Posted by laertes22 on Monday, May 19, 2014
This week I decided to get out of my comfort zone and also go back to my roots to work on some basics.
My comfort zone is Double C/Double D tuning, and my "roots" would be open G tuning (as that is the tuning that I and probably most folks started in).
I set aside the Clawhammer from scratch book that I had mainly been working out of (and which is largely based in Double C/Double D) and whipped out Ken Perlman's book, as well as Old Woodchuck's Rocket Science Banjo. I started at the beginning of each, practicing basic clawhammer frail, drop thumb exercises, and boom ditty strumming exercises to warm up each time. Even though I have been playing a while, I want to work on the my right hand a good bit everyday, because my string accuracy can be inconsistent at times (I seem to randomly miss the 2nd or 3rd string sometimes). So, I practice double thumbing, drop thumbing, and brush strumming, all with a metronome set to about 80 or 90 bpm. I want it clean and consistent, not fast. I think I may continue to do this forever, or until my right hand gets perfect. I also worked on some G major and G major pentatonic scales, just to work on my ear and get familiar with the fretboard.
Once I got good and warmed up, I played through some simple arrangements of tunes in G-Cripple Creek, Jesse James, Old Joe Clark. None of these tunes are particularly hard, which is why they are good. Sometimes, I make mistakes....er, I mean improvise. I mean, it's not a mistake if it sounds good, right? I kind of gravitate between a more traditional arrangement of Cripple Creek (lots of brush strums and "boom ditty") and a more melodic drop thumb version. Sometimes I'll mix bits of the two together to see if it sounds good.
I had always kind of looked down on open G tuning as the tuning of beginners and novices (although I consider my self a beginner and novice, as well), and Double C/Double D was a "real tuning." Well, that is definitely not the case, and I have a new appreciation for open G. I read something on Mike Iverson's site where he said something along the lines of Double C being a great tuning for instrumentals, but not being a great tuning for accompaniment. I kind of dig open G, because I definitely can sing along with most of the open G songs. It is also, for me, somewhat easier to improvise in or make a song my own.
On my good days, I am doing fiddle for 1 to 2.5 hours a day and banjo for 30-90 minutes a day. I definitely feel a marked improvement in my playing with longer, more consistent practices. My playing is becoming more consistent and more confident. I feel more confident with the instrument and with the song. for the first time in my life, I am not playing exactly what is on the tab, but "improvising" here and there and making the song my own. It is pretty exciting!
-Genford
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