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rgoad - Posted - 01/10/2013: 16:06:28
Jim, I agree with Chad, less hesitation and stronger, clearer notes.
Alan, I think it's great you can compose, play and sing your own tunes!
Hey, did you know there is a 'Absolute Beginners' Group? I like this thread a lot, but that other Group could be fun, too.
WayneConrad - Posted - 01/11/2013: 00:12:04
@rgpad. What a pretty tune. Is that frailing? I'm gonna learn to do that some day, if only to play that tune.
hbj - Posted - 01/11/2013: 02:18:00
Hi all, I've been playing for just over 9 months now and I'm loving it! Here's a video I recorded of drowsy maggie earlier this month.
Cheers, Heath.
ITACUD - Posted - 01/11/2013: 03:42:19
Whoa......That's very impressive hbj. All those complex left hand moves are being done so fluidly. Nicely done. If I'm at that point years down the road I'll be very happy.
whytelaydie7 - Posted - 01/11/2013: 04:29:11
@rgoad Thanks, I've been writing my own music for years on guitar. Since I usually lacked the skill to play any established tunes when I first started on an instrument, I took what I could do, and started making music, and built skill from there. It's one of the reasons I settled on clawhammer style banjo, because the downpicking dovetailed better into my guitar experience, and when I tried to learn BG style, I could not make anything that even sounded remotely like music. So learn a few chords, strum some songs, and build from there. If I can't create something, I lose interest pretty fast.
On the plus side, learning the banjo has improved my guitar playing too!
rgoad - Posted - 01/11/2013: 04:37:42
quote:
Originally posted by WayneConrad
@rgpad. What a pretty tune. Is that frailing? I'm gonna learn to do that some day, if only to play that tune.
I can't claim it Wayne. Whytladie did it!
rgoad - Posted - 01/11/2013: 04:41:04
hbj, I'm assuming you have played other string instruments? Pretty impressive in any case!
hbj - Posted - 01/11/2013: 04:48:34
quote:
Originally posted by rgoad
hbj, I'm assuming you have played other string instruments? Pretty impressive in any case!
Thanks! Yes, I've played guitar since I was 9. 23 years now. It has definitely helped.
ITACUD - Posted - 01/11/2013: 04:57:00
I'm glad this thread has took off..... Gives me motivation to get better~~~! I'm starting to learn Foggy Mtn but its gonna be a couple weeks before I have the nerve to post that one....
rgoad - Posted - 01/11/2013: 07:28:34
Me, too, Mr. Cud. It is great to see people gaining confidence and getting positive feedback about their efforts. There are some amazing beginners, too. It is very inspiring to see that such progress is possible.
pickn5 - Posted - 01/11/2013: 10:54:55
This is my first music file post. I've been self teaching for about 1 1/2 years and the progress is really slow. I know from reading forum posts that I will get constructive advice. I appreciate any and all comments.
rgoad - Posted - 01/11/2013: 11:29:51
Jeff, I know what you mean. People tell me the fastest way to improve is to play with other people. If you don't want to take lessons out right, you ought to seek some other folks in your area that would like to get together and just play in a small group. Your 'Boil' sounded fine and I expect would improve in tempo with exposure to other people. I recommend a mix of intermediate and advanced so you will have someone ready to just play 'Boil' for ten minutes with you. That's what helps me.
whytelaydie7 - Posted - 01/11/2013: 12:51:49
quote:
Originally posted by rgoad
quote:
Originally posted by WayneConrad
@rgpad. What a pretty tune. Is that frailing? I'm gonna learn to do that some day, if only to play that tune.
I can't claim it Wayne. Whytladie did it!
Thanks for that! I could not ask for any higher praise. It means I'm getting better! Of course, at some point that means I won't be a beginner any more, and I'll have to post in the big boy thread.
pickn5 - Posted - 01/13/2013: 09:57:14
Rick,
Thanks for your comments. I appreciate any suggestions. I'll work on finding a local teacher and some others to play with.
ITACUD - Posted - 01/31/2013: 19:36:37
My first video from earlier today....... Foggy Mtn Breakdown.
rgoad - Posted - 01/31/2013: 19:45:44
Mr cud you have a great ear for detail and good memory for all the notes and such. FMB is not really a beginner's song. Do you play easier stuff speeded up? No complaints at all, but wondered if you were working on that part. Maybe Cripple Creek?
ITACUD - Posted - 01/31/2013: 19:53:59
quote:
Originally posted by rgoad
Mr cud you have a great ear for detail and good memory for all the notes and such. FMB is not really a beginner's song. Do you play easier stuff speeded up? No complaints at all, but wondered if you were working on that part. Maybe Cripple Creek?
Thank you. I really can't....... well maybe. I play boil them cabbage down at speed but that's it. My instructor only gives me a week or 2 on a song then as soon as I get the basics down he moves on to something more challenging. I did 3 months teaching myself and got reasonably fast on cripple creek and boil them cabbage.......... now I've taken 7 30 minute lessons and I'm doing more difficult and up the neck playing but not really getting any faster. In fact I played FMB a little too fast as you can tell I was a little sloppy. I'm actually discouraged with the lack of speed but I'm hoping it will come with time.
rgoad - Posted - 02/01/2013: 09:34:14
I am not saying play faster for itself. Most people tell us beginners to slow down. They say speed will come. What I have found is that when I can tap my foot, or I really prefer to stomp, I can find the time to go faster. Does that make sense? It's like anticipating when your bags come around on the carousel at the airport.
ITACUD - Posted - 02/01/2013: 10:38:31
@rgoad I'll have to try that. I need as many tricks in my bag as possible-!!
whytelaydie7 - Posted - 02/06/2013: 04:46:49
Here's a tune: "Sleeping Moggy"
My dad put me on to this one, as you can see I'm struggling with it a bit, first time I've tried to play something in 6/8 time. It's still a nice little tune.
youtube.com/watch?v=NH9RK5p3j9...p;index=1
Chadman - Posted - 02/28/2013: 22:54:00
well here's my best attempt to date for last weeks assignment.. gotta see my teacher tonight. Tune by Elizabeth Cotton I believe, Freight Train.
ITACUD - Posted - 03/01/2013: 04:53:32
Well done on both songs above... ^^^
I need to look up the tab for sleepy Molly. I like the tune and its so much different than what I've been working on...
Chadman - Posted - 03/14/2013: 09:56:35
here's my lesson from last week, Mountain Dew
ITACUD - Posted - 03/14/2013: 17:31:06
Sounds good Chad. I guess I need to record something new....it's been a while.
Chadman - Posted - 03/15/2013: 01:00:24
Thanks, I try to record every lesson just so that I can see the progres ( record usually the day before going to see my banjo teacher, I see her once about every 6 to 7 days) still some practice to do, it's not perfect but i can get through it.. i gotta focus on slowing down a bit.. some of the measures I just rip through them.. not all banjo playin is fast! lol
rgoad - Posted - 03/15/2013: 03:26:48
Chad, that's a brilliant thing you do recording the lesson. I do the same. My instructor will explain things and demo as well. Then I go back and listen to help recall sequences, etc. some of my favorite tunes are from my lessons!
Also, you are doing really well, I think. My instructor encouraged me to use a metronome and tap my foot. That helped control speeding up and slowing down.
FlyingHellfish - Posted - 03/17/2013: 10:39:11
Time to put myself on the chopping block.
I started from absolutely no banjo abilities one month ago. Here's what I have so far.
The audio quality is not so great as I was just using my laptop, but you get the idea.
Played on a 1980s Washburn B14.
ITACUD - Posted - 03/17/2013: 16:03:08
I share this to show everyone all the mistakes a noob is prone to make. No charge for the St. Patty's day shirt.
banjoy - Posted - 03/17/2013: 16:25:55
Wow very cool thread. I'm about 1/2 way through it listening to everything posted here.
I tip my hat to everyone who has posted here, nice work, I'm enjoying hearing this stuff!
Now back to listening...
rgoad - Posted - 03/17/2013: 20:15:48
Michele, that is awesome after one month. It took me over a year to learn Cripple Creek and my wife still can't recognise it. Bile them cabbage down is well done, too. It is interesting because it has the same elements and almost the same chord progression as several other tunes, Wagon Wheel, for example. In addition to this thread there is a beginners group called Absolute Beginners where you can find other beginners.
Mr. Cud, that is a pretty advanced piece yer playin' , green shirt and all. You are progressing just fine. It did make me wonder how people learn to play complex tunes such as that. Andyincov (Friesen) of this establishment has a method that seems to suit BG/Scruggs style players. He sent it to me and he might share it here. It is a good system that seems pretty logical when you read it.
This is really a cool thread, folks, one of my favourites.
ITACUD - Posted - 03/18/2013: 19:36:51
Thanks guys....I'm starting to realize there's a lot of moves that go from one song to another.....here's an example.... I spent some time on the last few day working on 'Flint Hill Special'. I just can't seem to get good as fast as I want.....I know it's a long journey for me. I don't have talent but I have desire and I simply love playing.....at least most of the time.
Chadman - Posted - 03/19/2013: 02:01:21
sounds good to me Itacud! might be slow but speed throughout seems constant and you're playing it clean. One thing i've been doing is practice each measure a whack of times, then the next do the same and so on... once I do that for all the measures in the tunes that the teacher gives me.. then i start to piece them together til I get through the whole thing, at which point i can start to build a little speed. Seems to be working for me the last few lessons anyhow. Might be something to try
bluenote23 - Posted - 03/19/2013: 06:42:41
So here is a wobbly Foggy Mountain Breakdown (and this took at least 4 takes). I had been playing for four weeks at this point. I must point out that I have a long piano and guitar background so doing things like playing chords and pull offs and hammer ons were fairly easy for me. The most difficult, as I always played guitar with a flat pick, was the three finger picking. And I did, and still do, have to fight to get things to swing.
One thing I notice on some videos is that a lot of us tend to watch our hands when playing. As a piano player, I learned the value of being able to play by learning the keyboard and not watching where my fingers were. This is something I try to do with the banjo as well. Like anything on this instrument (the fingerpicks, the planting, the fact that the highest string is where the lowest should be...) it is difficult and frustrating at first but perseverance will pay off.
I have to add that I am learning using Ben Clark's online lessons (banjobenclark.com) and I have to credit him with teaching me how to make this instrument sound something close to a banjo.
Edited by - bluenote23 on 03/19/2013 07:07:25
whytelaydie7 - Posted - 03/19/2013: 11:38:21
quote:
Originally posted by ITACUD
Well done on both songs above... ^^^
I need to look up the tab for sleepy Molly. I like the tune and its so much different than what I've been working on...
The title is "Sleeping Moggy" I couldn't find any tabs for it, I worked it off the sheet music my dad had. I have since with some help from a friend, added to the very bare bones version I posted.
youtube.com/watch?v=5fmzrW7duH...p;index=2
I do have a tab for that, if you'd like it. It's in sawmill tuning, if you want to work it out off the video.
rgoad - Posted - 03/20/2013: 19:08:34
Mr. Cud, The tune sounds like you have all the parts and are just figuring out how to space them. Maybe you are playing too many parts? As far as spacing goes, I noticed you were tapping your foot. That is good, I couldn't go that for the longest time. I would defer to the comments of others, but it looks like you are tapping you foot right at twice as fast as it should be.
Ted, that sounded fine. I guess by wobbly you meant the time issues. It all sounded passable to me. Post some more!
We have an absolute beginners group, too. I know you are not an absolute beginner, but you are as baby banjo player, that counts,, i bet.
ITACUD - Posted - 03/20/2013: 20:18:38
@rgoad it's entirely possible...my teacher just hand writes all the tab when we do our lessons and I'm playing his version as it's written...it may be more parts than other versions, I'm not sure. The foot tapping I hadn't even noticed. In my mind I was tapping it 4 times per measure but maybe not, it looks a little fast...I'll have to go back and watch it while reading my tab.
On another note....my lesson today waded off into the land of chord shapes I, II and III and inversions and the chromatic scale... My instructor must have felt like he was talking to a stump. 
HaHa
rgoad - Posted - 03/21/2013: 04:34:03
The reason I noticed the foot tap is that I do the same thing. My instructor pointed out that tapping four time a measure is OK @ 50 BPM. it gets more challenging @ 120BPM. I melted my rubber soled shoes.
bluenote23 - Posted - 03/21/2013: 07:30:13
quote:
Originally posted by rgoad
...Ted, that sounded fine. I guess by wobbly you meant the time issues. It all sounded passable to me. Post some more!
We have an absolute beginners group, too. I know you are not an absolute beginner, but you are as baby banjo player, that counts,, i bet.
Thanks for the kind words. Since I made that recording in February, I haven't made another so I just did this now (well, after four or five takes. So it's not just 'off the cuff'). This is three months in and I still can't play a song all the way through! My left hand is okay but I still have a lot of trouble with fumbling right hand fingers. Cripple Creek was the first song I learned so I've been at this one a long time.
I do want to applaud all of you who have chosen this difficult instrument as your first stringed instrument. I know it can be slow going but your persistence and discipline are admirable and will pay off in the end. Learning to fret the strings with the left hand is hard enough but having to deal with the right hand too just makes it all that tougher. Keep on working!
Edited by - bluenote23 on 03/21/2013 07:31:39
rgoad - Posted - 03/21/2013: 14:03:25
Pretty nice, Ted.
Ribtickler - Posted - 03/24/2013: 12:50:04
Ok guys, I`ll play along.
here`s a little info, I started building my first banjo around the beginning of feb this year, finished it around the 22nd of feb and been learning since, here is a pic of the banjo and the sound file of cripple creek. I`ve never played any sort of instrument before except for a little trumpet back in grade 7 or so, I`m 39 now..lol don`t laugh too hard please..ha!
Ribtickler - Posted - 03/24/2013: 13:19:39
Ok guys here`s one I recorded on my iphone the other day, was probably8 takes or so. Self taught and been playing about a month.
Shake-Boy - Posted - 03/28/2013: 16:14:11
quote:
Originally posted by Ribtickler
Ok guys here`s one I recorded on my iphone the other day, was probably8 takes or so. Self taught and been playing about a month.
Hey Ron,
Sounding pretty good for a month in. Keep it up!
LOVE that banjo you built. I would never have thought to build my first banjo rather than buy it. Kudos to you!
Shake-Boy (Paul)
Ribtickler - Posted - 03/28/2013: 16:52:37
Hey thanks, what really happened was I was looking for a project to build since I had recently gotten back into wood working and all the normal end table, cabinets, boxes were just not interesting me, then I came across a banjo that some guy built. I really liked the idea of trying to build something like that even though I have no stringed instrument experience at all. I love the sound of a banjo and figured if I built one .....and it worked and sounded not too bad maybe I`d have to learn to play it. Well I love playing the thing, but now have the major itch to build a really nice one, that sounds better....I`m working on it right now.
Ron
rgoad - Posted - 03/29/2013: 10:03:44
Ron, That is cool in many ways. I think everyone has thought about building a banjo, but few do. I suppose only one other person has ever built a banjo that never played one.
Playing sounds pretty good, too. I expect you are one of those folks who can do pretty much whatever you set mind to.
Chadman - Posted - 03/29/2013: 11:46:30
here's the output to the last 2 weeks of lessons, Cricket on the Hearth.. neat little tune, one measure in there that's not quite right.. something to work on in the future
rgoad - Posted - 03/29/2013: 14:54:37
Hey, that's pretty good! I see what you mean about that one measure, but it only stands out because the others were so good.
Chadman - Posted - 03/29/2013: 15:38:40
Thanks rgoad.. when I look back at past lessons and how I played them and compare then to now I can see the progress I'm making.. I'd say currently that I'm picking up the pick patterns much easier than when I first started and the slides are getting easier too. Which certainly helps when the lessons seem to get a little harder as time goes on. Way cool! lol
new tune I'm starting to learn, Country Roads by John Denver.. can't wait.. one of my favorites when playing guitar and singing at the camp! now I'll be able to play banjo and sing while the guys play guitars! certainly stoked about learning this tune!
rgoad - Posted - 03/29/2013: 20:15:02
It seems like I build and improve some of the 'circuits' in my brain and CNS as I play. Sometimes I can sense where the note is on the banjo and can hit really close, or even right on it. Time helps, repetition. I have taken to meditating on playing and it helps with relaxing before I play. Sort of imaging movement on a gross level.
banjobrewer - Posted - 03/30/2013: 15:39:41
Good stuff everyone! I have been practicing for a month now from scratch. No musical history what so ever. So at 36 I decided I needed a new challenge in life and bought a banjo. No body anywhere close has clawhammer banjo lessons that I can find so I left to figure it out on my own. Going a lot slower than some of you. One month in and most are wayyyy ahead of me, but I enjoy it and have until I die to get better.
Good thread and I hope that I can put something together someday on here.
Chadman - Posted - 04/11/2013: 22:59:06
well week 14 and 15, working on Country Roads.. first week could pick it thru but didn't sound good and timing was way off.. my banjo teacher helped me out at the next lesson.. so it's been a week at that.. this is what I've come up with.. my lesson is tomorrow so hopefully I made some progress to show her! lol here it is..
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