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.

A New Year, A New Perspective

Posted on January 1, 2010 by Phill Gibson

I almost never make new years’ resolutions. I figure if I want to do something, just go ahead and do it when you see that it really needs doing. But I do see the logic in it. The start of a … Continue reading →

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Sold: An Epiphone MB-200

Posted on December 27, 2009 by Phill Gibson

I finally sold one of mine – a banjo, that is. It was an Epiphone MB-200 I had bought used a few years ago. At the time, I thought it was just a small step above a beginning banjo, so … Continue reading →

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Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 24, 2009 by Phill Gibson

I’m perfectly glad to use the word CHRISTMAS; as our saviour, Jesus Christ is the central figure in Christmas, as well as in all of history.   So here’s wishing you all a Merry Christmas!   Now if we just … Continue reading →

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A Tribute to Jimmy Arnold

Posted on December 23, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Unless you keep up with a lot of banjo players, you may not know Jimmy. After all, Jimmy Arnold is certainly not a household name. What did he ever do? The answer: in all my years of banjo playing, I’ve … Continue reading →

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A Taxonomy of Banjos

Posted on December 19, 2009 by Phill Gibson

This is just a fun excursion into different types of banjos. Some of you know all of these variants already, but here they are for all to see: all the different types of banjos that I am aware of. I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in 2-Finger Style, 4-Finger Style, Banjos in General, Dulcimers, Mandolins | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Melodics and Soul

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Phill Gibson

If you are a banjoist, you’re probably aware of the melodic style of 5-string banjo playing, whereby you are playing primarily melody notes, as opposed to fewer melody notes surrounded by ‘filler’ notes, as in Scruggs style. This style of … Continue reading →

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Protools for Dummies – a review

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Yes, I love the Dummies series! (BTW, Bill Evans, who along with Sonny Osborne and Cindy Sinclair runs NashCamp, is the author of ‘Banjo for Dummies’; another excellent Dummies book). Just as with book editing software that I blogged on … Continue reading →

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Adobe InDesign CS4 – a review

Posted on December 10, 2009 by Phill Gibson

What does this have to do with music, you ask? In and of itself, not a lot. However, I am writing a book or two on the banjo, and this has proven to be a significant choice – that of … Continue reading →

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What to Listen for in Music – a review

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Phill Gibson

What to Listen for in Music, by Aaron Copland. Aaron Copland was one of the first, and still one of the greatest, American composers of what we usually call classical music. For us bluegrass, old-time and folk musicians, it’s worth … Continue reading →

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Heilmeier's Catechism

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Here’s something I read in the Huntsville Times recently that I’d like to share with you. It starts with Lisa Porter, the director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA – sounds a little like DARPA; the name of the … Continue reading →

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