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dexter6 posted:So my first banjo will be delivered Friday and I was wondering what other accessories I might have to head to the music shop to buy. The banjo comes with a gig bag, but here's what I'm thinking: Picks are going to be personal preference like Captain Mediocre said. Try the nationals, but also you can try smaller picks too. I like the Snark tuners a lot. Get a Capo, you'll need one. A banjo specific capo. Get a stand too - its nice to not have to put your banjo in the case all the time.
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May 31, 2012 18:10
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Apologies banjo thread, but I know there's a high fiddler concentration here so I've got a fiddle question. I've been teaching myself to play for 6-7 months and I've hit that predictable slump. I have a few music books and I've burned through all the easy tunes, left only with stuff which is too facile and nursery rhyme-y to be interesting or which is beyond my capabilities. I was wondering if anyone could recommend me their favourite beginner/intermediate tunes? Fiddle Hangout also seems to have quite a sparse selection to fill this gap, but any recommendations from their tab archive would be appreciated too. I find the fact that I don't really have any background exposure to bluegrass means I can't just look up the 'classics', whatever they may be. also banjos banjos banjos
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Jun 2, 2012 11:50
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I'm not a fiddle player, but if you're looking for a list of fiddle tunes in bluegrass, that's easy. With that said, I don't know what's easy / intermediate, etc.
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Jun 2, 2012 20:24
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Planet X posted:I'm not a fiddle player, but if you're looking for a list of fiddle tunes in bluegrass, that's easy. With that said, I don't know what's easy / intermediate, etc. Heck yeah, if you just know some songs you like with good fiddle parts, that would give me something new to get interested in again. Appreciated.
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Jun 3, 2012 00:50
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http://www.harmonicatunes.com/bluegrass_repertoire.shtml I'd say: Blackberry Blossom Angelina Baker Orange Blossom Special (there are tutorials for this online) Roanoke (one of my favorites) Soldier's Joy Clinch Mtn Backstep
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Jun 4, 2012 04:18
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I think this is the prettiest banjo tune I've ever heard: http://youtu.be/5Jd51cRJmoo
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Jun 5, 2012 22:36
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I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for strings. I am a novice player with a deering goodtime that I've had for almost a year and I accidentally broke one of the strings. I was considering something like the aquila nylgut as well as traditional metal. Also if anyone has a good place to order from I would appreciate that as well.
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Jun 6, 2012 00:57
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Bubbacub posted:I think this is the prettiest banjo tune I've ever heard: That's a sweet version. I love Jason Burleson's playing on the Blue Highway version. He just plucks away on the rhythm, gives it an awesome deep south feel. http://youtu.be/neZ__QNglPM I got to see them play it last month. Holy crap what an amazing band. Probably the tightest band besides AKUS I've ever seen in any genre. I got to see three shows in two days and hang out with the band. To a bluegrass picker that's like being able to hang out with Metallica. Rob Ickes even gave me and my buddy a private show on my buddies new Dobro.
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Jun 17, 2012 04:06
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My teacher's told me that I've outgrown my current beginner banjo. I can't really justify dropping more than a few hundred at this point, so I'm hunting around for second-hand ones on Craigslist. These are the only two in Los Angeles right now in my price range: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/msg/3078252155.html http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/msg/3079509436.html Any thoughts/comments? Anything's probably a step up from the Epiphone MB-100 I have at the moment, right?
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Jun 18, 2012 19:54
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Hollis Brown posted:I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for strings. I am a novice player with a deering goodtime that I've had for almost a year and I accidentally broke one of the strings. I was considering something like the aquila nylgut as well as traditional metal. Also if anyone has a good place to order from I would appreciate that as well. Its personal preference, but just get lights, or maybe the JD Crowe GHS Medium-light set. If you want a bluegrass sound, get steel strings. Is there no music store close to you? Otherwise, any online music retailer or Amazon should do.
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Jun 18, 2012 21:05
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I just got my banjo along with the tab book for this song ( http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/t/video/steve-martin-great-remember-nancy-14692648 ) and obviously the hardest part is the right hand claw hammer. Any tips / tricks / videos for me to check out? I've been watching some of the claw hammer basics but Steve's technique seems to be a bit different from the bum-dity style I've seen. Or maybe I just don't get it. Any help in learning this would be greatly appreciated!
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Jun 21, 2012 02:03
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Any feedback on Republic Guitars' Unicone resonator?
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Jul 16, 2012 20:20
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I've been playing on a Dean 5-string banjo that my friend gave me awhile back and finally took it out to a folk jam here in Chicago to start branching out. Good experience, I definitely picked up a lot of tips in the 3 or so hours we were playing. On the downside, I absolutely have to buy a new banjo now. I knew it wasn't the best instrument but after hearing the other guys last night I'm heading to the store this afternoon to try some out. Anyone living in Chicago should head to this if you want to jam on some standards for three hours with 15 guys all older than your dad: http://www.folkjam.org/node/4476/repeatdetails
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Jul 17, 2012 17:44
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dexter6 posted:I just got my banjo along with the tab book for this song ( http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/t/video/steve-martin-great-remember-nancy-14692648 ) and obviously the hardest part is the right hand claw hammer. Did you get the hang of it yet? I figured out that with a mute, you can hear yourself scraping the head of the banjo with finger picks, so it's a good way to work on not doing that.
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Jul 17, 2012 22:50
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Captain Mediocre posted:I've been teaching myself to play for 6-7 months and I've hit that predictable slump. I have a few music books and I've burned through all the easy tunes, left only with stuff which is too facile and nursery rhyme-y to be interesting or which is beyond my capabilities. I was wondering if anyone could recommend me their favourite beginner/intermediate tunes? An old fart who's kinda sorta in his last throes is teaching me the fiddle. I've been learning for about the same time that you have (disregarding the hiatus due to me needing a new bow). The guy gave me a cd by Brian Wicklund that I've been playing along to. At these two links there are lists of songs that are cool to learn. Something that's really exciting is that the guy put some thought into arranging the songs and they slowing get more complicated and teach you things as you go along. I've been working on Country Waltz the past few days. Something that's made me completely ecstatic is how much money I've been able to make playing on the sidewalk playing those beginning songs. I've been playing the melody, singing a verse, playing the melody, singing the chorus, and so on. I've made so much more money (for time invested) doing that that I've ever made busking with my guitar. I'm hoping that I'll be able to travel with a fiddle and use it to pay my way, and I guess give away the money I don't need. I absolutely love bluegrass. The way that I was informally introduced to it was stumbling upon a The Bloodroots Barter. A weird series of events led to me being at their show on the night they happened to be passing through town. I fell in love. I have no idea exactly how many times I listened to the cd I bought that night, but it has to be over 100 times since November. This led me to going to a local bluegrass jam session that I'd been hearing about for years but I'd just never gone to it. I fell in love again. Hanging out with those old guys and playing music every week has given me something quite positive to do in a positive environment where people aren't playing the music for money or fame or popularity--we do it to have a little bit of fun every week. Before I went there I usually just played guitar, even though I know how to play drums, electric bass, piano, harmonica, and mandolin. The first few weeks I went, the guitar is what I played. I got up on that stand-up bass the moment that someone told me that the tuning of the strings were the same as the stand-up bass, though. The blisters were worth it and they always will be. These days I can even pick a little banjo because I've started giving pointers to my friend who's learning. My mind had an orgasm when I realized that the banjo is like the bottom five strings of a guitar with the A and E strings tuned down a step. I immediately tuned a guitar to open G and started playing it like a banjo. Ah, well, I'm starting to ramble and I have beer to drink. 5'd the thread. Keep bluegrass alive. Edit: I play a weird mix of clawhammer banjo and picking banjo. I play it like I play a guitar without a pick. Edit2: Learn your scales. Run your scales. gently caress around in your scales. Love your scales. Your scales need that lovin'. Alobar fucked around with this message at 02:31 on Jul 18, 2012 |
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Jul 18, 2012 02:24
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http://www.dogwork.com/blugrs9#.UAeyG9aV0tI Crosspost from the cute thread, I thought it was neat that this bird came in and chilled out on the back half of the bluegrass jam (bout halfway through)
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Aug 4, 2012 08:40
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Can anyone recommend some good banjo centric bluegrass?
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Aug 18, 2012 17:12
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I dunno if you've got Spotify but this track featuring Sam McGee and Arthur Smith always stood out to me for some reason, it's got a nice combination of a lead line and rhythmic arpeggiation on the banjo, and it's catchy as hell. http://open.spotify.com/track/7dCWoeHuIbrEKnMmNdijem
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Aug 18, 2012 22:20
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global tetrahedron posted:I dunno if you've got Spotify but this track featuring Sam McGee and Arthur Smith always stood out to me for some reason, it's got a nice combination of a lead line and rhythmic arpeggiation on the banjo, and it's catchy as hell. I do and I liked that, thanks.
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Aug 21, 2012 03:36
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Dr. Gene Dango MD posted:Can anyone recommend some good banjo centric bluegrass? Ooooh man. Anything with Jim Mills, dude digs in so hard and pulls ridiculous tones, my favourite banjo player by far. The whole Ricky Skaggs Bluegrass Rules album is banjo gold really https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVy8uf_TUjk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wejj8G9ZoXY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8bLjIMX3bE Steeldrivers have some great banjo breaks too, less traditional sound https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUw7do1XuDQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0bOI8ORYMU Aaaand one of my favourite Union Station songs - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9GvHSF0JYc Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver playing at warp speed, Terry Baucom tearing up the banjo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SU-s7VLCKk I could probably post a million more but I'll stop there
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Aug 27, 2012 05:49
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Super pissed. I've just started a new job, and my banjo teacher's been on at me to upgrade, so I ordered a shiny new Deering Eagle 2. It arrived today, and apparently Fedex gave it a few good solid whacks en route: ImDifferent fucked around with this message at 03:07 on Sep 23, 2012 |
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Sep 23, 2012 03:04
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ImDifferent posted:horror That's loving terrible. A plus is that Deering is really awesome about their customer service. If you hit them up, they should be able to get you squared away with no problem. Who did you order it through?
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Sep 26, 2012 20:24
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Loaf32 posted:That's loving terrible. A plus is that Deering is really awesome about their customer service. If you hit them up, they should be able to get you squared away with no problem. Who did you order it through? It's all resolved. The store I ordered from (The Banjo Hut) were cool about shipping a replacement straight away. So I have new Eagle 2! Super pleased with it so far. 
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Sep 30, 2012 23:49
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Good to hear that worked out. I've heard good things about the banjo hut, but never ordered anything from them.
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Oct 3, 2012 17:42
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It's a Canadian Thanksgiving miracle. My grandfather gave me his old Peerless banjo because he heard I picked up the guitar recently. I have no idea where to start. It's a five string, hasn't been tuned in twelve years and has a flimsy bridge. Do you guys have any tips? It came with finger picks, a key, and a capo. In other words, what the hell am I doing with an old and dusty banjo?
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Oct 9, 2012 05:49
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Have you played any stringed instruments before? If you know how to strum or fingerpick than you should either lean towards clawhammer or Scruggs first, depending on how hard you want to make things for yourself. Clawhammer is more of a strumming motion with individual notes being hit on the downstroke by either your index or middle finger. There'a a very distinct rhythm that goes along with it that makes it a nice choice when you are attempting to play a piece solo and still have it sound full. You can pick up the basics fairly quickly with clawhammer. The Scruggs style is fingerpicking with two metal fingerpicks and a thumb pick. You can get going pretty fast with either technique, but Scruggs is generally the type you hear on bluegrass recordings when the performer is really going to town. Pick one, buy a basic instructional guide, and then start playing along to songs as soon as possible. You should probably find a teacher for the first few months as well, mostly to insure that you are executing the technique correctly.
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Oct 9, 2012 17:59
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Oh, and buy vest + pocketwatch for good measure.
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Oct 9, 2012 18:00
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Bi-la kaifa posted:It's a Canadian Thanksgiving miracle. My grandfather gave me his old Peerless banjo because he heard I picked up the guitar recently. I have no idea where to start. It's a five string, hasn't been tuned in twelve years and has a flimsy bridge. Do you guys have any tips? It came with finger picks, a key, and a capo. In other words, what the hell am I doing with an old and dusty banjo? I'm jealous. Might be worth taking it to a shop to get it checked out? I imagine you'll need new strings and you might as well have someone look over it while you're there to see if it needs any work. A new bridge won't cost you much and it helps to have someone who knows what they're doing position it for you. As for playing the drat thing, just take a look back through the thread there's been some good advice in the past and plenty of links to learning resources(BanjoHangout is best).
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Oct 9, 2012 19:06
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I am thinking of buying a seeger banjo, I already have a piece of crap epiphone that I bought last year and have been playing pretty regularly and really enjoying myself but I would love to have the same type of banjo as my main man Pete Seeger. Is there anything special that will have to do in order to play that type of banjo? Where is the best place to get a long banjo from?
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Oct 11, 2012 22:29
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Miltank posted:I am thinking of buying a seeger banjo, I already have a piece of crap epiphone that I bought last year and have been playing pretty regularly and really enjoying myself but I would love to have the same type of banjo as my main man Pete Seeger. Is there anything special that will have to do in order to play that type of banjo? Where is the best place to get a long banjo from? Both Vega and Gibson made long-necks that were played by Mr. Seeger and these instruments can typically be found relatively cheap compared to their bluegrass cousins. Elderly and Gryphon Strings should have a decent online selection of vintage long-necks. If you want a new instrument I think Deering/Vega produces them and Gold Tone has a model as well. As always, also take a look on the Banjohangout classifieds. Playing is basically the same. The reason Pete Seeger played a long neck was so that he could get lower tones to match his voice. Instead of G major, the instrument is tuned to E major so all of your patterns transfer over in a different key. Put a capo on the third fret and you're back to G major.
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Oct 12, 2012 15:36
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Thanks, I always wondered what was up with the longer neck banjos.
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Oct 12, 2012 20:37
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8 months into the Banjo, really digging my new Deering! Another quick beer-and-bluegrass session: http://soundcloud.com/strags/shuckin-the-corn. Lots of dodgy notes, but hopefully getting better. Edit: cheers, whiggles! ImDifferent fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Oct 21, 2012 |
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Oct 20, 2012 20:32
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Can anyone suggest some simple songs to practice on Banjo? I'm having trouble with Cripple Creek and just practicing on Bile dem cabbage is frustrating. I read tabs for now.
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Oct 21, 2012 06:16
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Dr. Gene Dango MD posted:Can anyone suggest some simple songs to practice on Banjo? I'm having trouble with Cripple Creek and just practicing on Bile dem cabbage is frustrating. I read tabs for now. He Will Set Your Fields On Fire is one of my first ones, and I recommended it to someone else who seemed to enjoy it so have a look. Its also worth browsing through the beginner tabs on banjo hangout, there is loads of good stuff there.
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Oct 21, 2012 16:28
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ImDifferent posted:8 months into the Banjo, really digging my new Deering! Another quick beer-and-bluegrass session: http://soundcloud.com/strags/shuckin-the-corn. Lots of dodgy notes, but hopefully getting better. This sounds fantastic for 8 months in. I'm inspired to step it up, good show.
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Oct 21, 2012 18:33
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Captain Mediocre posted:He Will Set Your Fields On Fire is one of my first ones, and I recommended it to someone else who seemed to enjoy it so have a look. That looks like a great resource, thanks. Does anyone have any opinions on a good book or dvd or whatever to help? The one that came with my banjo is a bit light.
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Oct 21, 2012 21:26
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On the subject of recommended listening, I just came across The Brothers Comatose the other day and now won't shut up about them to anyone who'll listen. The Scout: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YzgQ4Ks4ZQ Dead Flowers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIFoqxzkFwA
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Oct 22, 2012 19:15
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I listen to a lot of Irish folk music, specifically the Dubliners. I am interested in learning the banjo, but I am struggling to decide between 4 string tenor and the five string banjo. Do you guys have any input on this matter? The GDAE stringing on the tenor makes it the same as a mandolin, which is another instrument that interests me.
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Oct 23, 2012 18:04
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I've always wanted to leanr to play the fiddle, and have been seriously contemplating picking one up. I know nothing about fiddles though, so whats a decent beginner fiddle?
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Oct 26, 2012 03:30
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 I have decided I would rather be Earl Scruggs over Barney McKenna. I guess I am going to buy a Deering Goodtime.
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Oct 27, 2012 04:36
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