Wallster posted a blog asking for help in this group and I offered and he accepted.
I'll be glad to help any of you beginners, answer any question I can and if I don't know the answer, I'll try to find it for you.
For those of you who don't know me (and probably most all of you don't), I've been on the Hangout since '05, been a mod since '08.
I've played the banjo since the early '70s, with a 15 year hiatus to raise kids.
I taught beginner banjo for about 10 years, am now retired, but still help those who need it.
I have been in several local bands in our area and had a band of my own for about 5 years. Retired from that, too, because of arthritis in the fingers.
So, if you have questions, fire away. I'll check several times a day to see if there are any questions.
17 Comments |
lg9455 says:
1/31/2011 8:43:46 AM
Thank you for steping up to help out the infermed ones like me. I'm sure you will have more questions than you can shake a stick at soon.
I'll just start off the questions right now. I'm starting to learn songs from tab and am having a hard time getting the melody to come out when I play. I'm sure some of it is accenting the right notes but how do you tell the, what I call "fill notes from the melody notes"?
Larry
|
 | Texasbanjo says:
1/31/2011 10:44:15 AM
Larry, are you familiar with the tune? Can you sing or hum the melody? If not, listen to the song over and over until you have the melody in your head -- then you can get it into your fingers.
If you're working from a downloaded tab, you may have tab software that will play a midi of the song -- listen to that over and over so you'll know how the song sounds.
And finally, yes, you need to emphasize the melody notes more than the fill notes.
Take a song you know well, maybe one you can already play and see if you can pick out JUST the melody notes by singing or humming the song -- then, if you need to, highlight those notes on your tab and try striking them a little harder when you play.
Last of all, remember this: if you don't kow the melody to a song, it is almost impossible to play it. If you don't have a midi to listen to, try to find a CD or DVD with the song on it and again, listen to it until the melody is clear in your mind.
Does that help?
|
lg9455 says:
1/31/2011 11:04:21 AM
thanks for the info. What I was asking was how do you tell the melody notes from the fill notes? Is there a standard as to what strings carry the melody? I'm working on Wildwood Flower, I know the melody but when I play what is on the tab I can't hear it.
|
| Texasbanjo says:
1/31/2011 11:22:25 AM
If you are in open G, the melody notes are generally G, A, B, D and E -- but there may be other melody notes -- the notes just given are taken from the Pentatonic scale -- and seems like most of the melody notes are taken from it.
So.... you can find G on the 3rd string open, A on the 3rd string 2nd fret, B on the 2nd string open, C on the 2nd string, 1st fret, D on the 4th string open or 1st string open. Those notes can be found other places, but that'll give you a starting place.
It's not unusual for beginners to be unable to hear the melody. Sometimes it's because they are playing slowly, more often, it's because their timing is off. Be sure to count, if the count is right, the melody will be right, too.
Does that help?
|
lg9455 says:
1/31/2011 11:31:56 AM
Yes, so it is not necessarly a certain string or set of strings. I'm sure speed and timing has alot to do with it. I've been working on that also. It is part of my practice time to spend some time on both. Thanks and i'm sure I will have many more questions for you.
Larry
|
| Texasbanjo says:
1/31/2011 1:48:50 PM
Glad I could help you and if you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask. That's why I'm here.
|
NoteNut says:
2/1/2011 8:42:44 AM
Hey Texasbanjo, I have been fiddling around with my banjo for several months and seems like one of the issues I have is getting an organized practice session each time so that I actually make progress. I am trying to teach myself because making room in my schedule consistently enough for a teacher is just not going to happen. Any ideas on how to create productive practice sessions?
|
lg9455 says:
2/1/2011 9:42:08 AM
Hey NoteNut, I had the same problem for a while, I finally made a schedual sheet on my computer with columns on it with the headings: date, time objectives and notes.
the date is date I practice, time- How long I want to spend on a certain thing ie: 10(min) warm up, 20(min) scales, 20 song,
Objectives are what do I want to accomplish during that practice session. then notes are for, if I have a problem during that session or if I got better than the last time I tried that same thing.
This seems to help me and gives me a point of refference. It also shows me if I am going forward or setting still.
|
| Texasbanjo says:
2/1/2011 10:44:48 AM
Lg9455 has an excellent idea. When I was teaching, I'd suggest that my students:
1. Spend 1/4 of their time warming up, playing songs they already know, reviewing rolls, licks, etc.
2. Spend 1/4 of their time working on making chord shapes and changing shapes and working rolls into those chord shapes.
3. Spend 1/4 of their time working on a new song/lick/roll.
4. Spend the rest of their time noodling around on the banjo, just seeing what they can come up with, maybe trying to pick out a melody.
If you have a beginner book, take it from page 1, work on that page until you have it down at a slow tempo, then add another page and so on.
Don't jump from page 1 to page 30 or that will confuse you as most books are arranged in a certain order and you need to do page 1 before page 2 and so on.
|
NoteNut says:
2/1/2011 12:52:54 PM
lg9455 and Texasbanjo thank you for the great ideas. I will certainly give them a try. A few more questions though:
1) Is there any specific XXX that should be mastered first, then second, etc.... ((For XXX substitute in -- a) Rolls, b) licks, c)chord shapes))
2) Any particular beginner book or DVD/book that is recommended?
Any more details would be greatly appreciated.
|
lg9455 says:
2/1/2011 12:58:01 PM
I'm going to leave this one to you Texasbanjo.
|
| Texasbanjo says:
2/1/2011 1:56:38 PM
#1. I'd start out learning the three easy chords: open G (no brainer there), C and D7. These 3 chords will get you on your way to learning easy songs.
Next I'd work on rolls, forward, square, reverse. These rolls will be used all the time when you're playing instrumentals or songs.
Lastly, I'd work on licks. Licks are great to learn, however, you also need to learn where to use them. They can't just be plugged in anywhere in a song. There are specific licks for song endings or breaks where a singer takes a breath and these are great to learn because you'll use them in lots of songs.
After you learn these 3 things, then I'd work on 4-finger chord shapes. There are 3 chord shapes for major chords, 3 for minor chords and 3 for 7th chords and a few "oddball" chords that fit into the last 2 categories. Chord shapes will get you all over the neck and help you when you're learning backup. (I'm sure someone will let me know that there are several other chord shapes and I'm aware of that, but think it would confuse beginners if I started naming them all.
As far as substituting one thing for another, there are many licks that can be substituted for a roll, but you need to know when to use a lick and when to use a roll -- that comes with practice and experence and trial and error.
2. There are many excellent beginner books/CD/DVDs out there. When I started many years ago, I used Jack Hatfield's Beginning Bluegrass Banjo Books 1 and 2 with cassette (yes, it was that long ago. Janet Davis is also a very excellent and prolific author of banjo books and I also have several of hers. Alan Munde also has a couple of excellent beginner books as does Eddie Collins, Tony Trischka, and many others.
If you wish to learn without tab, Murphy Henry has a number of videos/DVDs that people say are excellent.
Does that answer your 3 questions? Did I give enough information, too much, not enough? Let me know.
|
NoteNut says:
2/1/2011 2:56:45 PM
Fantastic! Looks like a good way to start but I am sure I will have more questions as I pick my way thru it. Thanks for your advice!
|
 | donmullins says:
2/2/2011 5:30:45 PM
NoteNut,
You may find this thread interesting. Very informative discussion.
(banjohangout.org/topic/189772/1)
|
NoteNut says:
2/2/2011 7:57:40 PM
Wow, what a thread. I especially liked reading Pete Wernick explain how he teaches. Thanks for the pointer donmullins!
|
chuckbiscuit says:
6/12/2011 10:07:46 AM
Hi: Been playing about 3 yrs, and am fairly satisfyied with my progress. Have been playing with a friend (pretty good guitar player) and have been trying to find banjo tab for "Standing on the Rock", by Oz.Mtn.DD. Cant find any but this should be an easy tune to back up his guitar????? great site, just found it.
|
| Texasbanjo says:
6/12/2011 1:09:11 PM
I'm not familiar with the tune, but if you'll post your request on the Tablature Forum, you might find someone who has the tab or would tab it out for you.
If you're wanting to just do backup, all you need are the chords and then figure out a backup.
If you know the tune, maybe you can pick out just the melody and then put some rolls, slides, hammers, etc. around the melody and have your own version.
|
Post a Comment
|
You must be logged in and a member of this group to post a comment.
|
