Hey! I've been making a practice app for bluegrass banjo and having a blast with it, so I wanted to share, see if it's helpful and hopefully get some feedback.
Basically, the way it works is, rolls appear on screen for a set amount of time before moving on to the next one, gradually getting faster over the course of a 15-minute session. The rolls appear in random order, so it keeps you guessing. There's also a very cool mode called "Roll Shuffle", which gives you a continuous, randomized stream of rolls. It's VERY challenging but super fun! All of this can be customized too. I've gotten way faster and more precise since I started using it.
A little background: I started playing banjo about 20 years ago, but never got as good as I wanted to and eventually stopped after a few years. I never stopped loving banjo, so I started playing again back in March. I wanted to make sure I at least did my finger exercises every day. I figured 15 minutes a day would be a good start, and since I teach coding for my day job, I decided to build something to help me do it. I might finally be almost kind of okay at playing.
I hope this might be helpful! I posted it as a free TestFlight for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. You can even test it out right in your browser, so if you on are on Android or other device, that is another way to try it out. Anyone up for a test drive? Here's the link!
https://banjoroll.com
That's pretty cool.
I can think of a couple of features for you.
What if you had a controllable feature that would hide the tablature unexpectedly? ( or According to some timing that you control). The idea is to promote the ability to maintain the rolls without staring at tablature. Although I am a big fan of tablature, I recognize that there's a danger of becoming dependent on it for beginners and even intermediate players. Of course, a person that knows this can just close their eyes or look away but I'm just trying to think of a feature.
Another idea would be to implement Shuffle timing for the metronome. In other words, instead of having a precisely spaced set of clicks, it would have some bounce or Shuffle timing.
I don't know if you're hard coding your rolls in, but it would be neat to be able to import any file that has any tab in it to be able to practice with. Tabledit format would be ideal for a lot of people. Then add repetitively practicing a single phrase within a song.
I like your effort and the user interface looks good!
Edited by - randybartlett on 10/25/2026 06:34:14
Thanks for the feedback. I love these ideas and will get to work on it!
And yes, as far as importing your own tabs, that's been on the to-do list so hopefully sometime soon! The other updates (i.e., my response to your suggestions) should happen sooner.
I like it. I don’t do double-thumbing so I would do the 4 note forward roll TITM. Thnx for the work you put into this. Only good for one test drive? How do I get it as a permanent link?
Edited by - chuckv97 on 10/25/2026 07:09:50
Thanks! TITM is definitely a useful variation. I want to incorporate customization options like double-thumb (or not) in future versions, so this is good feedback. I appreciate it!
I think with TestFlight you can install it on as many devices as you like - iPad, iPhone, etc. And once it's there, you can use it as many times as you want.
quote:
Originally posted by togethernessnycThanks! TITM is definitely a useful variation. [for four-note forward roll]
I want to incorporate customization options like double-thumb (or not) in future versions, so this is good feedback. I appreciate it!
Just FYI, it's how Alan Munde played (developed? introduced?) it for his arrangement of Huckleberry Hornpipe over 50 years ago. He also did a backwards version M-T-I-T. These appear several times. Tony Trischka teaches the T-I-T-M forward roll as "Four in a Row" in his ArtistWorks school and elsewhere.
I'm just pointing this out to say it exists. I believe the crossover versions are considered preferable technique, but I don't know that they're inherently better. I can do the crossovers, but I way more often double-thumb going forward and drag the index finger on second and third string -- M-I-I-T -- going backwards.
I believe four ascending or descending strings occurs only infrequently.
Anyway, congrats and good luck on this effort.
Heads up @togethernessnyc that I just tried to click the "Try Banjo Roll! in Your Browser" button and got a DNS error/empty page. Looks like a fun tool – would be interested to try once it's up again!
quote:
Originally posted by erkhlmHeads up @togethernessnyc that I just tried to click the "Try Banjo Roll! in Your Browser" button and got a DNS error/empty page. Looks like a fun tool – would be interested to try once it's up again!
That's what I get on my iPad ,,, I'll try converting it on cobalt tools
p.s., nope, didn't work
Edited by - chuckv97 on 10/25/2026 11:06:24
Tried again by getting the actual “Banjo Roll!” app,, it worked.
Edited by - chuckv97 on 10/25/2026 11:15:57
I’ve used these rolls also (don’t mean to upstage you, just another option)
But now I’m getting this,, don’t know how to get it back. What does "return to native practice" mean?
Edited by - chuckv97 on 10/25/2026 12:08:22
Nowits working again,, i just clicked on the app and good to go. I like the reverse-forward
Edited by - chuckv97 on 10/25/2026 12:49:01
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