Perfect for beginners

New this week over at the Banjos Rule Shameless Commerce Division is a product that’s been a labor of love for me for a couple of months now. It’s quite a relief to see it launched and I hope you’ll read more about it and then go check it out.

Another course on playing banjo?!

The Banjos Rule Guide To Playing Backup Banjo

I‘ve spent the better part of 2 months or so penning a new course that aims to help beginners with developing that all-important backup banjo playing ability. This is a very large and confusing topic for new banjo players. Many banjo players can remember the feeling of spending quite a bit of time polishing up a couple of hot leads to some banjo songs (or at least as hot as we can make them at our stage of picking) and then having the guts to step out and pick the songs in front of others at a jam. We thought we’d really accomplished something and we were on our way. Maybe we even picked the songs well. But then…wait!! Listen to that banjo player over there! What is he (or she) doing? Man that sounds pretty!! Holy mackerel, listen to all of that tasty colorful work they are doing during the song. LOOK HOW MANY TRICKS AND LICKS THAT BANJO PICKER IS DOING!!! How will I ever learn my neck that well?! I can’t even begin to understand what that person is doing!! I SUCK!! I’M SELLING MY BANJO!!!!


So why another course, you asked? Well, it comes back to something I’ve noticed as I’ve perused other already existing courses. Many of them are ineffective. Now don’t worry, I’m not taking a “my stuff is awesome, everyone else’s stuff is crap” stance. I’m not that full of myself, believe me. I am and always will remain humble. So…are they all ineffective? Of course not. Many are wonderful, and I’ve been able to pick up something out of most of the courses and books that I’ve purchased. I couldn’t for the first couple of years, but once I got some ability under my belt, I began gleaning more and more from these resources. Know why? Because I had a reality with which to apply the instructions from the various resources to.

How’s your reality?

I‘ve noticed that most of the courses/reference material leave lots of holes in the knowledge base and assume you know too many things that you don’t. Plus these resources provide no way to receive some one-on-one attention should you have questions or problems. And here’s the thing: it’s really hard to figure out how to apply much of what you are shown in other courses, because, again, you have no reality. Now, imagine if you could spend 6 months just standing in the middle of jam sessions, right next to good banjo players. You could watch and absorb what they do. You’d develop an ear and a feel for the flavor and the style of what the banjo players do in jams. You’d feel the sternum-shaking bass and how that bass player leads the group. You’d catch the nuances and the interaction with the guitar and the mandolin and the fiddle. You’d take in the beginning’s, the ending’s, the rhythm and timing and tempo. You’d get a feel for banjo fill-in licks, and you’d develop a feel for what sounds tasteful from a banjo during backup…and what doesn’t.

Imagine if you had the benefit of becoming that intimately familiar with the music…imagine if this was your reality…you can guess that applying the tricks and techniques that you are shown from the average backup banjo course would be so much easier. You’d get it. Many of the holes in your knowledge base would be already filled in. You might understand the references, the terminology, the jargon quite a bit better. The problem is that most of us don’t have the luxury of being in the music as an observer in the way that I described, yet many of the isntructional resources you can buy seem to forget that.

Click me! Click me!

Focus on the basics and develop a little bit of reality with me

When I wrote the Banjos Rule Guide To Playing Backup Banjo, I kept it in mind that beginners don’t have that valuable reality built up yet. They may not even have any hot hot pickers around them to study from. Or worse…perhaps they have a banjo player or two in their area who are doing it wrong maybe.

Now, when you buy my course, you won’t find 6 months worth of bass, fiddle, mandolin and guitar jamming all crammed into a neat little package ready to be inserted into your mind in some kind of scenario like the move The Matrix. It’s not magic by any means. What you will find is a guide that starts from ground zero, explaining the very basics and nuances of jamming, backed up by sound files and exercises that help to start building that important reality. There are 29 sound files, many of which contain me playing backup over a guitar track, followed by an empty guitar track with which you can play your banjo over, attempting to make it sound like me. I illutstrate chopping, fill-in licks, basic music theory, the Nashville Numbering System, playing in multiple keys, chopping dynamics, chord shapes, neck knowledge tricks, string  runs, and more.

Take a listen to one of the 29 sound files below for a little taste of some of the instruction. This may take quite a few minutes to load if your internet connection is not a fast one. Click the speaker to hear the sound file:

A springboard to functioning in jams

There is a lot of practical knowledge and a chance for application of the techniques built into my course. If you can apply the tips and techniques and tricks to the sound files that come with the course, then you can easily perform them in basic jam sessions.

Once you’ve worked with my course and gone on to become comfortable with jamming, take some time to look back over the various other resources that try to teach the same subject. You’ll be amazed how much good information is in these courses and how you are able to pick up on the techniques, licks and tricks so much easier, because…wait for it…you now have a reality!! You might consider my course to be a primer, a good entry-level course that bridges the gap and fills in the holes so that you can work with other courses much easier. What you were confused about before may now become clearer.

Visit the product info page and check it out

Take a gander at the sales page for the product, and then if you have any questions, feel free to contact me. As a special offer for my blog readers, I’m extending a discount to you: $10 off the full retail price. The course normally sells for $25, but as a blog reader you can purchase the course for $15. Click this link to view the sales page: backup course.

To claim your discount, contact me using the “send me a message” button in the menu above, and when you send the  message, mention the phrase ”backup and push”. I’ll get ahold of you to arrange the discount.

If you’ve purchased the course, would you mind leaving some comments telling us what you thought below? I and my site visitors can benefit from what you have to say. Thanks so much, and as I always say: pick ‘em if ya got ‘em!

Banjo Paul
“Wunse, I coodn’t even spel bango pikker…now I are one!”
www.banjosrule.com (main site)
www.mybanjolife.com (blog)
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