Posted by Brian T on Tuesday, February 17, 2009
My Sierra arrived in early April, 2008. Smart move to buy that. I've got a dozen pieces up to 120bpm. Memorization is just about as frustrating as it was in the 1960's. Oh well. Just got Ross Nickerson's Banjo Encyclopedia to chew on for the next while. Won't comment until I've done 100 pages or so. As a "book," it is well done.
The "jam" may begin as a living room venture. Will take a phone poll of possible participants next week when I get back out to the mountain house where the Harman P38+ wood-pellet stove has paid for itself after 3 winters as the primary heat source (2 x 1,200 sqft). Yipeeee! $3k to install and it's now FREE!. Still, there have been enough annoying power failures (3 motors/450W in the stove) to justify the solar power system ($1.5k) every time.
The (used) BOSS DR660 drum machine is a magical replacement for a metronome. I've been trying to pick "Tom Dooley" to a bossanova beat just for a joke, it sounds better as a samba. 6-10 tracks are OK for folk/country/BG. The thing really lets you pay attention to where the beat falls. 100 preset tracks, easy tempo (bpm) adjustment, half the size of a computer keyboard and plugs into anybody's living room stereo (L&R AUX inputs) for good sound and great volume.
1 comment
on “Genuine Beginner”
Gluggy Says:
Monday, March 2, 2009 @1:34:28 AM
Brian, sounds like you are pretty self sufficient out at your mountain house. Its been a dream of mine for years now and I guess it will be real one day. I've got an acre out of town (Sydney, Aus) and lots of open space, but its still too close to the rest of the world for my comfort, I'll wait until the kids leave home then pick up sticks and venture further afield.
I'm new to the banjo too with only six months under my belt. I have a few mates who play guitar so I'm trying to add some dynamics to the group with some vamping and simple melodies. Its fun and I'm learning heaps so I guess I've only got 10 or twenty years until I get this down pat. Thanks for your contribution to the Em debate and hope to keep in touch with our Banjo journey. Cheers Glyn
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