Man oh man

One might think I've been giving up on the ol' Banjournal, what with the infrequency of posts in the last week or two. The thing is, my trolley is totally been off the track, in terms of Banjohood. I've not practiced in a week. I had a 2 Major Banjo Events on monday and since then...absouletly nothing.

My life feels like it's going a little wonky at the moment, but The B shall be my Rock of Gibralter and keep me steady.

Steady now, The B. Steady.

And we continue...

155bpm tonight for about 45 minutes straight. Played my rolls, played the variations to the rolls (which were shakey at best, but it's okay, it's the first time I've played them) and played "Long Black Veil" for a while, using the alternating thumb roll. Good practice. The fingers on my right hand kind of tingle - I guess that means it's working.

badnews/goodnews

so, the bad news is i've been lax about practicing these past few days.

the good news is that i just quit my job in hopes of becoming a full-time banjo-playing nomad; to wander about these 50 states sharing peace, love, and songs about people's private parts.

Teach Yourself Light-Speed Banjo

The book that I'm learning banjo from (what with the previously mentioned Cartoon Douchebags on the cover) has a CD of all the songs in the book so that I can hear how they're supposed to sound, as opposed to how I'm playing them. And the nice lady on the CD plays the song nice and slow so I can hear every note she's playing and then she plays it again. REALLY fast. I'm not entirely sure if she expects me, the beginning banjoist, to play along at that speed. If so, I'm really going to have to change my current tactic of "go a little faster everyday" to "go as fast as you possibly can and then tomorrow, GO FASTER." Which is what I'm going to start doing.

Today, I hit my rolls at 145bpm. I had a few slip-ups, especially on the forward/backward roll and the alternating thumb roll, but it was overall pretty solid. We can do this. It's just Me and The B. The cartoon douchebags will not get the better of us.

Movie Review: Deliverance

The Good: The best banjo scene in a movie ever.
The Bad: I'd really really really rather not talk about that part.

i practiced...kinda...

So, this evening, i've gotten a little drunk and instead of practicing the usual rolls and such, i've been playing popular songs from the 80's, 90's and TODAY on the banjo, using the forward roll pattern that I've been working on, to the point where my right hand kind of burns. That's gotta be a good sign, right? No pain no gain...

Also, with all this bluegrass music I've been listening to, I've realized that not only are some of these banjo players picking faster than I can move, they're picking faster than I can think. I'm constantly two measures behind in trying to keep track of how they're doing it. It's amazing. and difficult. And I can't wait until I'm really good at it.

Obliquely Banjo Related...

So, since I've been playing the banjo, I've been listening to a lot of bluegrass. Which has led me to picking up my mandolin this morning. And I've been playing an uptempo version of The Long Black Veil for the last half-hour or so. Mayhaps I'll record it sometime over the next couple of days.

Let's Get Esoteric!

Here are three canadian artists who have used banjos:

• Neil Young
  
• Gordon Lightfoot*
  
• Moxy Früvous
  

*-Note: I actually don't know of any Gordon Lightfoot songs that utilize the banjo, but then again, I don't know too many Gordon Lightfoot songs. The thing is, if he hasn't ever used a banjo, he totally should. In addition to every other artist ever. Therefore he makes it onto the list.

Sunday Bending

Practiced my rolls @ 105bpm today. Something I've noticed yesterday and today - when the slightest pressure is put on the end of the neck of The B, it bends slightly out of tune. It's because usually in guitars/basses/banjos/whatever, there's a metal rod going all the way through the neck to keep it straight, called the Truss Rod. However, The B doesn't have a truss rod, being that it's on the low-end of the banjo spectrum. The thing is that even without a truss rod, I don't think it should be bending out as much as it does. Time to do a little legwork on it and find out if this is normal, i guess.

Also, in regards to the last entry, I forgot to add "Every other song with a banjo ever" to the list. That one should be on it, too.

Songs that are Awesome and that also have Banjos

• Bill Monroe - Molly & Tenbrooks (which is also known as The Racehorse Song)
  
• David Eugene Edwards - Wayfaring Stranger
  
• J.D. Crowe & The New South - Old Home Place
  
• Low & Dirty Three - Lordy
  
• Neil Young - For The Turnstiles
  
• Earl Scruggs - Foggy Mountain Breakdown

Morning

Today I did my rolls at 100bpm. Didn't practice yesterday because I had to head into work unexpectedly and then I had evening plans with brendan. Woke up early today to put a half hour in - I'm thinking I should make it a habit, like when I played the violin. I'm sure it's gonna grind on me sooner or later, but right now, whenever I finish practicing, i'd still be comfortable practicing more, but my hands aren't. A half-hour of picking seems to be the right amount at the moment.

In other news, there is something going on outside. Sounds like someone clanging a giant bell or something and it's been going on for five minutes. I'm assuming it's either someone calling the old-timey fire department or it's somehow related to greek orthodox people and easter.

The First Real Practice

Okay, so, i figured I'd done enough tapping on tables and I spent a half hour actually practicing the damn banjo. Spent 5 minutes doing each of the four major rolls (that is, eighth-note picking patterns) at 95bpm. Not super fast, of course, but I'm planning on increasing around 2bpm each day, so I figured I'd start slowly. There's no point in trying to do it fast if I can't do it right.

Oddly enough, the finger that feels like it got the most workout was my pinky - one that has absolutely nothing to do with picking. It spent its time (with my ring finger) planted on the head of the banjo. It kinda makes sense, though. It's the anchor for the whole operation.

Also, I just realized that the Head of a banjo is completely different from the Head of any other stringed instruement. Usually, the head is where the tuners are, but the head of a banjo is the head of the drum. The tuners are at the peghead. Banjos, therefore, have two heads - a big one and a little one. Guess banjo playing is manlier than I thought...

Movie Review: 300

So, I just watched 300 and it was really, really bad. There wasn't a SINGLE banjo in the entire movie! I know hollywood thinks that the kids like the blood and guts and boobs and stuff, but come on. Are we really so lost in America today that big-budget films are being released without any banjo content whatsoever? Disgusting. Just disgusting.

However, even if there HAD been at least a banjo or two in the movie, it still would have been awful. The only way I could possibly think of saving the film would to have included an army of anthropomorphic banjos that come in at the end and save the day. That would have been great.

by anonymous request...

here's a recording of Amazing Grace I made last week.

Consider it the "before" picture.

the point

A little introduction to this journal: I bought a banjo and I am going to learn how to pick hott shit. I've been playing music since I was 6, so I'm certainly not starting from square one, but I'm planning on learning how to play the banjo the way a banjo is meant to be played - crazy right-hand picking technique and all. It'd be really easy to take the "folk approach" and play it as if it were a guitar, but I'm actually looking forward to the many many months of practice that it'll take for me to sound halfway decent. And it'll be a lot more impressive when I become amazing at it, too.

So, I've had the banjo (or as I like to call it: "The B") for a week now. For the first few days, I just plunked around on it and recorded some songs for a friend. Nothing significant at all, really. Then, on Friday, made a decision on which style to learn. There are two major schools of banjo-playing: Clawhammer and Scruggs Style. My initial impulse was to learn Clawhammer (also known as "frailing") which is older, half-strum/half-pick way of playing, simply because it'd be easier and it's closer to what i know on guitar. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I would probably be better off learning Scruggs style (also known as "three-finger style.") It's the standard fast-picking arpeggio-based way of playing bluegrass banjo that everyone thinks of when they think Banjo, and I chose it for the same reasons I was thinking about playing Clawhammer - it's harder and it's a LOT different than how play the guitar. I'm in the mood for a challenge and I want to learn a completely new skill. So, on Saturday, i bought a book with a bunch of cartoon douchebags on the cover!



Exhibit A: Cartoon Douchebags

My dad reminded me about the Suzuki method when I first started playing the violin at age 6 - break the process down into its component parts. Only focus on one thing at a time. Then, once you're ready, bring it all together. I actually spent some time with a fake violin when I was just starting out - learning how to hold it and such. I told dad I'd start this one with a cookie tin attached to a broom handle, but oddly enough, i've been starting the process of learning the banjo without The B . I've been working on my right-hand fingering patterns at work, on the subway, at home, wherever. I'm trying to ingrain them into my mind so that they're second nature. Sooner or later, i'll start on them with The B in earnest, but for now, just tapping on tables seems to be a workout enough.

So, that's where I'm at. Working out my right hand. Hooray!

pick placement

correct

incorrect

very incorrect

First Post

As good of a place to start as any...