Author Archives: Phill Gibson

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About Phill Gibson

I’m from Huntsville, Alabama where I work as a Hospice Chaplain and part-time banjo instructor. My former careers were in Research Biology and Software/Systems Engineering. My wife Miiko and I worship at Rivertree Downtown. I’ve been playing various instruments since my teen years. I started mandolin and dulcimer at about age 17 and banjo at 20. I love just about all kinds of music. In terms of banjo styles, I play and teach Scruggs, melodic, clawhammer, and 2-finger styles. I’m also very keen on theology, being a Trail Care Partner with the Land Trust of North Alabama, photography, urban planning, astronomy, ATM (amateur telescope making), birding, and about 30 other distracting hobbies to a (mercifully) lesser extent.

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

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Phill Gibson

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 by Phill Gibson

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 | 8 Comments

Playing Banjo 4-Finger Style – Getting Started

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Phill Gibson

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 by Phill Gibson

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 | 4 Comments

Playing Banjo 4-Finger Style – Some Observations

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Phill Gibson

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 by Phill Gibson

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 by Phill Gibson

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

The Banjo 50 Years from Now

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Phill Gibson

We’re so used to technology these days. Many of us make our living from some part of it. Even if you don’t earn a living at it, you know how to use Facebook, cellphones, iPods and so on and so … Continue reading →

Posted in Banjos & Technology, Banjos and Society, Philosophical Ramblings | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Posting Your Blog on Facebook

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Phill Gibson

Recently, I figured out how to make my blog postings show up on my Facebook page. If you are reading this on Facebook, you might not realize that what I usually write about banjos, learning and music are in actuality … Continue reading →

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The Nashville Numbering System

Posted on January 4, 2010 by Phill Gibson

The Nashville Numbering System was around long before Nashville became known for music. I’ve seen it called by several other names and it is a basic part of music theory. I’ve heard several bluegrass musicians call it this, so I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginning Banjo, Music in General | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment