Category Archives: Music

What's Required to Learn the Banjo

Posted on March 19, 2009 by Phill Gibson

I’ve had folks ask me before “Isn’t the banjo one of the hardest instruments to learn to play?” Others have expressed exactly the opposite viewpoint. I don’t think of the banjo in those terms. I think of it as equally … Continue reading →

Posted in Beginning Banjo | Leave a comment

Defining Your Own Style

Posted on March 17, 2009 by Phill Gibson

As a web developer by day, I often work with something called cascading style sheets, or CSS for short. On a web page, this is where you put all of you ‘look and feel’ properties for a web page, or … Continue reading →

Posted in Tips & Techniques | 1 Comment

Banjos and Stereotypes

Posted on March 14, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Sometime back, I saw a commercial on TV for for a certain SUV. You must know – I rarely watch TV, so I wonder how much of this is in commercials. Seems these young guys had pushed their SUV to … Continue reading →

Posted in Banjos and Society | Leave a comment

How’s Lessons?

Posted on March 8, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Frequently, someone asks me how teaching banjo lessons is going. I always tell them it is great. And it is: I have just about a full schedule now (I only teach on Tuesdays and Thursdays after work) with a great … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching | Leave a comment

Banjos and Selective Memories

Posted on March 7, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Those good ‘ol school days. Remember them?If you’re my age (51), then perhaps you’ll agree; those were the days! But if you’re still in school though, you may say “the good ‘ol days” is looking through rose-colored glasses. I’ll admit that … Continue reading →

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What if we awarded belts for banjo playing like they do in martial arts?

Posted on February 22, 2009 by Phill Gibson

What banjo belt would you be? I’ve taken several different forms of martial arts, including Ju-Jitsu, Karate and Tae-Kwon-Do; each one seems to have different belt systems, but they all seem to start at white and go to black, at which … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophical Ramblings | 2 Comments

A few notes on my own practice – Improvising

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Phill Gibson

I’ve been so busy at work these past few weeks I’ve only just gotten caught up with things here at home! I’ve got a lot of banjo topics to blog on – I just need the time to sit down … Continue reading →

Posted in Tips & Techniques | Leave a comment

A Bit of Banjo History – Part 1

Posted on February 8, 2009 by Phill Gibson

What do you think of when you imagine a banjo? If you’re like most folks, you usually see a picture of a 5-string banjo being played by a white southern man, perhaps in a rural mountain setting or at a … Continue reading →

Posted in History | 2 Comments

A few notes on my own practice – Reno Style

Posted on February 2, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Love unrequited – that’s what Reno style banjo playing is to me. You see, I love that rapid staccato barrage of notes flowing from a banjo picked in Reno, or single-string style. Few sounds produced on a banjo can match … Continue reading →

Posted in Reno & Single-String Style, Tips & Techniques | Leave a comment

Banjos are Like a '64 Valiant

Posted on January 25, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Someone I read recently said banjos are the hot-rods of the musical world, and I agree. What other instrument can you laterally take apart and put back together again yourself? I remember my neighbor on Green Mountain brought his ’64 … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophical Ramblings | Leave a comment