

so...what do you call this chord? Given that it has A as its root

E, A, G, B

whatever it is called, I advocate for this chord being used in the A part of Crested Hens...along with E minor...it evokes just the right harmony...IMHO

I recall seeing a vid of a lady playing this tune...at someone's memorial service...and how she commented that the deceased was the only one she knew who played the correct chords to Crested Hens...

Thanks for your help

chord G6

eric@banjohangout.org — Sun, 3 Feb 2013 18:24:20 CST

can anyone actually reach this chord its pinky and ring 1st and 4th string 5th fret.....middle finger 3rd string and fret.....index finger 1st fret second string, Its probably not used in bluegrass often but i found it in the banjo for dummies book, I tried it,i have large hands and its tough, its funny to see the hand sprawled like that, it looked like a mangled chicken foot. I think with some stretching i could get it fairly easy.

I know that chord doesnt have to be played like that, just curious.

just so you have an idea i broke out a tape measure palm side from tip of middle finger to where the palm ends is a little over 7 1/2 inches and another with fingers flat on table and spread outside edge of pinky to out side edge of index is almost 7 3/4 inches

Bluegrass - Modes

eric@banjohangout.org — Sun, 3 Feb 2013 11:24:35 CST

Which Modes would you say are most commonly used in bluegrass progressions?

Problems Counting Time ?

eric@banjohangout.org — Sat, 2 Feb 2013 01:08:49 CST

Do you have problems counting time ?

This may help

http://bestdrumtrainer.com/tt/

How hard is trascribing music from records ...etc to the banjo

eric@banjohangout.org — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 09:41:28 CST

Hi , as advanced beginner with some music theory knowledge , I am wondering how hard is it to transcribe music from records ....etc to the banjo. What are the prerequisites or what are the pre qualifications. Thanks.

Open C

eric@banjohangout.org — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 14:15:54 CST

Im not real sure what open C position is, I know what open G is. Bill

key of d

eric@banjohangout.org — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 03:15:24 CST

on my new Deering Banjo i see the previous owner installed spikes.now if i want to play in the key of d on which spike should i put the to string .please help

tempo and/or key adjustment

eric@banjohangout.org — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 08:22:00 CST

Most of my music is recorded in I-tunes on my Mac. Is there a program to digitally slow down/speed up or change key for recorded music so I can play along easier?

Use of Capo........

eric@banjohangout.org — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 05:01:03 CST

At a local Jam, I was informed that when we play a song in open G tuning that I can simply apply a roll to the chords of G C and D..that this would sound OK with most songs, most of the time for the purpose of rhythm/backup what have you.

So........the other thing is that much of the songs are capoed at the 2nd for playing in key of A. I was informed that I simply play the same formations. The same formations? Is that the SAME as saying the same chords; G,C and D ?????

In other words......if I capo at 2nd fret and play the D formation just I did in open G is that the D chord or is it a different chord because of the capo? Don't understand why we throw out the term "Same Chord Formation" when we capo.

I understand that I can capo at the 2 or 4th fret and play the same song as I did in open G w/o changing anything other than the key via the capo. But is the chord progression the same chords or do they just look the same when I make them?

found a chord generator thought it would be helpful

eric@banjohangout.org — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 03:03:20 CST

http://tpn.lowtech.org/chordgen.php?banjo

you can change tuning and/or key and even add a capo. it will then show you where and how to make the chords

edit to say it does only go to the 5th fret

Opposite chords??

eric@banjohangout.org — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 18:46:21 CST

Is there a such thing as an opposite to a chord in theory??? Like, what's the opposite of "G"?

(actually a student of mine asked this question and I'm pretty sure there aren't such chords, but just checking)

Open

eric@banjohangout.org — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 15:16:21 CST

Yo, what exactly is open C tuning ,does it require adjusting strings and learning new chord shapes?Bill

The plastic brain - What did you do to me?

eric@banjohangout.org — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 18:13:14 CST

I had a banjo student who would be struggling with a phrase - the timing and accent would be way off so it didn't even sound anything like it should. I would say, "No, make it sound like this" and demonstrate it again. After a few go-arounds he would get it. He had gone from not being able to play it at all to nailing the lick! Then he would ask me, "What did you do to me?" and I didn't know.

Something happened. I think it was a change in his brain and nervous system and the connection to the muscles of his hands. This is so complex and happened in just a few minutes. I am not a neuronaligest, can the brain be that plastic? A change in abilities in that short of a period?

Anyone have a similar experience? Can you explain it? When he asked me, "What did you do to me?" I had to say, "I don't know, but I know it happens"

Rick

Paying with a guitar

eric@banjohangout.org — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 10:19:44 CST

OK I know this is prob a kindergarden question but is open G ok for jamming with a guitar tunned in the standard E tuning?