 | Strelnieks says:
3/18/2011 1:46:49 AM
I am an American, but have been living in Europe more than half my life - all but about a year of that in Germany. I took up the banjo in 2000 as a bit of a way to re-claim some of my American identity, I suppose. I work for a US employer online, but otherwise, my life is very "German" - family, friends, activities, etc.
I invest most of my energy into three-finger picking, especially the first five years and the past year or so. In between I did a lot of clawhammer and even tried to ding around a bit with a fretless banjo using Leftwich's "Round Peak" material. That improved my ear a bit and gave me some ideas, but I never really caught the fever for that fretless stuff. I'm trying to sell my fretless Appalachian banjo now. I'm asking a fairly high price, however, since I won't mind keeping it! I really dig playing "Mole in the Ground" in double C on it.
My main tool is a John Hartford banjo which is great for both major styles of playing.
When I started fooling around with clawhammer in about 2004 or 2005, it was basically just using the basic stroke with some drop-thumb over standard tuning. In 2007, I went to a banjo camp and did some workshops in both styles, but learned the most from the clawhammer people. I was a bit shocked and frustrated by the constant re-tuning. When I got home and started really trying it out, however, a bunch of lights went on. I still haven't seriously tried a lot of tunings nor memorized a bunch of songs with clawhammer, but I am reasonably "fluent" in the basic drop-thumb technique and have come to appreciate the musical potential of that genre more. Sometime down the road I'd like to get a nice 12" open-back with a frailing scoop and really work on it.
Meanwhile, my serious practice regimen is dominated by trying to break into a level of Scruggs playing where I can walk into a gig knowing each song _better_ than I need to play it, and not wondering if the slight drop in quality that tends to happen on stage will matter.
(When I say "gig" I mean small-scale stuff in the local neighborhood, nothing for money.)
Anyway, that's the quick and dirty on me and my banjo. I occasionally blog about it over at hatlie.twoday.net/topics/Five-...ng+Banjo/.
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| Strelnieks says:
3/18/2011 1:51:31 AM
...oh, some of the blog posts are in German, but most of it is in English. I guess I'm kind of a "multi-tasker" in that realm as well. So if you are looking over the blog and run into German, just scroll down some more and English will return.
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 | Gumbograss says:
3/18/2011 3:34:09 PM
Willkommen zu unserer Gruppe!
OK, no, I don't speak German. But I do have Google Translator!
Thank you so much for sharing your banjo background with us. It's always good to get different takes on the instrument we all love. We're very happy to have you here, and feel free to hit us up for some American culture when you feel the need. We'll do what we can!!
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| Strelnieks says:
3/18/2011 4:18:02 PM
I think a real "Kraut" would say "Wilkommen in unserer Gruppe," but prepositions are notoriously difficult.
I just got into this "group" thing here at the hangout and, for the moment, it is more fun than the forums.
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| Gumbograss says:
3/19/2011 9:51:04 AM
Thanks for the German lesson! I've got German ancestery on both sides of my family, but no one in my family spoke German. French, on the other hand, was very common in my Dad's family when I was growing up. Sadly, I can speak just enough of a few foreign languages to get myself in trouble!
Like you, I'm finding the groups to be more interesting and fun than the forums. It could just be the newness of it, but I've added a bunch of friends since joining and/or starting some groups. And new friends are always good to have!
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