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Banjo beginer

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learning banjo

100 Members, Created 5/13/2011 -

Administrators: pommy (owner) , kimsey

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From keysoftune on 12/7/2011 9:47:15 AM

ok ive been taking lessons since april this year but my progress is slow to say the least i cant get my speed and i keep hittin the wrong string when doing my rolls .. how do you break that .. as for practice time .. im disabled at home . when i aint watching the television or messin with my cats im practing my banjo... some say i practice to much and get burned out so i dont improve.. ok ive cut back a bit but feel guilty about it.i have some books and videos on learning and when i go to sleep i play banjo cds all nite.

6 Comments
	JAFO says: 12/7/2011 5:47:59 PM Everybody is different, remember that. Your mileage may vary. After 4 months I am finally learning that what works for me is doing focused, undistracted practice for short periods (an hour or less). I also found out that working on speed is counterproductive. Speed is the wrong goal. Training your fingers to do what you want and when you want is the proper goal. If I work at doing 'it" (whatever "it" might be that day) at a rate where I can do it perfect every time for a sustained period of time, then the speed will just come along, the next time I do it. Work on mastery at a reasonable pace, which may be quite slow in the beginning. Once you have the fingers trained, the speed will gradually come by itself. That's what works for me. Now I can't put myself in your position of having lots of time to practice, but some weekends, when my wife is out for the day I sit with the banjo in my lap all afternoon, and I find that I get both sloppy and tired. I have now learned to put the thing down and pick it up and start again a half hour later. I do better that way. Focus on playing well, not fast. Again, your mileage may vary. DO what works for you, just don't give up, it will all add up eventually. Tom
keysoftune says: 12/7/2011 6:41:48 PM thanks tom.. ill try not to worry about the speed anymore till i can make my fingers do the right string..i am getting discouraged tho cause i cant keep up with the blue grass workshop i attend every mondaynite. i gtta learn to take it one step at a time ..
	Butter1313 says: 12/9/2011 10:01:56 AM hay Key RUKM i think the fact that your doing it is testament enough. i have found that JAFO is correct i play an hour a day 5 days a week and always try something new once every two weeks but i take a day to just do what ever sometimes i play what i know sometimes i just have a beer and play what ever feels good. I hope this helps. its strange when i take a lesson i am always nervous. Go figure..
keysoftune says: 12/9/2011 4:20:22 PM i know i should just relax a bit but ive been trained by a real british mistro in my youth -to play it rite thefirst time or be punished for your bad playing.. its been a long time since then but still in my brain to be perfect
	Heavy Duty says: 12/14/2011 4:04:17 PM Give yourself a break. Everyone makes mistakes. Learning to play through the mistakes and stay in time is way more important than worrying about hitting the wrong string. Speed will come in time and practice. You need to practice slow and train your fingers for muscle memory to hit the right string. I, like JAFO, practice about 1 hour a day. On the songs I can play, I try to ramp it up a little until I mess up. You will get faster in time. I try to play new songs like the professionals and mess it up big time. My instructor fusses at me to slow it down. She says that if it doesn't sound good slow, it isn't going to sound any better fast :). I understand the concept of "perfect practice makes perfect", but in this case, you really to train yourself to allow mistakes and not beat yourself up. Have fun and enjoy the journey.
	banjogal12 says: 1/29/2012 2:15:41 PM Everyone says the same thing, practice, practice, practice...speed comes in time. I have found that to be true on more than one occasion. Like all beginners you hit the frustration wall but go beyond it and remind yourself of what you are doing correctly. I am having a ball and I hope you do too! Just keep pickin.
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