http://banjosrule.com/blog/banjo-players-you-need-new-ears/ Banjo Blog Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:34:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://banjosrule.com/blog/banjo-players-you-need-new-ears/comment-page-1/#comment-533 Jesse Taylor II Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:49:28 +0000 http://banjosrule.com/blog/?p=851#comment-533 Kathy is right on when it comes to how different banjos make different sounds and how this can affect your ability to hear what another banjo player is doing because his banjo sounds "strange" to your ear. Quite often, I've been asked about which banjo a beginner should buy. Naturally, you want the best one you can afford, but I've seen folks who could afford the best go out and buy some "sow's ear" of a banjo and expect to learn how to produce the same sounds as the guys up on stage. I recall one fellow asking about which banjo would be a good "investment". He wanted to learn, but he was looking to get his money back if he didn't learn to pick inside of a couple weeks, or so. Two years later, we met again and he was still asking the same question. In two years he had made zero progress. As luck would have it, Don Wayne Reno had a banjo for sale. I picked it up and played it for him...assured him it was a real gem and a real steal for the price...and encouraged him to buy it. Don Wayne had used it onstage, so how could you go wrong? Get him to sign it for you and the value would go up, not down. Well, he walked around and around, looking at the banjo. Eventually, he looked me in the eye and said, "Well, I don't know. If I buy it and find out I can't learn, then what do I do? I mean, after spending all that money...! After all, I'll be 70 years old in October!" I asked him how old he would be if he didn't buy it? That made him think. Finally, I told it like it is. A banjo isn't an "investment". It's a "pet", maybe even more like a marriage. If it works out, you'll have a mate for life. It's not something you're going to profit from. If that's what you want, you need to become a music dealer, not a musician. Your children, or your grandchildren, maybe your spouse, might sell it after you're dead and gone, but with any luck, you'll never see a dime from the sale of that banjo. You're not going to want to get rid of it. It will becme a part of you. I left him standing there, thinking and talking to the Reno brothers. I had a show to do. Make no mistake, a "top of the line", professional sounding banjo will help you learn faster. I'm convinced that it will. The banjo, itself, will be something you can be proud of. You'll want to be seen in it's company. You won't be the least bit ashamed of it's sound. This will lead to more satisfying practice sessions. The professional sound it generates will help train your ear that much faster. Furthermore, a "top end" banjo should be more "playable" than a cheaper one. The neck is going to be easier for your fingers to "get around on". I've played "beginner's banjos" that were like playing baseball bats. I've seen guitar necks of thinner girth than what some of those beginner models have. Far as I'm concerned, a "beginner's banjo" only has one purpose on this earth and that is to discourage all but the most determined students. They should be outlawed. Sure, an accomplished performer can make a lesser quality instrument sound good. An accomplished performer got that way from performing with fine instruments. As such, he knows how the things work. However, most beginners have enough trouble trying to hear how things sound and to reproduce those sounds without having to fight a "punky/plunky" sounding banjo. I know that "tone" can be a matter of taste, but we're talking about 5-string banjos that will, most likely, be played in a performance style that represents a close approximation of Earl Scruggs' techniques. There is a certain "tone" that you'll want this kind of instrument to have. My advice? Get yourself a top of the line instrument, even if you have to make payments on it. Don't know a top of the line banjo from a flat doorknob with cobwebs on it? Get a musician of good ability to tag along and recommend one for you. Don't know a good musician? Hang around any music store that carries fine instruments and, sooner or later, you'll find a musican who's more than happy to offer good advice. You're going to invest a lot of your time in your banjo. The least you can do is invest a little time trying to find the best one you can. Invest some time before making your decision about which one to purchase. No doubt about it. A top quality, well adjusted banjo will spur your advancement beyond anything you could hope to accomplish on a lesser model. Everything about it will make your "banjo life" easier. Oh yeah, about that fellow and Don Wayne's banjo...he bought it. I don't know if he ever learned to play it, but I do know how proud he was of it. If he didn't learn, it wasn't the banjo's fault. One more thing...always remember and never forget. Music is a game you play against yourself in your own mind. Winning the game means doing your best to remove every possible obstacle that may hinder you from learning. That, of course, means having an instrument worthy of performing with in the first place. Invest in high quality banjo and invest in yourself at the same time. Get the message? Get the fever! Strap yourself into one and ride!! -Jesse Kathy is right on when it comes to how different banjos make different sounds and how this can affect your ability to hear what another banjo player is doing because his banjo sounds “strange” to your ear.
Quite often, I’ve been asked about which banjo a beginner should buy. Naturally, you want the best one you can afford, but I’ve seen folks who could afford the best go out and buy some “sow’s ear” of a banjo and expect to learn how to produce the same sounds as the guys up on stage.
I recall one fellow asking about which banjo would be a good “investment”. He wanted to learn, but he was looking to get his money back if he didn’t learn to pick inside of a couple weeks, or so. Two years later, we met again and he was still asking the same question. In two years he had made zero progress.
As luck would have it, Don Wayne Reno had a banjo for sale. I picked it up and played it for him…assured him it was a real gem and a real steal for the price…and encouraged him to buy it. Don Wayne had used it onstage, so how could you go wrong? Get him to sign it for you and the value would go up, not down.
Well, he walked around and around, looking at the banjo. Eventually, he looked me in the eye and said, “Well, I don’t know. If I buy it and find out I can’t learn, then what do I do? I mean, after spending all that money…! After all, I’ll be 70 years old in October!” I asked him how old he would be if he didn’t buy it? That made him think.
Finally, I told it like it is. A banjo isn’t an “investment”. It’s a “pet”, maybe even more like a marriage. If it works out, you’ll have a mate for life. It’s not something you’re going to profit from. If that’s what you want, you need to become a music dealer, not a musician. Your children, or your grandchildren, maybe your spouse, might sell it after you’re dead and gone, but with any luck, you’ll never see a dime from the sale of that banjo. You’re not going to want to get rid of it. It will becme a part of you. I left him standing there, thinking and talking to the Reno brothers. I had a show to do.
Make no mistake, a “top of the line”, professional sounding banjo will help you learn faster. I’m convinced that it will. The banjo, itself, will be something you can be proud of. You’ll want to be seen in it’s company. You won’t be the least bit ashamed of it’s sound. This will lead to more satisfying practice sessions. The professional sound it generates will help train your ear that much faster.
Furthermore, a “top end” banjo should be more “playable” than a cheaper one. The neck is going to be easier for your fingers to “get around on”. I’ve played “beginner’s banjos” that were like playing baseball bats. I’ve seen guitar necks of thinner girth than what some of those beginner models have. Far as I’m concerned, a “beginner’s banjo” only has one purpose on this earth and that is to discourage all but the most determined students. They should be outlawed.
Sure, an accomplished performer can make a lesser quality instrument sound good. An accomplished performer got that way from performing with fine instruments. As such, he knows how the things work. However, most beginners have enough trouble trying to hear how things sound and to reproduce those sounds without having to fight a “punky/plunky” sounding banjo.
I know that “tone” can be a matter of taste, but we’re talking about 5-string banjos that will, most likely, be played in a performance style that represents a close approximation of Earl Scruggs’ techniques. There is a certain “tone” that you’ll want this kind of instrument to have.
My advice? Get yourself a top of the line instrument, even if you have to make payments on it. Don’t know a top of the line banjo from a flat doorknob with cobwebs on it? Get a musician of good ability to tag along and recommend one for you. Don’t know a good musician? Hang around any music store that carries fine instruments and, sooner or later, you’ll find a musican who’s more than happy to offer good advice. You’re going to invest a lot of your time in your banjo. The least you can do is invest a little time trying to find the best one you can. Invest some time before making your decision about which one to purchase.
No doubt about it. A top quality, well adjusted banjo will spur your advancement beyond anything you could hope to accomplish on a lesser model. Everything about it will make your “banjo life” easier.
Oh yeah, about that fellow and Don Wayne’s banjo…he bought it. I don’t know if he ever learned to play it, but I do know how proud he was of it. If he didn’t learn, it wasn’t the banjo’s fault.
One more thing…always remember and never forget. Music is a game you play against yourself in your own mind. Winning the game means doing your best to remove every possible obstacle that may hinder you from learning. That, of course, means having an instrument worthy of performing with in the first place.
Invest in high quality banjo and invest in yourself at the same time. Get the message? Get the fever! Strap yourself into one and ride!!
-Jesse

]]> http://banjosrule.com/blog/banjo-players-you-need-new-ears/comment-page-1/#comment-531 admin Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:18:00 +0000 http://banjosrule.com/blog/?p=851#comment-531 Kathy, that's a great story and it dovetails with my blog post nicely! Thanks so much for sharing it and I hope the new pickers paid attention to what you wrote. Kathy, that’s a great story and it dovetails with my blog post nicely! Thanks so much for sharing it and I hope the new pickers paid attention to what you wrote.

]]> http://banjosrule.com/blog/banjo-players-you-need-new-ears/comment-page-1/#comment-530 admin Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:16:54 +0000 http://banjosrule.com/blog/?p=851#comment-530 I can remember during my early days of picking, I had a tape of some hot banjo solo, and try as I might I couldn't tell for the life of me what the guy or gal was doing in the recording. After some time I began to be able to pick out the 5th string...just the 5th string...from the flurry of notes he/she was playing. Of course I got better over the years but as Jesse said, my "aural training" had to be developed by listening and doing...and listening and doing it ALOT. I can remember during my early days of picking, I had a tape of some hot banjo solo, and try as I might I couldn’t tell for the life of me what the guy or gal was doing in the recording. After some time I began to be able to pick out the 5th string…just the 5th string…from the flurry of notes he/she was playing. Of course I got better over the years but as Jesse said, my “aural training” had to be developed by listening and doing…and listening and doing it ALOT.

]]> http://banjosrule.com/blog/banjo-players-you-need-new-ears/comment-page-1/#comment-529 admin Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:13:44 +0000 http://banjosrule.com/blog/?p=851#comment-529 Hi Steve, it's hard to narrow down a recommendation. I use a $225 handheld digital recorder that is WAAAY overkill for the average person, but I'm doing a ton of things for my business with that. (It's a Tascam DR-1) You could use everything from an old cassette recorder to any kind of recording software that you have on your computer. I know that the office supply stores often sell a nice little handheld digital recorder for under $40. This would be ideal because you can copy the digital files to your computer and save them for playback through the big speakers or to burn onto a disc. Hi Steve, it’s hard to narrow down a recommendation. I use a $225 handheld digital recorder that is WAAAY overkill for the average person, but I’m doing a ton of things for my business with that. (It’s a Tascam DR-1) You could use everything from an old cassette recorder to any kind of recording software that you have on your computer. I know that the office supply stores often sell a nice little handheld digital recorder for under $40. This would be ideal because you can copy the digital files to your computer and save them for playback through the big speakers or to burn onto a disc.

]]> http://banjosrule.com/blog/banjo-players-you-need-new-ears/comment-page-1/#comment-528 admin Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:10:36 +0000 http://banjosrule.com/blog/?p=851#comment-528 Thanks for the great comment Terry. Your organ recording advice is right on! Thanks for the great comment Terry. Your organ recording advice is right on!

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