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!