nlymbury - Posted - 11/28/2009:  21:14:47

Good'day
Iam an australian and have been learning for a about a year.there arent many teachers in this country ,probably because the banjo was never associated with Australian folk music.I have been teaching myself through mainly DVD's. One day I hope to come to the the United States and attend a banjo camp. My biggest problem so far is making a D chord smoothly and yes I know practice,practice and practice again.

fireman sam - Posted - 11/28/2009:  21:33:50

Hi nlymbury
Good to see another aussie here. I have never been to a banjo camp but another aussie, Grum, mentioned he had been to one recently and there is one coming up soon in Qld and Vic. Maybe contact him through this website and ask him about it. Also google Australian Bluegrass. Can't help with the D chord though as not good at it myself
Cheers
craig

dpeters - Posted - 11/29/2009:  00:58:31

Hi nlymbury,
If you would like some info on Aussie banjo pickers and a bit of "who, what, when and where" send me an email...

Dave

edlowe - Posted - 11/29/2009:  01:30:34

You don't say what sort of music you'd like to play. If you are interested in bluegrass you might enjoy the Australian banjo camp, which is on again soon in Qld.

You can find details on the Bellbird Banjo site. Peter Nahuysen is the organiser. He is a really great bloke.

http://www.bellbirdbanjos.com/index.php

Select the Banjo camp link.

The Australian Bluegrass Blog is worth a look

http://australianbluegrass.com/

Click the regular gigs and Jams tab. There is a regular jam in Newcastle

I hope some of this is useful

Good luck!

Koala_in_pjs - Posted - 11/29/2009:  02:55:15

quote:

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Originally posted by edlowe

You don't say what sort of music you'd like to play. If you are interested in bluegrass you might enjoy the Australian banjo camp, which is on again soon in Qld.

---

Koala_in_pjs - Posted - 11/29/2009:  02:58:55

A quick look at the members homepage lists a few other BHO members as being in Newcastle so you might be able to send them a message and who knows you may end up with someone to learn and play with.

Kip

Texasbanjo - Posted - 11/29/2009:  05:34:36

Perhaps it's your hand position that's causing you trouble. Most beginners tend to "strangle" the banjo neck instead of holding it correctly.

Try this: put the fleshy part of your thumb on the back of the neck of the banjo and arch your wrist over the fretboard (limp wrist type arch). Now, your fingers should be in position to reach all 4 strings fairly easily. Be sure to use the tips of your fingers for fretting and get as close to the fret as possible without touching it.

A good exercise for learning to make the F and D chords is this: Start at the first F chord at 3, 1, 2, 3 and then move up the neck to the D chord at 4, 2, 3, 4 and then to the G chord at 5, 3, 4, 5 and so on. You need to keep your ring and pinkie finger on the 1st and 4th string and exchange the index and middle finger on the 2nd and 3rd strings. Great exercise. You can go up the neck chromatically (one fret at a time) or scalar -- F, G, A and so on.

Good luck and yes, practice, practice, practice, helps.

Another thought: are you using a strap? If not, get one and put it on your banjo and use it when practicing. The strap will help hold up the neck so your hand won't have to and will be able to do the fretting, sliding, hammering, etc.

edlowe - Posted - 11/29/2009:  16:41:30

I've done some further checking.

According to the Bluegrass & Traditional Country Music Society of Australia (BTCMA) you can get bluegrass banjo lessons in Newcastle from Dave Hellens.

Dave is a respected banjo player and a friendly guy.

According to the BTCMA he can be reached on (02) 4959 7986

banjo2k - Posted - 11/30/2009:  08:01:25

This was posted back in July on Australianbluegrass.com
--------------------------------

Hungry Hill – Australian Banjo Conference
July 22nd, 2009
Goto comments Leave a comment

HungryHillEarlier this month we reported that registrations are now open for the 2nd annual Australian Banjo Conference.

News from Peter Nayhusen is that Ross Nickerson and his band Hungey Hill will be special guests at this year’s Australian Banjo Conference.

The convention will be held from 3rd to 6th December in Maleny, Qld. Peter advises that 13 of the 45 spaces have already been reserved by pickers, many of whom attended last years conference.

Ross Nickerson and Hungry Hill will also perform at a special concert held in Maleny on the evening of Thu, 3rd Dec.




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