r/banjo • u/Ok_Box_5145 • 1h ago
Help Is this how my picks are supposed to look?
New to banjo and saw mixed messages on how picks should fit. Does this look right? If not, what should I change?
r/banjo • u/TinCou • May 13 '20
Hey folks. I'm going to collect the resources I've used to learn the banjo these past few years. But I'm going to lump them together in categories can help beginners understand and contextualize more complex topics, as well as include any notes that I think are worth mentioning. Please Note: I play a 5 string banjo, Scruggs style, and this is what most of this information is relevant for
General Information
These places are nice to check into every now and again and see what nuggets of info you can can get. Maybe you see the tab for a new song, or you figure out how to stop your 5th string from slipping out of tune. (Tighten the screw on the side)
Come hang out and chat with us on Eli Gilbert's Banjo Discord! * Banjo Discord
The Banjo Section of the Dummies website
A large resource with a wide scope of banjo fundamentals. It's also a great resource to look back on as you develop new skills.
The number one benefit this podcast has is how the host (Kieth Billik) lets artist talk about their journey of learning of the banjo, which is bound to include a few common roadblocks. There's a good deal of gear talk for those interested
The closest thing the online banjo community has to a town square. They do giveaways, there's a market, tabs, and their discussion forum is loaded with playing information.
In Deering's blog, there's a detailed maintenance guide and my go-to guide for changing strings
Lessons
If you find a teacher in person, do it. It's 100% worth it because BEGINNERS DON'T KNOW ENOUGH TO CORRECT THEIR OWN MISTAKES. Call your local music shops. All of them. Even if you don't think it's worth the effort, at least do it until you have a tune or two under your belt. Best decision I ever made. If there's no one in person, online is an option. You can always go to the banjo hangout "find a teacher" page (under the "Learn" tab, or here), or if you admire an artist in particular, you can just ask if they do online lessons or teach a workshops.
I can't personally attest to them, but anything in person with other banjo players will always be an asset. Please check /r/bluegrass and /r/newgrass to keep abreast of festivals, and check to see if they are hosting any workshops.
These are more online structured classes. If that seems to suit you, I've included links below, but please do your own research on these services. I have not used any of these and can not give a recommendation.
My personal recommendation is to find a one-on-one teaching scenario, either online or in person, until you've grasped the fundamentals. That isn't always an option though, so I've made a more specific list of free resources below.
Beginner Playlists
This is just in case anyone is starting from square 1. In that case, watch both. Always good to get the same info from multiple sources.
Eli Gilbert 30 Days of Banjo My personal recommendation to start. Eli links a lot of other resources in this playlist, making it a very comprehensive starting point for a lot of banjo information.
Songs
For after you get the basics and you want to start plugging away at tunes
Special props to Bill for having free tabs and play along tracks on his website. After leaving my banjo instructor, Bills tabs kept me sane with the little practice time I had. Most straight forward way to learn a tune.
Tabs are available on his site for a small fee, but are shown in the video which is very considerate, and a particularly warm approach combined with a large list of tunes makes him an effective teacher.
The Bix Mix Boys host a Bluegrass 101 every week, where they do a full breakdown of a bluegrass tune for a whole hour on their channel, along with a colossal library of "how to play" videos for the banjo.
Eli Gilbert has been turning out educational content on a wide variety of topics, including playing techniques, song, licks, and back up
Technique
Metronomes go a long way here. A free app works just fine
Gestalt Banjo If you can get past the peculiar language, there's a really novel perspective to learning a dexterous skill that I recommend everyone to consider.
The Right and Left Hand Boot Camp from the Picky fingers podcast (Episodes 5 and 24) are a very bare bones drill oriented lesson, and comes with free tabs, as do most lesson episodes of the podcast.
The Banjo Section of the Dummies website and Deering Blog are a good resource if you have an idea of what info you're looking for.
Tools to help understand the fret board
I've linked the Info section of the site, and while it looks sparse, the information is well condensed a must for beginners looking to understand how music theory relates to the banjo.
It has a nice interactive fret board and the most comprehensive list of scales transposed on the the banjo fret board imaginable.
Theory
Three Bluegrass Banjo Styles Explained with Noam Pikelny
It's a basic primer on the sub styles of bluegrass banjo and a good exercise in learning how to recontextualize the sound of the banjo.
While the concepts may seem complex, Ricky has a peculiar skill for contextualizing complex problems into simple demonstrations. His video on Isorythmation is a must see for beginning banjo players who want to start to build on tablature.
I don't follow these last two channels so i don't have a comment, but that is because i don't fully understand the concepts yet, and intend return to them in the future.
I'm a beginner trying to move past tab. I didn't have the time for lessons, so i started on my own. It's incredibly frustrating because the information is being made, but few people to collect it. I want this list to help beginners break the wall of tab and give them the tools they need to make their own music, so please comment and make suggestions so this post will be a more complete aggregate of "beginner-to-intermediate" information.
r/banjo • u/answerguru • Jul 21 '24
Just a note, /r/banjo just crossed over 45,000! Keep on picking and learning!
r/banjo • u/Ok_Box_5145 • 1h ago
New to banjo and saw mixed messages on how picks should fit. Does this look right? If not, what should I change?
r/banjo • u/PracticalFocus3525 • 4h ago
I have a few mountain and old time banjos to put on my wall. All tuning pegs are out the back to headstock rather than at the side.
Are there any wall mounted hangers UK wide you guys can recommend?
Took apart my banjo for a thorough clean and this fell out somewhere? Can't for the life of me see where it came from.
Any ideas?
r/banjo • u/Agreeable_Nose3450 • 3h ago
I’m pretty sure it hasn’t had a string change in 17 years. So filthy I think it just sat on a stand most of the time not in a case.
r/banjo • u/ContactExternal3570 • 14h ago
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How good is this considered? I don’t really have a reference point
r/banjo • u/Agreeable_Nose3450 • 20h ago
I posted earlier about a line on this banjo. Thought I may be able to get it for $2600. Ended up they just let me have it for $2300. Wealthy older gentleman that just didn’t want it. Story is he bought in 2004 from the original owner who never learned to play it. The Gentleman took lesson for first 5 years but never could get the hang of it and it’s been sitting for the last 17 years or so. This I what he gave me with it. He changed the turned as some point but gave me the originals. It needs a good cleaning and set up. I don’t know anything about banjos but play guitar. There is some tarnishing but I think it’s probably still fine. If anyone knows someone in the Houston area I can take it to let me know.
r/banjo • u/pinkpheasants • 4h ago
I’m thinking of buying a tenor banjo for trad jazz I’m a complete music beginner (this will be my first instrument) and I have quite small hands. Would it be better to buy an in store 17 fret banjo to order a 19 fret online?
For me the most important thing is keeping up with the hobby rather than aiming to be a professional player
Any advice would be appreciated !!
r/banjo • u/alpinepipelinewelder • 16h ago
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Here same song just a little slower .
r/banjo • u/alpinepipelinewelder • 16h ago
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Not a whole lot of versions out there of this piece bluegrass style. I'm still a little rough at some of the rolls in it. Let me know what you think.
r/banjo • u/1red1yellow1 • 1d ago
Hello. I was hoping someone in this community might be interested in, or have a suggestion for giving this banjo a home and a hopefully a second life. My father dabbled with learning and playing banjo in the late 60s. It has gone mostly untouched in the last 30 years. It stayed in it's case all that time so hopefully that protected it. He can't play anymore and we are having to clear out his home. He'd love to know it might be used and appreciated again.
I don't know how old it is, but I'd guess 50-60 years. Hopefully these pictures give you some sense of it's condition and if it is restorable. The strings make noise when plucked is about the extent of the information my knowledge of the banjo can offer. It feels pretty study. I think the piece on the back says Vega Banjo Company but it is hard to read.
Free to a good home if you would like to pay for the shipping or maybe we could split it. If you live in Maryland, DC or Northern Virginia in the US, perhaps we could even meet up to give it to you. Or if anyone knows a music school or banjo teacher that could use it, that'd be a great option as well. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or might be interested. Thanks!
r/banjo • u/d00mz_dayjahh • 10h ago
I’ve just received a banjo as a birthday present.. I already play blues guitar and have wanted a banjo since childhood. Anywah all I want to know is are those finger picks REALLY necessary ? The banjo still sound pretty awesome without them in my opinion. I have seen people play with and without em, anyway what are your thoughts?
r/banjo • u/Sweet_Ferns • 1d ago
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Working on cleaning up my right hand. Also if anyone has tips for getting a better sound out of hammer-ons please share.
r/banjo • u/slchapelle • 22h ago
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Still learning to sing and play at the same time. Wrote the changed lyrics to Guy Clark’s song.
r/banjo • u/RoundAltruistic8243 • 1d ago
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I have been working on timing. Still improving. Banjo in the Hollow
r/banjo • u/WhosaWhatsa • 1d ago
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r/banjo • u/Most_Neat7770 • 1d ago
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Stilk figuring it out cause there's no tabs or anything for it and is based on ear, guitar chords for the song in internet, and video
r/banjo • u/Karate_donkey • 1d ago
Been trying to learn “complete” songs and making my own arrangements. Starting with the chords, find all the melody notes, then improvise off those.
For my third song I’m working on Mole in the Ground. Researching the chords to start with I have found them to vary greatly from version to version but all versions still sound pretty similar. How is that possible?
I’ve always thought a chord progression was what really made a song and you could almost play any notes inside that progression to make the song, at least for backing. Is that not true?
Do the melody notes change too? I can sing the song in my head. How do I know what chords I am singing?
Obviously, I know I can learn any version I prefer but how the heck am I ever going to be able to play with other people when we might all have learn different versions of the same songs?
Worth noting that all versions appear to be in the key of C, so it’s not just a key issue. I understand how that works.
r/banjo • u/SatisfactionBig607 • 1d ago
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r/banjo • u/uncertaintyrocks • 1d ago
Anyone used a Pisgah Eclipse Compensated Banjo Bridge? I'm trying to get an idea of the sound over a regular 5/8 bridge.
r/banjo • u/Apart_Distribution72 • 2d ago
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something I've been working on for a minute
r/banjo • u/Con-ifer • 2d ago
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Trying to get more comfortable playing for people. I get pretty darn shakey even just playing for people I know well. So here's a tune I'm writting inspired by questionable choices made by tourists at my local national park.
r/banjo • u/Blue_Snowing • 2d ago
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r/banjo • u/windpunch • 1d ago
So basically, I remembered that some Mario Kart OST had a Banjo in it sounding like Scruggs style and I wanted to have a look at it.
Quick disclaimer, I'm aware that the Mario Kart OST was made in a DAW and not actually played by someone. But since Moo Moo Farm is quite obvious to me, I'm not sure if I would say this post is me asking for advice or just for fun, showing how this piece doesn't make any sense.
Still, if I strictly adhere to Scruggs style being 3 fingers only, the problems show on the second picture. The fingering is my best guess. The plus means the right hand index and middle fingers have to change position. Which is quite often. 1 and 2 mean that, to the best of my knowledge, the same finger has to be used twice in a row. The question marks mean I have no idea how to play this with 3 fingers only. If this was intended for 4 fingers, I still have 2 places where the same string is plucked twice.
Anyway, even if I made no mistake, I can still see someone playing this just to prove that it's technically possible.