banjoblogger.com

In my quest to improve this site, I have updated the list of categories to make it easier to access the growing banjo resources.

To make it easy to navigate this site just click on the category that you are interested in and start reading, listening and learning. For example , click on Banjo Tips and Tricks and you will be greeted with a post on Noodling, followed by an article on banjo straps, and so on.

If you would like to buy banjo strings click on Buy Banjos and Banjo stuff - the information about strings and links to purchase directly from Amazon.com are right there (The Best Banjo Strings). Don’t forget to search for the information you want - search banjo strings and you’ll get there as well.

There is a post that lists some great banjo books: go to Buy Banjos and Banjo stuff and the third post down is an article with a great list of top notch books: Ten Great Books to Learn to Play the Banjo.

Looking for the Earl Scruggs Book that everyone is talking about, click on the picture and BUY IT RIGHT NOW:

Spend some time looking around, there’s a lot of information on this site - something might catch your attention and take you to a higher level with your banjo. I appreciate your support and tell your friends about http://banjoblogger.com .

Popularity: 30% [?]

There are a lot of great websites that have to do with the five string banjo, so many that it is almost overwhelming. I thought I would help to simplify and create a top ten list of banjo sites. I wanted to make sure I had a good list, so I posted a call for input on the banjo hangout website forums. If you don’t already know, The Banjo Hangout is an excellent website and is highly recommended. The Banjo Hangout has TABS, lessons, forums, reviews, links and pretty well anything that relates to banjos; making the Hangout number one on the list. If you have any sites you think are worth listing let me know and I will check them out. Here it is the 2008 Top Ten Banjo Sites, by the Banjoblogger.

1. The Banjo Hangout - The best banjo resource on the net.
2. drbanjo.com - Pete Wernick’s site.
3. Banjo Newsletter - A great source of banjo information.
4. Janet Davis Music - A huge selection of banjo stuff
5. The Music Moose - Forums, lessons, video and more.
6. Bluegrassbanjo.com - This site will keep you busy.
7. Dr. Horsehair - History of the banjo - very cool.
8. Banjo Hollow - A well designed site.
9. Uncle Ben’s Banjo Homepage - Learn to play clawhammer - great audio and diagrams.
10. ezFolk - Another fantastic resource to learn the banjo.
11. I know - this list goes to eleven - but I have to include this one - Paul Hawthorne’s Web Site - You’ll go back time and time again, he was an amazing person.

You will probably disagree with some of these choices, but you’ll have to admit that these sites have a lot to offer.

Popularity: 41% [?]

iPod - what a strange word. Should I have capitalized iPod? - or is that just bad form. Well, I have just joined the ranks of the headphoned masses - a sleek little iPod is at my fingertips.

Last year I entered the world of listening to music on my computer - I transfered some music onto my notebook and used it to learn a couple of songs. Soon I was hooked on the ease of use, wow, I can find a song without a major ordeal. I have come to the realization that Compact Discs are on the way out and the new media is digital. It seeems unreal to me that my CD collection can be loaded onto a hard drive the size of a pack of cigarettes with room to spare. Time to put some music on my new machine…

I only have one song on my iPod so far - Janet Beazley’s - Run Away, Sally Ann. Janet Beazley is a fantastic banjo player and this song is a great showcase for her vocals as well. I discovered this song on my favorite bluegrass station and mentioned it to a fellow bluegrass fan. To my surprise, he had a copy of the CD already, and it was signed by Janet herself. So much for my discovery, but I still really like this song and will give it some company on my iPod soon.

Surfing the internet for a little more information, I found some sites of interest:

• http://cdbaby.com/cd/janetbeazley

• http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1197/is_1_50/ai_n16108311
  

• http://www.usc.edu/schools/music/private/faculty/jbeazley.php

Have a listen to this song and explore some of Janet`s music - you won`t be disappointed.

Popularity: 32% [?]

I’m sure that almost every banjo player has learned a song from tablature or TAB as it is commonly known. Although tablature gives you all the notes in a song, it doesn’t give you the feel. The biggest difference between a great banjo player and a good banjo player is that hard to describe aspect, known as feel. In this post I will give you some tips to help you avoid some of the pitfalls of TAB.

The first thing you have to know when you are learning a song is a big one - you have to know the song, inside and out. I know what you are thinking, of course I know the song, but do you REALLY know the song. Listen to your new song over and over, until you are extremely familiar with it, so familiar that you can’t get this song out of your mind. You’d be surprised to know how many people try to learn a song by guesswork - because if you don’t REALLY know your song, that is what you are doing.

Now that you know what you are trying to learn, let’s get started with the banjo. I will assume that you have an accurate TAB, as not all TABs are created equal. Be careful, some TABs are wrong and you don’t want to waste time learning a song the wrong way. Take a good look at your TAB and try playing the first measure, work through it one note at a time. You don’t have to learn the song in one day, so take your time and advance at a comfortable speed.

Once you have a few measures worked out and can play them from memory, it’s time to play along with the music. Strap on your banjo, slip on your picks and crank up the stereo and you’re ready to show your stuff. This is the moment of truth, if what you are playing fits in - great, you are on the right track. If you aren’t fitting in, don’t worry, you’ll just have to go back and find out what isn’t working and make some corrections. The first step is to be certain that your first note is correct - just play the first note and listen carefully to the recording. If the first note is right move onto the next, being careful that your timing is accurate too.

It’s that simple - just keep adding one note at a time, check your timing and play along with a recording to be sure you have it down. Keep in mind that practice is the time to make mistakes, you are learning and making mistakes is part of the process. Don’t be too hard on yourself and feel good about the things you are doing right, too many people just focus on mistakes and forget about the positives. TABs can be an important tool to help you learn, but don’t rely on TABs alone - use all the resources available to help you be a better banjo player.

Popularity: 41% [?]

This post was going to be easy, or so I thought, the top ten banjo songs - simple, get a pen and start writing them down. What makes them the top ten? Is it the most requested song, the most recognized, my favorite?, I don’t know. This list is a combination of two criteria : Number One - It has to be a good banjo song -Players and listeners alike have an appreciation for these songs. Number Two - How well is the song known. This list has to have songs that are familiar to most people. This top ten is a solid list of songs that are appreciated by listeners and at the same time,are fun to perform as a banjo player. Go to a bluegrass jam, you’ll hear a few from this list.

Enough criteria and justification: Here it is Banjoblogger’s Top Ten Bluegrass Banjo Songs:

1. Foggy Mountain Breakdown - People love to hear this one.
2. Cripple Creek - Defines the banjo sound to some people.
3. Ballad of Jed Clampett - Brought bluegrass to a wider audience.
4. Clinch Mountain Backstep - Ralph Stanley - Cool and fun to play.
5. Wildwood Flower - Listeners favorite.
6. Flint Hill Special - Players favorite.
7. Blackberry Blossom - Melodic style is neat on this song.
8. Lonesome Road Blues - Bill Monroe version is amazing.
9. Will the Circle Be Unbroken - Good sing-a-long.
10. I’ll fly away - Everyone knows this song.

There it is - My Top Ten. I’m sure there ’s a few songs that should have been on the list and a couple that some of you would take off, but this is the best I can do. Oh, by the way, Please help support the Banjoblogger and buy me a beer - check out the left sidebar. Thanks for visiting Banjoblogger.com, Happy New Year 2008.

Popularity: 48% [?]

Who invented the three finger picking style for the five string banjo? Most people would say Earl Scruggs, although he was not the first person to play that style. What makes Earl Scruggs stand out is that he not only played with three fingers but he had a different approach to the banjo. Scruggs-style banjo is more than just a three finger finger picking style - it is a unique aproach to playing the banjo.

In the area of North Carolina that Earl grew up in, the banjo was being picked with three fingers by many banjo players. Earl became very proficient and began playing at dances, developing and perfecting his banjo technique. Soon people were talking about Earl’s banjo playing and his reputation started to grow.

Earl Scruggs and Marty Stuart

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 79% [?]

Whether you are playing in a band or jamming with a friend - you have to know how to fit in with the music. The first and most important thing to know is simple: You are not the only instrument in the band.

When we learn songs, we are very focused on ourselves - We are thinking about the song structure, the chords, the vocals, playing more consistently and probably a few more things. While concentrating on what we are playing is very important, when you are in a group, you have to worry about the other instruments, including the vocals. So, how do you know how to fit in? In a group, you will have different roles depending on the situation.

To give you a good idea of how this works, I’ll use the group that I play with as an example. In my situation, we have three instruments - banjo, guitar and mandolin. If I am singing, I will play a simpler banjo part than if I am not singing. It is easier to sing and play if the banjo part is less complex. The next situation you will encounter is playing leads and backups.

When I am playing a break or lead on the banjo, the guitar and mandolin play a backup role. This backup role can vary, but usually they play a simple part that doesn’t interfere with the banjo. When the mandolin and guitar take lead breaks, the banjo backs off and covers the backup role. Switching from a break to back up takes practice, especially if you want to do it well. You can play backup a lot of different ways, but the main thing to remember is not to over play - backup keeps the rhythm of the song without competing with the lead.

Here are a few rules for jamming or playing in a group:

• Be in tune.

• Have fun.

• You don’t have to play all the time.

• Don’t play a break over top of the vocals.

• If you can’t hear the lead or vocals you are too loud.

• Have fun

• If you can’t hear yourself you are to quiet.

• Music is not a competition - Do what you need to do to make the group sound better.

• You are NOT the only instrument in the group.

• Have fun

Popularity: 38% [?]