Discouraging remarks or heritage aspersions?

(Have uttered a few discouraging remarks about getting a clear C chord, myself.)

I love the idea of this forum! It's really good to find so many others here who are just starting out!
I never thought of naming my banjo but the more I think about it, the more I think its a great idea!
Now, because I am (something) of an American Civil War historian, I think I will name my banjo "General Sterling Price". Like that old Confederate General, my banjo may never become too famous but, like good old Sterling Price, we (my banjo and I) will never stop trying!!

Need help! First of all thanks to any and all who respond!

Just starting with new Scruggs Deluxe. I am in need of beginner tabs for melodies I may be familiar with. I know forward, backward, and alternating thumb rolls. I have Cripple Creek tab and have it down and up to speed. Really can't find any more good tabs. Needs beginner tabs which show (TIM) right hand. Does anyone have PDFs they might send me of something appropriate for beginners. I play guitar, fiddle, mandolin by ear and I can play stuff but it doesn't sound technically correct. Any thing yall can email me? Didn't find stuff last night from tab section that looked beginner-friendly. Suggestions and tabs for Ballad of Jed Clampet, Old Joe Clark, others? If you wouldn't mind helping a brother out please email me at:
logtown@windstream.net
God Bless

No, what you need is a good METHOD book. Invest fifteen to thirty bucks in a method that will teach you the standard techniques in a graduated, logical manner and provide a slow-fast rhythm CD to play along with, instead of bouncing around from one person's arranging style to another just learning your favorite tunes. Learn Ballad of Jed when you are ready to play it right, instead of struggling for weeks with it now, or learning some watered-down beginner version. Sure you play mandolin and guitar...just because you can drive a golf cart doesn't mean you can drive a car. Banjos are different. There is a reason you can't get banjo to sound right, you are probably approaching it like a mandolin, fiddle or guitar. Banjo played in three finger roll style is TOTALLY different than an other instrument on earth. You can afford a $5,000. banjo but not a fifteen dollar book...or, better yet, lessons from a pro? Really?

Bluegrass Banjo Method, Book One

First Lessons Banjo

Jack, I started by working though the Janet Davis book "You Can Teach Yourself Banjo." Would your Method One book be a logical next step?

Larry

Both books mentioned are good- but the real answer is a live pro instructor to get you doing it right the first time. Struggled with both books for 6 months- then got an instructor- a good one and spent one month correcting errors, now in the two months since then have made more progress than the preceeding 7 months.
-S

I hear ya, Sandy! I thought banjo was going to be a breeze because I played guitar for many years - WRONG! After a few months of self study I attended a jam camp and then took a lesson from a great local teacher. I humbly accepted the fact that I have a long way to go. Good thing it's so much fun learning.

Larry

Janet's book covers most of the basic elements in Bluegrass Banjo Method, Book One. There would be a lot of redundancy. Your money would be wiser spent going into Bluegrass Banjo Method, Book -2 or the backup techniques book, Bluegrass Banjo Method, Book 3 if you want to get right into playing with others. That said HAD you started with BBM-1 you would be learning the upper neck arrangements you already learned in BBM-1, it is a series, one book builds on the lessons learned in the other before it. If you re not too far through Janet's book, (which is a fine book, by the way, but it's a stand-alone method, it does not have a sequel as such) you may want to get BBM-1 and be consistent. My entire swries from BBM-1 through best of Jack Hatfield would take a serious student three or four years at least to master, practicing at least an hour a day, at which point you would be an advanced level player.

Andy: A good teacher is ALWAYS more beneficial...the book can't reach out and put your hand in the proper position when you a re in too impatient to read the book thoroughly and look at the photos and do what it says. A book can't make you slow down when you are racing through it just to get done instead of learning each lesson well before going on to the next. An experienced teacher is ALWAYS better...IF you can find one, not a guitar teacher who knows just enough banjo to take your money for a year before you realize he tapped out six months ago. GOOD experienced banjo teachers who play banjo as a main instrument are hard to find except in heavily populated areas. You need to do the research, ask some questions before blindly signing up for lessons.

The Best of Jack Hatfield

Backup Techniques on the Five String Banjo

I think Book 2 might be the best bet.  I have Pete Wernick's backup DVD which is full of great ideas. I'm holding my own playing backup at jam sessions but I can't quite play up to speed yet on the faster songs. Plus when the experienced banjo players do their thing I see my left hand technique is lacking. The combination of your book and another live lesson with a local maestro might push me beyond my current plateau.

Larry

quote:

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Originally posted by jackhatfield

No, what you need is a good METHOD book. Invest fifteen to thirty bucks in a method that will teach you the standard techniques in a graduated, logical manner and provide a slow-fast rhythm CD to play along with, instead of bouncing around from one person's arranging style to another just learning your favorite tunes. Learn Ballad of Jed when you are ready to play it right, instead of struggling for weeks with it now, or learning some watered-down beginner version. Sure you play mandolin and guitar...just because you can drive a golf cart doesn't mean you can drive a car. Banjos are different. There is a reason you can't get banjo to sound right, you are probably approaching it like a mandolin, fiddle or guitar. Banjo played in three finger roll style is TOTALLY different than an other instrument on earth. You can afford a $5,000. banjo but not a fifteen dollar book...or, better yet, lessons from a pro? Really?

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 Amen!

Murphy Method has worked very well for me..............just one great method of lord knows how many?

Being a heavy reader anyway I bought most all of the books and tried taking the best from all- Jack Hatfield's page in book one on practicing effectively is well worth reading several times....................- but again it was with an instructor that the real progress has begun.

Sandy

I am 69 and have been playing for over a year now and couldn't read music when I started. I use primarily Mel Bay's "Complete Bluegrass Banjo Method" as my instruction book and I have a Mel Bay "Three-Chord Songs" book that has about 120 songs written in notation. I try to play every song in this book every day so as to improve my reading music. These songs are pretty easy to play and are very helpful in my learning to read music. I know a lot of these songs from growing up.

I also bought a thee chord songbook for the Christmas holidays and very quickly learned to play most of them.

I am currently taking lessons in Bluegrass so I hopefully can learn where and when I can add licks to the songs I play to give them more P-zazz.

I really like Cowboy and Trail songs and think that the more I keep playing simple songs and learn Bluegrass licks, I'll be able to play most any kind of music.

don

New Girl,

Been playing for about 8 months now and I am still working on not stoping when changing chords. Able to finger pick and play chords together, but sometimes I still have to slow or stop to make sure my fingers do what they are supposed to. The toughest one for me at the me is the F chord. Still cannot get my ring finger to want to go to the fourth string.

Ed

I'm in the same boat Ed with the F chord and that ring finger problem on the fourth string. It'll go up there just fast and fine, but mutes the third string. I'm about at the point now where I'm gonna start cheating. In fact I thought about starting a new topic to solicited advice from the experienced players about doing just that.

Been working at it for close to a year and nothings happening in terms of improvement, don't feel I have much of a choice if I want to move on.

Let me know if you ever get it. Did you ever take your trip down to the Deering factory?

Butch B.

quote:

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Originally posted by edhanzel

New Girl,

Been playing for about 8 months now and I am still working on not stoping when changing chords. Able to finger pick and play chords together, but sometimes I still have to slow or stop to make sure my fingers do what they are supposed to. The toughest one for me at the me is the F chord. Still cannot get my ring finger to want to go to the fourth string.

Ed

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Same here but with the D

I do cheat with the D chord by not placing the ring finger on the 4th string. I still place the pinky finger on the first string, and I actually like the sound of the chord without the ring finger.

Butch...how do you cheat on F? Still have not made it to Deering. I am short staffed at work, so I am working long hours and cannot get take the time. You would think with the high unemployment that it would be easy to find someone.....