Author Archives:

About Phill Gibson

I'm from Huntsville, Alabama where I work as a web developer and part-time banjo and mandolin instructor. I've been playing various instruments since my teen years. I started mandolin at about age 17 and banjo at 20. I love just about all kinds of music. In terms of banjo styles, I play Scruggs and melodic and am working on becoming more advanced with single string. I'm also working on 4-finger banjo, which is way off the beaten path. I would like to see more jazz techniques integrated into bluegrass situations; counterpoint, especially. So long-term, that's what I'm doing. Web-wise, I mainly work with ColdFusion, Javascript, CSS, EXT-JS, Flex and SQL Server. I would love to learn more Flash. I'm also very keen on astronomy, ATM (amateur telescope making), birding, christian homeschooling, martial arts, organic gardening and about 30 other distracting hobbies to a (mercifully) lesser extent.

Alabama Songwriters Festival

Posted on July 4, 2011

Today is the 4th of July! Among the fireworks, picnics and all the other activities going on this day, is the Alabama Songwriters Festival in Guntersville, Alabama. Actually, it has been going on since Friday, but today I’ll be going there. … Continue reading →

Posted in Banjoists and Others, Music in General, Venues | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Steve Martin Effect

Posted on June 18, 2011

I had a sneaking suspicion in the back of my mind that such a thing as this would happen. But I never named it until now. I’ll call it the Steve Martin effect, because that great comedian/musician/actor was the catalyst – … Continue reading →

Posted in Banjoists and Others, Banjos in General | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Major Problem Playing the Banjo?

Posted on March 31, 2010

If you read my blog often, you may have noticed I’ve put no new content out in over a month now. I know I’ve been very aware of this fact myself. I guess I’ve been more than a little preoccupied … Continue reading →

Posted in Banjos in General, Music in General | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Playing Banjo 4-Finger Style – Applying it to a Song

Posted on February 1, 2010

Intro | Background | Observations | Benefits & Challenges | Getting Started | More Getting Started | Applying it to a Song Finally, here’s a concrete example of how I’m approaching the whole four-finger banjo process. This is a four-finger … Continue reading →

Posted in 4-Finger Style, Reno & Single-String Style | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Playing Banjo 4-Finger Style – Getting Started Yet More

Posted on January 28, 2010

Intro | Background | Observations | Benefits & Challenges | Getting Started | More Getting Started | Applying it to a Song Now let’s try some exercises such as the following, which are simply four-finger equivalents of some well-known three-finger … Continue reading →

Posted in 4-Finger Style | Tagged | 7 Comments

Playing Banjo 4-Finger Style – Getting Started

Posted on January 25, 2010

Intro | Background | Observations | Benefits & Challenges | Getting Started | More Getting Started | Applying it to a Song For starting starters (apologies to Dr. Seuss), it is best to make use of a little-known fact about … Continue reading →

Posted in 4-Finger Style | Tagged | 1 Comment

Playing Banjo 4-Finger Style – Benefits & Challenges

Posted on January 22, 2010

Intro | Background | Observations | Benefits & Challenges | Getting Started | More Getting Started | Applying it to a Song Benefits A new sound. Skillfully playing a four-finger roll can give you a completely new cadence to add … Continue reading →

Posted in 4-Finger Style | Tagged | 1 Comment

Playing Banjo 4-Finger Style – Some Observations

Posted on January 19, 2010

Intro | Background | Observations | Benefits & Challenges | Getting Started | More Getting Started | Applying it to a Song Now move forward in time to today. A few banjo players, seeking new boundaries to push, have started … Continue reading →

Posted in 4-Finger Style | Tagged | 2 Comments

Playing Banjo 4-Finger Style – Background

Posted on January 16, 2010

Intro | Background | Observations | Benefits & Challenges | Getting Started | More Getting Started | Applying it to a Song Last blog, I gave a brief introduction to the topic of playing bluegrass banjo with four (right hand) … Continue reading →

Posted in 4-Finger Style | Tagged | 2 Comments

Playing Banjo 4-Finger Style – Introduction

Posted on January 13, 2010

Intro | Background | Observations | Benefits & Challenges | Getting Started | More Getting Started | Applying it to a Song Have you heard of this yet? Picking a 5-string banjo with 4 fingers instead of the usual 3, … Continue reading →

Posted in 4-Finger Style | Tagged | 5 Comments