jsinjin - Posted - 09/04/2025:  18:42:45

I transposed the song cripple creek (in A up from G so using a capo) into sheet music in standard notation. I was able to break it into the quarter and 8th notes and put them on the tablature in the right places and then I played it sight reading. It took me a few tries but I was able to get it all the way through from just reading the music.. I’ve noticed lately that my transposing the music to sheet music is going faster and my memorization is going faster with daily practice.

Although I’m still very poor at identifying chord changes by ear I can now state any chord in many major and minor keys and know exactly where it is on the fretboard. It was difficult to get through the practice of pulling a chord out of a deck and timing myself finding it up and down the neck in different positions. I can now find any of them in seconds.

So even though this method is different it’s definitely working for me especially in the rate I’m able to memorize the songs.

trapdoor2 - Posted - 09/05/2025:  05:19:23

Perhaps one of the old notation-based banjo tutors might be helpful?

There are many available for free download over at the Classic banjo.ning site.

The music might not be a good match but the training would be.

Ira Gitlin - Posted - 09/05/2025:  06:23:14

Have you tried the Pete Seeger book, or the first edition of the Scruggs book? If standard notation helps you--well, both those books have parallel lines of tab and notation. (Reminds me of the Loeb series of classical texts, where the left-hand page is the original text in Greek or Latin, and the right-hand page is the English translation.)

Texasbanjo - Posted - 09/05/2025:  08:16:12

Also, many of Jack Baker's tabs have both musical notation and tab, you might find some of those helpful. One caveat: they are NOT beginner songs.

dbrooks - Posted - 09/05/2025:  08:50:34

Jack Baker's tabs are very good, though you will need the free TefView or the demo TablEdit to view them.  They have both tab and standard notation.  The program also lets you play the audio for the tab.  As Sherry says, most are intermediate and above in terms of skill level.

David

jsinjin - Posted - 09/05/2025:  09:08:19

I’ve actually loved the experience of converting the music from banjo tab or even slowing down someone playing and going from by frame to figure out string and fret for each note then writing the sheet music. I love doing it. I know there are programs for it but this is something I’m trying to learn. I never understood music before from the perspective of those papers with all the lines and notes and now I’m just starting to understand it. The patterns are making sense to me. I’m finally getting to the point that I’m understanding what a key is, what that means to the notes and scale in it and how that converts to the music notation. That was one of my goals starting out and I’m excited it’s coming together. Growing up I had no exposure to music theory and that was a major goal for starting an instrument and I’m thrilled it’s making more sense.

RB-1 - Posted - 09/08/2025:  10:17:19

quote:

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Originally posted by jsinjin

I’ve actually loved the experience of converting the music from banjo tab or even slowing down someone playing and going from by frame to figure out string and fret for each note then writing the sheet music. I love doing it. I know there are programs for it but this is something I’m trying to learn. I never understood music before from the perspective of those papers with all the lines and notes and now I’m just starting to understand it. The patterns are making sense to me. I’m finally getting to the point that I’m understanding what a key is, what that means to the notes and scale in it and how that converts to the music notation. That was one of my goals starting out and I’m excited it’s coming together. Growing up I had no exposure to music theory and that was a major goal for starting an instrument and I’m thrilled it’s making more sense.

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You've left me puzzled here...

This: 'or even slowing down someone playing and going from by frame to figure out string and fret for each note then writing the sheet music.' makes no sense to me at all.

An extra step that unnecessarily over complicates the whole process.

Once you know what string, what note, which right hand finger, and what it is supposed to sound like, then you're having all ingredients complete for playing music on the banjo.

All you'd have to do is combining what you feel (hands!) with what you hear (ears!), thereby joining your motor skills with what comes from your audio memory. Your eyes will only have to monitor your hands from time to time, when you're making big jumps on the neck, as such supporting your sensory skills.

By listening to slowed down music, I learned to play the banjo long before I even discovered tablature, that I found a great invention though.

This was speeding up my learning, because it takes out the guesswork about 'what string, what note and which right hand finger', so you can fully concentrate on the playing of the music. But before, you should exactly know what it is supposed to sound like. 

There is no way however, any notation -not even standard sheet music!- will tell you that.

One of the greatest banjo players of our time studied even classical pieces after having these converted to tab. Then he learned them by heart by listening to many examples on other instruments. If that doesn't tell us something....

Music theory is a great tool for explaining why music sounds like it does.

But when used during the initial stages of learning it easily obscures what music is all about, getting across and experiencing the emotional connection that it evokes between humans.

Don't lose yourself in theory, scales, etc. and don't waste your time on sheet music.  Just listen and imitate. Your own style will find you when you're ready for it.

Good luck on your banjo journey!