Hi Ryan

I’m really enjoying the site – you have a very good teaching style and even in a week I’ve progressed. My wife came into the kitchen tonight when I was practicing rolls and thought I had a CD on! She couldn’t believe how much I have improved already.

1. Is there an exercise for the left hand – moving from one cord to the next to help get that in my head/fingers?

2. Is there a way of muting the banjo so I can play when the kids are in bed?

Cheers

Damian

Answer:

Hi Ryan,

I just signed up for the lifetime membership and I think I am going to get a lot of info from this site. I found out about your site while Googling for info on removing the finish from my banjo’s neck. I own a Deering Saratoga Star and I find that with a bit fatter neck, it also is more sticky; my hands tend to be wet versus dry.

As far as experience, I have been playing for about 4 1/2 years. I stopped for two years and started back up again about 5 months ago.

Let me know what you think of my playing with any constructive criticism would be appreciated…

First of all I just want to thank Martin for being humble enough to ask for some constructive criticism. I’m sure we all (myself included) could take a very valuable lesson from Martin.

Here is his audio clip. I encourage you to comment at the end of the post with your own remarks.

Answer:

Martin,

Hello, I’ve listened to your audio clip and it seems like you have worked very hard on obtaining a smooth and timely roll. Your timing sounds great and your transitions between different chord positions are very smooth.

I would work towards a more dynamic sound (volume shifts in the music) with this song. This is the perfect tune to add some more feeling too. Try to make it sound more like an emotional communication (you choose the fitting emotion).

People respond well to a piece of music that relates to them. They like to hear something that pulls or twists their emotions. It will lead them to want more of your music.

Try emphasizing the higher pitched notes and relax back off of the lower register notes. These little details will add a whole new dimension to your playing and people will love it.

Just a quick question: How did you record this clip, transfer it to your computer and then ultimately email it? I’m sure others would be interested to hear how it’s done.

Thanks,
Ryan

Ryan,

Thanks for your feedback – I agree, it is time to start working on adding feeling to my music.

What I use is a digital MP3 recorder. I recently went to a private lesson with Alan Munde and did not have one. Another banjo buddy of mine strongly suggested that I get one. The one that I purchased doubles as a thumb drive. Mine is about twice the size of a normal thumbdrive and easily fits in my front shirt pocket.

The one I have has 1gb of memory – that is days of recording. It can record at slow speed for longer playing, or at higher speed for better sound resolution. I purchased mine for $99.00. Depending on the name brand and amount of memory and features, they can go up to over $200.00.

The other great feature is that it has a play back feature at reduced speed without pitch differentials. This is great if you want to pick apart a really fast banjo lick to add to your armament.

Using this device is a breeze. I plug it into the USB port on my computer, it automatically recognizes my recorder as a thumbdrive/storage device, and from there, I am able to easily attach files to emails.

These devices are great for banjo workshops, recording your private lessons with instructors and for recording your practice sessions. Recording practice sessions allows you to not only analyze what you want to improve on, but is a great measure for progress.

You’d be surprised what improvement 3 months makes if you are playing every day. This is encouraging whenever you get the feeling that your music is not coming along quick enough – this happens to all of us! Of course, this is just my opinion, but I hope it is helpful.

BTW – I also do some cool things with my iPod – using shareware, I can convert YouTube to play on my iPod with video. I have the Classic iPod with 80gb.

Martin

What do you think of Martin’s version of Molly Bloom?

Do you have some advice on how to share audio clips via the internet?

In this lesson you’ll learn:

1. The Haunting Bend!
2. The Slow Slide
3. 2 & 1 Pinch
4. Very Cool Ending for Amazing Grace.

Hello, in this lesson we’re going to go over the melody for Amazing Grace. Very simple, yet very powerful part of this song.

See you there!

In this video you will learn how to practice with a metronome along with a little timing secret that you need to know!

Hello, in this lesson you’ll learn an advanced bend on the 1st string and also learn some ultimate beginner banjo chording techniques. The advanced part is the fist half of the vid and the beginner chording is the second part.

I probably should have split this lesson into two separate weeks but thought you might like a jam packed video with lots of info. Enjoy!

This is the 3rd part of the Right Hand Techniques series. We’re going to go over the alternating and backward rolls. In the next lesson we’ll be covering a Power Roll that I created to help you make the connection between mind and right hand in order to make the melody line stand out.

Practicing your alternating and backward rolls will advance you quickly in your playing.

In this video we discover a new exercise to help you develop a stronger and more consistent right hand in your banjo playing.

The fact is that you have to build a strong consistent right hand if you want to add some drive to your picking. In this four part lesson series we’re going to discuss several very powerful techniques that will get you on the right track to becoming a hard driving banjo player.

To many this can be very mysterious and difficult, but when you break it down in to practical exercises that you can practice as a beginner it becomes very digestible and suprisingly easy to learn.

Join me this month as we dive into the complexities of the picking hand. You’re going to learn some very valuable techniques and practice drills that will clean up and straighten out your picking hand.

I guarantee that you won’t find these secrets anywhere else! I’m going to reveal some of the real hard-core banjo tips.

If you’re not yet a member on the site, sign up now. This will be a great lesson series!

Check out our 4 part lesson on Old Joe Clark. In this post you will find the first three videos plus the tablature to the “A” part. We will post the final lesson later this week along with the tab for the “B” part.

Click here to download the tab for the “A” part.

Enjoy!

In this video lesson we’re diving into “Down the Road”. This is a very cool banjo tune that demonstrates a lot of drive. If you want to learn how to play with drive in your picking then this is the one to learn. Simple tune; however, when played with solid rolls will sound like magic.

Enjoy this hot member’s video. If you’re not yet a member click here to get started.

Hello, if you’ve recorded a banjo tune and would like to have it featured right here on banjoexpert.com then send send me an email at ryan@banjoexpert.com.

I’m would like to add some of our students picking to the site this year. I would be great to hear what songs your working on and how you and your band are sounding.

Send us a recording and we’ll air it on the podcast!

Thanks,
Ryan

Today we’re going to jump into a fun bluesy lick on the banjo. If you’re an absolute beginner watch the video and see what you think.

I would encourage you to take a stab at it. See if you can get through the notes. If you do, you’ll end up with a really cool lick under your belt.

If you’re an advanced banjo picker this ones for you. I get several requests for bluesy banjo licks so here’s a good one.

Let me know what you think!

There seems to be a common theme with new pickers not wanting to relax their right hand while picking the banjo.

Stop stretching so much

This can be corrected very quickly. New pickers tend to keep their right hand perfectly still while reaching or stretching for the strings with their fingers. It’s almost as though we’re stretching our picking fingers to the limit to pick the strings when it’s simply not necessary.

What’s the right way?

When your picking with your right hand let it move freely up and down in a rocking motion. Don’t keep your hand in one spot with a vengeance. Let your hand move. You will still need an anchor point with your pinky, ring finger, or both; however, your hand should still be able to compliment your picking fingers.

When you reach up for the fifth string with your thumb, your hand should fade upward and then back down after the string has been picked.

It’s almost as though your picking with the motion of a guitar player’s hand. When your picks are picking upward the base of your hand should be moving upward to help give your fingers some extra power.

When your making a downward stroke with your thumb pick then your hand should be moving slightly downward to relieve some of the movement of your thumb.

Sum it up

In conclusion, the idea is that your picking hand follows the movements of your picking fingers. Don’t keep it stuck in one place. Give it the freedom to move and minimize the stretching and reaching of your thumb, index, and middle finger.

Try it out. You’ll soon notice that your right hand is more relaxed and your playing speed has increased with a smooth texture.

What does your right hand want to do? Are you a floater or a rigid picker?

Leave your comments below.

Click here to get the free tab to this song in tabledit format

1. The first kick will be based off of the fourth string sliding up to the 5th fret.

2. The second kick will start with a slide on the third string and end with a 4th string slide.

3. Lastly will do a pinch kick-off. This is one that you need to know.

What are your favorite kick offs?

Learning to read tablature will open up a new world to your banjo playing. If you’ve never really grasped the concept of reading from tablature stay tuned for our “how to read tabs” video. I’m getting ready to record a screen shot video of some banjo tab in tabledit software.

I sat down with our mystery student yesterday and one of his first questions to me was about tablature. I immediately realized that this would be the perfect starting point for beginning banjo students. If you can read tab then your on your way to teaching yourself the banjo!

We’ll start with quarter notes, and then progress to how to determine where your hand goes on the neck of the banjo. Reading tablature will really speed up the learning process for you and help you to learn some new songs very quickly.

The beauty of tabs is that you can immediately see what someone else is playing. There’s no more doubting whether or not you’ve got the right lick. Keep you’re eye on the blog for this video.

Ok, here’s the ending we’ve all been waiting for. You’re really gonna like this one. This is an ending that you can use in many bluegrass songs.

It starts off with a pinch slide and ends with a cool alternative D7 ending.

Let me know what you think of it. Have a great week. Remember, I’ll be posting the tab for this song soon.

Let’s jump right in to the fast part of dueling banjos. If you’re a beginner don’t let this part intimidate you. It will seem difficult at first; however you must work through all of the licks.

This song has some outstanding licks in it that we can use in many songs. When you’ve got this one under your belt you have a whole new bag of licks.

I’m going to put together the tab to this song and upload it this week so that you can work through it one lick at a time. What a great tune, and popular to boot.

Give me your thoughts! If you’ve got some ideas or extras please post them in the comment section. We want to know the little nuances that you have to this tune.