Category Archives: Music

Includes banjo, mandolin, guitar, teaching – all music-related topics.

Playing Banjo 4-Finger Style – Background

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

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Playing Banjo 4-Finger Style – Introduction

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

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

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Posting Your Blog on Facebook

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

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

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A New Year, A New Perspective

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

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!

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

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

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