Comments for My banjo life

Comment on Ah, spring! When a young man’s fancy turns to…bluegrass? by admin

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:06:27 +0000

Woohoo!! How exciting to have a camper! I used to have a 38 foot travel trailer and I loved it. I’ll look forward to picking under your awning this summer.

Comment on Ah, spring! When a young man’s fancy turns to…bluegrass? by admin

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:05:34 +0000

Hey George, I’ve seen that commercial! Pretty funny, and that’s exactly how I feel. I’d send my slav….er, I mean kids…out there too! If I didn’t have to leave the house during the winter I wouldn’t. And yes, in a warm climate, 50 degrees is awfully cold, so I’m with ya.

Nice work on the song recording. Can you possibly email that sound file to me? I plan to put up a page on my main website with everyone’s recordings.

Thanks George! Have a great week.

Comment on Give it up Banjo Paul. You won’t last a year! by BuddyTer

BuddyTer — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:19:39 +0000

Keep doing what you do, Paul! I heard that Ed Helms, the actor who plays Andy Bernard on “The Office” is also a talented banjoist who reads banjo blogs in scenes where he’s supposed to be looking at his computer while working. So who knows? If the camera hits his screen just right you might get a guest shot!

Comment on And so it begins… by Give it up Banjo Paul. You won’t last a year! — My banjo life My banjo life

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:13:39 +0000

[...] To view one of my very first blog articles (you have to promise not to laugh) click here. [...]

Comment on Ah, spring! When a young man’s fancy turns to…bluegrass? by gpreiss

gpreiss — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:25:44 +0000

Hey Paul and friends~
I know what you mean about cold. There is a commercial that has been playing on TV for cell phones where a guy tricks his kids into going out to shovel snow in return for phone minutes. Well, I live in Wilmington, NC, a place where the average Jan/Feb temp is around 50 (but I’m telling you that it’s all relative.) One degree below 60 sends me into freezing spasms and chills! Anyhow, I’ve taken to tricking my kids into going outside around here to pick up pinecones, dog poo, the works, to avoid these bone chillin’ mid 50s. I’m guessing that you aren’t feeling too sorry for me, though. Maybe I should save this whining fo somebody in Florida.
On another note, I just recorded myself playing Groundspeed, and loaded it onto my Banjo Hangout member page: http://www.banjohangout.org/my/gpreiss. Anyone that doesn’t have a member page can get one for free, and then listen and also create you own page. As for my recording, well I have to say that this song is not easy for me. I have an especially hard time getting my index finger to cooperate in that opening “hook” as described by Paul in his series kick-off for this. However, I had never played this before until this week, and it does sort of sound like Groundspeed, so I’ve gotta be happy with that. I downloaded your tab selection Paul, and when I compared it to the Scruggs book the only difference was the 26th measure over the final C chord. He plays a C7 in there. I went with Earl’s version in what I play on the recording. Well, I hope to practice that some more this afternoon. I’ll look at your newest post in this series and try to get some of that in as well, so that I can update this recording soon. Have a great weekend everyone~ George

Comment on Ah, spring! When a young man’s fancy turns to…bluegrass? by BuddyTer

BuddyTer — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:00:48 +0000

I feel your pain! We bought a camper last fall and I’m waiting for the day when we can drag it to some nearby festivals and host a jam or two under our awning. Right now all I can do is wait, as I watch the snow’s glacier-like retreat from the yard. Well, that and practice my picking…indoors.

Comment on Banjo playing technique problems? Put your nose up against a tree by admin

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:11:10 +0000

Hey Bill! Thanks so much for the reply! I loved your example of the mountain biking. That’s a great parallel. And, it further bolsters my suggestion on how to handle the finger problem on the banjo. You say they re-routed the trail to make the hill much easier? Same thing I suggested: just take out your cleaver and chop that offending digit right off! Problem solved.

Seriously though, thanks for sharing with us and good luck with tackling this problem. Keep on picking brother!

Comment on Banjo playing technique problems? Put your nose up against a tree by Bill Greenwood

Bill Greenwood — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:26:06 +0000

Paul,
Thanks for making my ring finger famous. I’m not sure one of my quotes is worthy of being in the same blog with a Pete Wernick quote, but you”re the writer who get to decide that. As I was reading, my mind went back to a few years ago when I was trying my best to tackle a stretch of single track trail on my mountain bike. There was a hill that was a technical challenge for most riders. While I was on vacation, I spent some time every day for a week riding out to that hill and focusing on every detail. When I started I had to push my bike up. By the end of that week I could ride up with ease. And whenever I would take another rider to that trail, I could easily handle it while they struggled. So if I understand you correctly, I need to focus on that transition just like I did that hill. Did I mention that a little later, the trail was re-routed to make the hill much easier? Now just about everyone can handle it with ease. I’ll go ahead and put the work in on that D form chord while others may go the route of the D7. But I think that was a different blog…

Signed,
Bill Greenwood and the Nashville All Stars

Comment on The Foggy Mountain Banjo album instructional series. Part 1: Ground Speed by admin

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:36:21 +0000

Hey Jesse, what a great reply and great advice! I appreciate your thoughts and instructions. Getting into this fingering is not an avenue I had thought of in writing that blog post. It seems that the articles are so long and there is so much information overload, that I just can’t go in every direction possible. I plan to field questions from people on topics such as this as they arise, and certainly I count on knowledgeable people like yourself to pass that info along. If you see something that I just didn’t have room to discuss, please jump in there.

Listen up everyone: Jesse hit the nail on the head when he spoke of working out the economics of fingering the banjo. It’s crucial. I have an almost identical phrase that I’ve used over the years: economy of movement. Similar words, same meaning. Take it to heart!

Alright, onwards and upwards!

Comment on The Foggy Mountain Banjo album instructional series. Part 1: Ground Speed by Jesse Taylor II

Jesse Taylor II — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:34:43 +0000

This should be a great series. Good suggestion, George, and my hat is off to you, Paul, for taking on the task. I just thought I’d inject a bit of advice for your “blog patrons”…hope it doesn’t distract from your future plans, Paul. I’m sure you’ll correct me if it does. Anyway, to those of you attempting this tune…as you go through your picking, whether you’re using the printed tablature or the TefView, one thing you may have trouble with is trying to figure out the “greatest economy” of fingering on the neck. For instance, starting from the kick-off, your fingers will be holding a “D-Position” (sometimes called the “2nd Position) Chord Pattern, only you’ll be holding it up the neck so as to make a “G-Chord”. Naturally, for this particular piece of music, you don’t need the note you would, otherwise, get on the 4th String, with your Ring Finger. Therefore, there’s no real need to touch that string. That will leave your Ring Finger free to make the note on the 3rd String at the 9th Fret. Moving right along, when you have to jump up to the 12th Fret, you’ll be wanting to make those notes, on the 1st and 2nd Strings, with your Pinky and Ring Finger. Since your Pinky already rested on the 1st String, while holding the previously mentioned G-Chord, and since your Ring Finger will be free, after making the previously mentioned note on the 3rd String, using those two fingers to get the notes at the 12th Fret represents “economy of fingering”. Your Pinky really doesn’t have to ever be picked up off the 1st String. It can slide right on down to the 12th Fret. Since there has been no note struck on that string, immeadiately before making the slide, it won’t make the movement of the slide “ring out”, as it would have if you’d picked the string just before making the slide. Since the Pinky never loses contact with the 1st String, this should greatly assist your accuracy. As for the Ring Finger, since it lays right next to the Pinky, it will be assisted in it’s placement by that Pinky finger, which has already “found the mark”. I mention this because I’ve seen so many “poor performances” rendered by folks attempting to either “bar” those two strings with their Index Finger, or by lifting the Pinky and attempting to replace it with, what they may feel is, a stronger set of fingers. Those little notes aren’t all that hard to “fret’. (If they are, your banjo needs some “set up” done on it.) You shouldn’t need a stronger set of fingers. Besides, the more you use your Pinky and Ring Fingers, the stronger they’ll get and the more accurate you’ll become at using them. Moving along again, when you pull back down the neck to get your notes at the 10th Fret, keep using your Pinky and Ring Fingers. They are already positioned on the strings. As well, when you pull back down to make the notes at the 8th Fret on the 2nd String and the 9th Fret on the 1st String (which you’ll recognize as being a portion of your G-chord), while you will be lifting the Ring Finger and replacing it with the Middle Finger, your Pinky should maintain contact with that First String from the 10th Fret to the 9th Fret. The same is true when you pull back down the neck to get your notes on the 2nd String at the 3rd Fret and the 1st String at the 5th Fret. (You should recognize this as being a partial fingering of your “1st Position” G-chord.) Your Pinky can maintain contact with that 1st String. There’s no need to lift it…at least, not enough to break contact with the String. You may wish to lift it to relieve friction between the neck and finger, but there’s no real need to remove it totally from contact with the string. Maintain a light touch. As you learn new material, try to gain a sense of what may constitute the most “economical” way to use your fingers. Keep in mind not only the best way of going into the “fretted notes”, but also be aware of where those fingers must be after those notes have been executed. I feel this may be one of the major differences between really “hot” pickers and those who never seem able to get it to “click”. Most certainly, improper fingering, either on the neck or in the picking fingers, is the limiting factor as far as gaining speed. Now…Paul…clue us into some of those great Scott Vestal licks you learned! -Jesse