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Walked posted:Just started bluegrass guitar and banjo with an instructor. For banjo make sure you put the large majority of your time into backup. I, like many others, spent a lot of my first year working on lead breaks from videos and tab. I ended up with some good sounding solos but when I went to my first few jams I found that I couldn't keep up with the chord changes as I'd neglected backup so much. Also even if a song came up that I knew, the timing would be slightly different or it'd be played in a different key so my well rehearsed solo was rendered more-or-less useless. In the past couple of months I switched to a new teacher and really focused on backup. I've become much more confident on chord progressions, playing in different keys (nothing fancy but enough to play something at least), and playing all around the neck in all different positions. Definitely do backup from the start. You can make it sound very cool once you get past the initial basic vamping stage and you'll get a much better understanding of how the songs actually work. If you're in need of material there are a ton of backup DVDs out there (I've got Murphy Henry's) or for free search the banjohangout.org music section for what people have uploaded and use a slowdowner program as previously mentioned to change the songs to a comfortable pace. I'm still very much a beginner but thought that might be helpful.
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Jan 26, 2012 11:20
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The Aphasian posted:I just bought a cheapie beginner banjo after wanting one for almost 5 years. If I stick with it for two years I'll reward myself with a better model. I planned on waiting a year to upgrade and lasted about four months. There's a world of difference between a cheap beginners banjo and something more mid-range. Hope you stick with it. I found proper calluses took a long time to come through when I started. First it was just fairly painfulI, then very visible calluses, and then eventually my finger tips looked normal but the skin is tough. I'd say rest them as it can't hurt to do so especially as you'll probably need to build up finger strength as well. Dr. Gene Dango MD posted:I restrung my banjo the other week and the metal piece at the bottom that adds tension to the strings is a little higher up than before. When I tune everything is fine but I'm worried that this might be changing the sound a little. Here's a picture to explain what I mean http://imgur.com/oHxdBht. I take Skype lessons occasionally from John Boulding who has an excellent ever-expanding set of YouTube videos linked to at http://www.jsutergraphix.com/LOTW/ Give the section on chords a look. Found his stuff extremely helpful over the last couple of years of playing. Not sure what banjo you've got but on my Goodtime there's a nut that can be tightened or loosened to move the tailpiece. It will definitely change the sound as you're exerting more or less down force. In theory if it's set higher you'll get a slightly softer sound and lower more tight and punchy. Should be plenty of tutorial videos around if you search for banjo tailpiece setup.
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Apr 10, 2013 21:19
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citarl posted:How often do banjo strings need to be changed? The Deering manual says they should be changed every six weeks if played regularly, but that seems like a lot. I got a Goodtime for Christmas, if i change the strings now would it make a difference? I change them about once every six months. It generally only needs doing when you find that they retuning more often than usual. A new set will also sound a bit brighter which can be nice. It also depends how hard you play as to how long they'll last. As a set is relatively cheap, it's worth trying out different brands and gauges if possible. I've just changed from using D'Addario medium-lights to a set of GHS 135 (lights) and find them much better for how I play.
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Jun 2, 2013 12:33
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JBP posted:Is there any risk buying second hand? Probably not. They're pretty hardy instruments. As long as there isn't obvious damage (cracks etc.). Check the neck is straight and nothing looks warped or bent, nothing rattles and the head feels uniformly tight when you press on it with your thumb. It's generally easy to make minor adjustments for string height etc. if needed. Plenty of YouTube videos on banjo maintenance. Hopefully it's a legitimate sale. If you'll be buying it in person, you can always ask the seller to play it in front of you briefly just to check everything sounds like a normal banjo. If you take an electronic tuner, you can do a quick basic check of the harmonics by checking that the note you get for each string at the 12th fret registers the same (or pretty close) as the note when you play the same string open.
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Dec 10, 2017 21:12
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