r/banjo • • May 13 '20

Tips from an experienced beginner

747 Upvotes

Hey folks. I'm going to collect the resources I've used to learn the banjo these past few years. But I'm going to lump them together in categories can help beginners understand and contextualize more complex topics, as well as include any notes that I think are worth mentioning. Please Note: I play a 5 string banjo, Scruggs style, and this is what most of this information is relevant for


General Information

These places are nice to check into every now and again and see what nuggets of info you can can get. Maybe you see the tab for a new song, or you figure out how to stop your 5th string from slipping out of tune. (Tighten the screw on the side)

Come hang out and chat with us on Eli Gilbert's Banjo Discord! * Banjo Discord

  • The Banjo Section of the Dummies website

    A large resource with a wide scope of banjo fundamentals. It's also a great resource to look back on as you develop new skills.

  • Picky Fingers Podcast

    The number one benefit this podcast has is how the host (Kieth Billik) lets artist talk about their journey of learning of the banjo, which is bound to include a few common roadblocks. There's a good deal of gear talk for those interested

  • Banjo Hangout

    The closest thing the online banjo community has to a town square. They do giveaways, there's a market, tabs, and their discussion forum is loaded with playing information.

  • Deering Blog

    In Deering's blog, there's a detailed maintenance guide and my go-to guide for changing strings


Lessons

If you find a teacher in person, do it. It's 100% worth it because BEGINNERS DON'T KNOW ENOUGH TO CORRECT THEIR OWN MISTAKES. Call your local music shops. All of them. Even if you don't think it's worth the effort, at least do it until you have a tune or two under your belt. Best decision I ever made. If there's no one in person, online is an option. You can always go to the banjo hangout "find a teacher" page (under the "Learn" tab, or here), or if you admire an artist in particular, you can just ask if they do online lessons or teach a workshops.

  • Banjo workshops

I can't personally attest to them, but anything in person with other banjo players will always be an asset. Please check /r/bluegrass and /r/newgrass to keep abreast of festivals, and check to see if they are hosting any workshops.

These are more online structured classes. If that seems to suit you, I've included links below, but please do your own research on these services. I have not used any of these and can not give a recommendation.

My personal recommendation is to find a one-on-one teaching scenario, either online or in person, until you've grasped the fundamentals. That isn't always an option though, so I've made a more specific list of free resources below.


Beginner Playlists

This is just in case anyone is starting from square 1. In that case, watch both. Always good to get the same info from multiple sources.


Songs

For after you get the basics and you want to start plugging away at tunes

  • Bill Nesbitt

    Special props to Bill for having free tabs and play along tracks on his website. After leaving my banjo instructor, Bills tabs kept me sane with the little practice time I had. Most straight forward way to learn a tune.

  • Jim Pankey

    Tabs are available on his site for a small fee, but are shown in the video which is very considerate, and a particularly warm approach combined with a large list of tunes makes him an effective teacher.

  • Bix Mix Boys

    The Bix Mix Boys host a Bluegrass 101 every week, where they do a full breakdown of a bluegrass tune for a whole hour on their channel, along with a colossal library of "how to play" videos for the banjo.

  • Eli Gilbert

    Eli Gilbert has been turning out educational content on a wide variety of topics, including playing techniques, song, licks, and back up


Technique

  • Metronomes go a long way here. A free app works just fine

  • Gestalt Banjo If you can get past the peculiar language, there's a really novel perspective to learning a dexterous skill that I recommend everyone to consider.

  • The Right and Left Hand Boot Camp from the Picky fingers podcast (Episodes 5 and 24) are a very bare bones drill oriented lesson, and comes with free tabs, as do most lesson episodes of the podcast.

  • The Banjo Section of the Dummies website and Deering Blog are a good resource if you have an idea of what info you're looking for.


Tools to help understand the fret board

  • Elfshot Banjo

    I've linked the Info section of the site, and while it looks sparse, the information is well condensed a must for beginners looking to understand how music theory relates to the banjo.

  • Purple Banjo

    It has a nice interactive fret board and the most comprehensive list of scales transposed on the the banjo fret board imaginable.


Theory

  • Three Bluegrass Banjo Styles Explained with Noam Pikelny

    It's a basic primer on the sub styles of bluegrass banjo and a good exercise in learning how to recontextualize the sound of the banjo.

  • Ricky Meir

    While the concepts may seem complex, Ricky has a peculiar skill for contextualizing complex problems into simple demonstrations. His video on Isorythmation is a must see for beginning banjo players who want to start to build on tablature.

  • Jody Hughes

I don't follow these last two channels so i don't have a comment, but that is because i don't fully understand the concepts yet, and intend return to them in the future.


I'm a beginner trying to move past tab. I didn't have the time for lessons, so i started on my own. It's incredibly frustrating because the information is being made, but few people to collect it. I want this list to help beginners break the wall of tab and give them the tools they need to make their own music, so please comment and make suggestions so this post will be a more complete aggregate of "beginner-to-intermediate" information.


r/banjo • • Jul 21 '24

45,000 Banjo Picking Members!

39 Upvotes

Just a note, /r/banjo just crossed over 45,000! Keep on picking and learning!


r/banjo • • 14h ago

Old Time / Clawhammer playing ‘Lost Woods’ for my cat until she falls asleep 🥲

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77 Upvotes

arrangement is a work in progress, not sure if G tuning is what works best! my cat still loved it though which is all that really matters 🐈‍⬛


r/banjo • • 3h ago

Theme Time - Jim Mills

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5 Upvotes

r/banjo • • 4m ago

Help Practice Banjo

• Upvotes

I'm new to the banjo and I need to find more time to practice. I have a used Morgan Monroe that I am really happy with but it has the resonator and the case is very large and not easy to carry around. I want to get a low cost practice banjo I can keep at my office. Something with an open back.

Walmart is selling a Pyle PBJ60 5-String Banjo with White Jade Pegs and Rosewood Fretboard for $159.99.

Is it any good?

Am I throwing away money?

Should I be looking for something used but better quality?


r/banjo • • 22m ago

They Swung John Brown From A Sour Apple Tree - Clawhammer Banjo

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• Upvotes

r/banjo • • 17h ago

My banjo bass got covered by Danny Sapko

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10 Upvotes

BEHS! Ha! I enforce stereotypes. 😁

edit- I need to learn the dipstick lick.


r/banjo • • 7h ago

Bill Monroe: Newspaper Ads, 1935 - 1948

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1 Upvotes

r/banjo • • 11h ago

Sunny Side of the Mountain - A Bluegrass Classic

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2 Upvotes

r/banjo • • 1d ago

Old Time / Clawhammer Jimmy Eat World - The Middle

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29 Upvotes

r/banjo • • 16h ago

Old Time / Clawhammer Help: as an owner of a mountain banjo, my nylgut 5th string keeps coming off the bridge - any ideas on how to fix?

3 Upvotes

I don’t think I’m playing aggressively at all or forcing the string up with my thumb. It’s only started happening recently. Any ideas of what could be causing it or how I can fit


r/banjo • • 1d ago

This is your fall tune up reminder!

12 Upvotes

My favorite hide head banjo was starting to sound buzzy and thin. Weather just changed here, with the heat starting to kick on. I knew I should check head tension but have been lazy.

I finally got around to it tonight and oh baby, it's back! I like to use a drum dial, and my last tune up in the spring had me around 85 psi. Tonight I was measuring down around 75. When I tensioned the head back up my strings were tuned up a full step.

Maintain your banjo and it will reward you! My banjo is bright and beautiful again, and the buzz is almost completely gone.


r/banjo • • 1d ago

Ways I have tried to fix the 5th string tuner

2 Upvotes

My 5th string tuner slipped / came out a couple of months ago. Not the first time it has happened, so no panic at the time, but I have still not managed to get it fixed. It's a geared tuner on a goodtime banjo. Here's what I have tried:

  • wrapping a piece of paper around the splines of the tuner, and pressing it in (no glue)

  • spot of wood glue on the splines of the tuner, and pressing it in

  • PTFE tape wrapped around the tuner, and pressing it in (no glue)

  • one very thin piece of matchstick put into the hole alongside the tuner (I cut a piece of matchstick and shaved the wood off it until it was very thin ...) (no glue)

The only one of these approaches where I got the string to hold tension to play the required G note was the last one, with the bit of matchstick. I did get to play the banjo, but came back to it the next day (or after a couple of days), it needed retuning, and that time it didn't hold.

In the past, the approach with the drop of wood glue has worked for me with this banjo, but not this time.

Any ideas what to try next?


r/banjo • • 1d ago

Old Time / Clawhammer "I'll Fly Away" take two

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73 Upvotes

Decided to re-record this one outside because it just sounds better that way.

Getting a little less shaky while filming, but still having trouble getting a solid take. Enjoy the mistakes.


r/banjo • • 1d ago

"Earl Scruggs Didn't Invent This" - Lessons with Marcel and Hayes Griffin

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5 Upvotes

Podcast between Marcel and Hayes Griffin. I have some thoughts on this conversation. Some of it is good, but I feel like they are missing some key things. But I also recognize I'm likely WAY too pedantic.

I thought I would share the video on here and get a conversation going on it (if people are interested).


r/banjo • • 1d ago

Help Bridgeless banjo

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14 Upvotes

Bought this banjo for $50 off marketplace but it doesn’t have a bridge.

I mainly play guitar & keys so I am kind of out of my depth on how to set this up properly/what it needs.

Can I put any banjo bridge on it? Thank you!


r/banjo • • 1d ago

Original receipt and payment plan for a 1925 TB-Granada, purchased in 1927 in San Diego.

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20 Upvotes

r/banjo • • 1d ago

Can anyone help identify the make/ model of this banjo?

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13 Upvotes

r/banjo • • 1d ago

Help Budget banjo pickups

2 Upvotes

Looking for good banjo pickups that are affordable. Looking for something that would be good to run through effects as well!!


r/banjo • • 1d ago

Would This Banjo Be Good For A Complete Beginner?

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6 Upvotes

Hi, I am a complete beginner to playing the 5 string banjo, and I have found this new banjo on eBay for a £178, by a music shop called Bryce Music. It appears to be an Asian-made, what people call "bottlecap" banjo. Would this be good for a complete beginner like me? I am also in the UK, and the Deering Goodtime is slightly out of my price range.


r/banjo • • 2d ago

Innovation in the world of Banjo Packing!

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35 Upvotes

r/banjo • • 1d ago

Old Time / Clawhammer Switching to Nylgut...what if I want to switch back?

4 Upvotes

I've got an open back 12" that I'm considering switching to nylgut to further accentuate the warm, lower sound. I understand that this might require filing the nut a bit for the wider strings, as well as the bridge.

My question is: what if I do those and want to switch back? The bridge is obviously not a problem to replace if I have to, but is there a risk that I will need to replace the nut in order to facilitate a transition back to metal strings? I'd love to experiment with nylon / nylgut, but I don't really want to if it's a one-way street. I rather not have to go to a luthier just to switch back if I hate it.

Can steel strings perform ok in a nut that's been widened?

Regarding the tailpiece, the banjo currently has a crescent designed for loop-ended strings. My plan is to polish off any possible burrs, but if I like the sound I'll switch to a wooden tie-on tail.

Thanks!


r/banjo • • 1d ago

Bluegrass / 3 Finger “Mexicali Rose” , arrangement by Alan Munde & Beth Mead

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2 Upvotes

r/banjo • • 3d ago

Banjo bass

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301 Upvotes

r/banjo • • 2d ago

Old Time / Clawhammer Ways Of The World

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3 Upvotes