Hi! I've been playing for perhaps 2.5 months now. I'm one of those old(ish) folks just starting out without the benefit of experience, talent or ability but am finding myself obsessed with the whole thing. I've joined this group with the goal of finding other like-minded folks. Can play my way through four songs (boil, hollow, cripple, Cumberland) I learned from watching Murphy Henry, but can't play any of them well. I've just started working on chord shapes (omy, it seems like that D is impossible ... Really?) and a tiny touch of theory. Just wanted to introduce myself and say Hello.
12 Comments |
MistiAnn says:
8/1/2014 1:17:16 PM
Welcome Keithurk! I've got just under 3 months of experience myself. I have only been working on rolls (and timing them to a metronome) and chords. I've been reading about banjo music theory in the evenings when I'm not practicing. I can SLOWLY play Boil Dem, but am not trying to get caught up on learning songs just yet. Really glad to see another "true" newbie haha!
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 | Rawhide Creek says:
8/1/2014 1:24:12 PM
A lot of the beginning stuff seems like a PITA . . . because it is.
You'll get lots of suggestions, but mine is take one of your four and play nothing else until you think you're going to vomit if you hear it again. Then play it some more.
Then do the same with the others.
You WILL get better, I promise. It just takes time.
I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but I've posted a couple of tabs, one for "Arkansas Traveler" and one for "Bile 'Em Cabbage Down", that may help you.
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 | roadstar75 says:
8/1/2014 4:57:57 PM
Sounds exactly like my comments a few months back. Experience, talent or ability don't seem to matter as much as persistence. I like Rawhidecreek idea of hammering on one tune until it becomes sick of it. have to give that a try.
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 | TKarrow says:
8/1/2014 7:10:59 PM
After 2 years, I still have 4 or 5 songs I'm working on pretty much every day.. Yup, I'm sick of them but I play em over and over and over.. I switched to nylon strings so it's not so loud and doesn't bother my wife so much..
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 | banjonewbie58 says:
8/5/2014 6:47:41 PM
welcome! I, too, have a hell of a time to get that D chord right. And I am playing Cripple Creek over...and over....and over...again.
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 | kalstras says:
8/8/2014 2:30:33 PM
Hi and welcome. I totally hammer Boil'em Cabbage and am just getting Cripple Creek down to where I can play it ok without looking at the tabs. I try to keep a list of songs (2 lmao) that I know then work on a new one. I wouldn't know what to do if I was working on so many at the same time? Good luck and record yourself often, it's amazing to hear your progress (weekly at first)
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 | kelthurk says:
8/9/2014 9:26:02 AM
Thanks for the greetings everyone! This site and its members have really been an invaluable resource to me as I start this journey, and I can only imagine that I'll utilize it (you!) even more as time goes by. I appreciate all the tips and suggestions, as it mostly reinforces what I'm already doing and believe me I can use the validation! I *have* just been playing my songs over and over and over and over, and @rawhide i *DO* think if I hear Banjo in the Hollow again I WILL vomit, and my husband won't be able to help me 'cause he's heard it more than 1,000 times, too! HOWEVER! it does get just a little better every time I play, just a tiny bit. And my fingers get just a little more solid and a little more clean. Someday I'll nail that D shape, I just know it!
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rgoad says:
9/28/2014 6:10:25 PM
Stay persistent and make sure you have fun. It is a study in contrasts for sure. Have fun, but challenge your comfort levels. Be creative, but try to copy the techniques of the masters. Don't get in a rut, but exercise discipline and consistency. Make sure you make a self assessment about how you learn best and work to put yourself in that situation, but don't resist situations that are different. For that last part I think it is important to find an instructor or pal who can teach YOUR way but you need to develop very broad tolerance for other player's way of doing things when you play with others.
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 | BoJack says:
10/16/2014 2:43:01 AM
At the end of each of your sessions relax and just play a song you like just for fun.
I refuse to play a song I don't like. Im not going to learn a song just cause others expect me to know it if I don't like it.
Im 70 years old and a beginner too but I insist it has to be fun. I spent too many years doing things I didn't like. Now my music hobby has to be fun orI just wont mess with it
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| roadstar75 says:
10/16/2014 1:21:33 PM
My teacher has me working on around 15-16 different tunes, some I like and some are never going to make the grade. I have more than enough different tunes to keep me busy for quite a while. Slowly seeing some improvement in speed but trying to iron out the smoothness, timing and reduce errors is still a challenge
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 | Stardust0262 says:
1/12/2015 3:22:17 AM
Hello to everyone in the group. New to picking my 5 string, only been going for about 10 weeks. Seems like everyone goes through exactly the same thing. I am getting on top of some 2 finger chords and slowly making ground with part B of Cripple Creek, but I guess my concert is some ways off. Nice to meet you all and hear of your experiences.
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| kelthurk says:
1/12/2015 7:14:32 AM
Hello Stardust and welcome to the group! Having travelled a little further down the road than you (7 months in) I CAN say that those chords and Cripple Creek DO come together, it's kind of amazing to me to watch myself do the same thing -- poorly -- over and over again until one time it actually comes out right! And then it comes out right another time, then another, then it's right more than it's wrong. What a process!!
BTW, you posted at the end of my introductory thread rather than your own individual intro. You might get more of a response (and more people see it) if you repost. Cheers, and welcome!
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