For/to help beginners/improvers indulging in deliberate practice to improve their banjo playing. An open group.

88 Members, Created 11/6/2017 -

Administrators: AndyW (owner) , Boadicea , WayneConrad

From 'Reflective Practice' Forum Post

From AndyW on 11/16/2017 1:05:18 AM

Posted by Richard Badowski

somehow ,practice seems to be a bad word. playing banjo is so enjoyable,practice is the way we get where we want to go. sharing the words of someone who "knows the 5",here is the text from the 1890 tutorial "The National School for the Banjo" by Alfred A Farland. Guide To Practice: Fixed hours should be appointed for practice when possible, and those who expect to make anything like rapid progress should practice at LEAST two hours per day,devoting (when sufficiently advanced ) the first portion of every hour to scales,exercises and etudes. Those who do this will make more progress in one month than can be made in six by those who do not. Practice Very slowly at first, and when a passage is played correctly, increase the speed to the desired degree. If a mistake is made do NOT pass on, but recommence the passage, and continue doing so until it can be played correctly throughout. If one, or more measures are found more difficult than the rest, practice THEM until they can be readily executed, after which practice the whole passage. Do not expect your teacher to give you something new at every lesson, unless you can play the previous one correctly and quite rapidly, and bear in mind that NO PIECE OR PASSAGE IS PLAYED CORRECTLY UNTIL, NOT A WRONG FINGER IS USED,NOT A WRONG STRING IS STRUCK,NOT A FINGER UP WHEN IT SHOULD BE DOWN(THIS REFERS TO SLIDING A FINGER OF THE LEFT HAND FROM ONE FRET TO ANOTHER), THE HANDS HELD IN A PROPER POSITION,EVERY NOTE PLAYED CLEARLY AND DISTINCTLY,AND THE PIECE OR PASSAGE PLAYED IN PROPORTION THROUGHOUT. NO piece should be considered sufficiently practiced which cannot be played at least 8 or 10 times in succession without an error, and even when this can be accomplished, MORE practice is necessary in order to acquire more finish in the manner of executing it.If, on resuming the practice of it on another occasion, it should be incorrect,( as will frequently be the case), it should be practiced over and over again until it can be with a certainty played correctly. In a word-Practice Until Perfect.

2 Comments
Deleteme says: 11/16/2017 6:04:16 AM This is good stuff! Link for it?
	AndyW says: 11/16/2017 6:12:13 AM It's already linked as part of the 'reflective practice' forum post.
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