First off, I love this site. I am an early riseer and spend at least an hour on here before work. I am amazed at the tallent and dedication of BHO members. I have been listening to bluegrass for many years and can never get enough. I used to play guitar when I was younger, but playing the banjo is where I would like to be. I will be purchasing a used westminster today. I know its a cheep banjo, but practice time is limited especially with my 2nd son due in less than a month. I am unsure of what style I would like to persue, claw or scruggs. Any suggestions. How do you know which is right for you? Thank you for your time. Jason

Posted - 11/07/2009 :  04:02:43      

What style do you like to listen to?

Posted - 11/07/2009 :  04:16:45  

Jason, What Lynn said. and... You can certainly do both at first just to see what pleases you. Lots of folks do.



Play it like you mean it.

Posted - 11/07/2009 :  04:34:55    

If you can't get enough bluegrass, that's where I'd start.

Posted - 11/07/2009 :  04:57:30  

Well I guess I should have said that I love the sound of a banjo. At least that is what I am drawn to when listening to music. I like listening to anything from Stanley Brothers to Bela Fleck. I am really intrested in making openbacks. I am a woodworker by trade and would like to make custom banjos. I would at least like to be able to pic a little on ones that I will make.

Posted - 11/07/2009 :  05:15:07      

I try to play a little of both since I also like a little of everything, and a lot of Bluegrass. For me the banjo is just having fun. You may want to try the Murphy Method, she can teach you a little in a short time. She has videos for both Clawhammer and Scruggs.

Posted - 11/07/2009 :  06:38:35        

Everything you have said leads nto 3 finger style picking. Bluegrass, Bela, Stanley bros all are 3 finger styles I do believe.

www.myspace.com/pepperlaingt...nestarkillers

Posted - 11/07/2009 :  07:39:09    

You can do both styles. I think clawhammer works better for just playing by yourself and gets you comfortable as a solo performer (You'll be picking in the pre-school next year). Scruggs-style is more difficult to make sound good by yourself. However, if you strum or frail tunes and get a good rhythm, it's a lot easier to put rolls to that rhythm with the same chords than it is to start with tabbed out arrangements of hot bluegrass licks and try to work them up-to-speed and get a good rhythm.

My plan of approach would be 3-fold: three different things to practice regularly.

One is work on the forward roll TM TIM TIM and nothing else. Until you get that flowing, don't try making licks or even making chords. It's got to be at a reasonable speed or you won't be hearing the syncopation of it correctly.

Another thing you do is get a chord chart and strum singing songs you already know (If You're Happy and You Know It is a good one but anything works). Get the regular basic folk guitar-strum Down Down-Up going. This is the identical sound of the bump-titty of frailing/Seeger-style.

Now that you know what the sound is supposed to be, practice the basic frail/clawhammer stuff. Once you get a rhythm going, you'll work a lot on left-hand techniques such as pulls or hammers from standard clawhammer lessons.

Practice the 3 different approaches regularly. Keep strumming new songs because that trains you in chords and provides more rhythms than you can do the other two ways (as a beginner).
After a week or two of finger-picking the rolls, you'll figure out the square roll without anyone training you because it will be obvious to do that.
You'll know when you're ready to try rolling across chords and you'll be doing it at the speed of regular music so it will sound ok, or at least close enough so you can tell it's mostly working but certain pieces aren't so much.

Only once you can roll around on several songs at speed should you then start working on classic licks. You'll be up-to-speed with those licks faster than the folks who start by learning those and are still fumbling their way through them at 40bpm six months later.

Mike Moxcey
http://moxcey.net/mike/minstrel/index.html

Posted - 11/07/2009 :  16:49:41        

First of all, congratulations on new parenthood, THat's what's important, later we'll tell you how to use the right mute to play while holding the baby.

I play bluegrass, clawhammer and frailing, plus up-picking and double thumbing.

I use them all in performances, frailing for vamping, no one even notices.

I call it cargo banjo.

Start here: up picking, basic strum. One,rest,three,four, boom/rest/did he? Boom diddy, get it?

Then move to frailing which is less discriminate in note separation, same beat, same boom rest did he?

Then move to clawhammer, pick out the melodies. Tap Tap Hit.

then move to Scruggs, you will have a solid rhythmic and chord base at that time.

I started playing 123,123,12, now I do a lot of stuff like 21215215 IMTMTIMT, you know>

You will become a better reader because of renewed stimulus with hand/eye coordination, the trigonometry is in your wrist, you'll be using a 3 axis grid, your fingers, the frets, and strings, oooooooh.

Learn to downbeat on the first finger instead of the thumb all the time. Everything is right for you, learn it all, you'll learn that your body learns this, you are your body, the music, then sleep on it, you'll integrate what you learned, and it'll take about two weeks as an adult. I've seen people learn it right in front of me, you are smarter than you were, you've grown.

OK?

http://www.helixbanjos.com
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Posted - 11/07/2009 :  16:51:30        

Oh yeah, I love this part: Old time music is the root for Country, Gospel and Bluegrass. Learn the roots, the branches are alive and well.

The wood is still alive as we play it.

http://www.helixbanjos.com
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Posted - 11/08/2009 :  03:18:29  

Thanks, everyone for your comments and instruction. I am going to the garage and practice today. Another question I had was where to buy really nice looking tension shoes? I love the "butterfly shoes that are used on "Brooks Banjos."