Well my latest update is that for some reason I can pick out tunes on the banjo that I've never been able to do before. When I learned the rolls from Mr. Scruggs book back in the 80's, I thought that was how you had to do things. I'd also learned piano from a classical teacher, so I thought that was the method. Well guess what? It's a heck of a lot more fun and less work if you can play by ear. Now, my picking is pretty simple compared to a lot of the bluegrass players out there, but I know the basic rolls and have a fair amount of speed for an old guy. My son, a fiddle player, came home from college over Christmas, and said, " My gosh dad, you're better than I am." High compliment from an accomplished musician. He's actually somewhat incorrect. He can still pick up a tune about 10 times faster than I can, but I've been practicing, and my technique sounds good. Now I need to take a course on music theory. Seems to me that the more I understand about that, the easier it is to get where I want to go. All you folks at the Hangout have been great. I've been learning a lot about a lot of things. I sort of quit playing banjo a long time ago, because I thought it was limited in what it could do, but you're showing me that the banjo can really play in a number of different styles, and I'm learning that I can develop my own. Happy New Year and Keep on Picking.
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