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Category Archives: Music
Increasing Speed with Single String Style
Since returning from NashCamp a few weeks ago, I’ve been more diligent with two things. One, I’ve been more structured in my practice, allotting about one third of my time to each of three categories: playing songs I already know, … Continue reading
Found: An Old Stella Harmony 12-String Guitar
I was cleaning out the attic today and noticed something: a 12-string guitar. Sure, I’d seen it there before – it used to belong to my oldest brother Mike (the same brother who had that first banjo I would strum … Continue reading
The Purpose of Reading Music
By and large, banjoists nowadays use tablature rather than musical notation in order to convey what’s going on on the fretboard. This hasn’t always been the case, but since the advent of bluegrass, and the inclusion of the banjo into … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophical Ramblings
Tagged Assimilate, Inprovising, Musical Notation, Reading Music, Sight Reading, Tablature
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Banjo Chords in D Tuning
5-string bluegrass banjo players definitely prefer open G tuning to all other tunings. That said, there are a large number of possible tunings, each evoking a different mood in the listener; sometimes subtle or mysterious, other times harsh or exciting. … Continue reading
Posted in Tips & Techniques
Tagged 5 String Banjo, D Tuning Chords, Earl Scruggs, Gentle on My Mind, Glen Campbell, John Hartford, Reuben
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Inspiration vs Influence
I’ve always used these two terms rather interchangeably. Saying that someone has been an inspiration, and thus has influenced my playing. Come to think of it though, they aren’t really the same. If someone is an inspiration, they don’t necessarily … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophical Ramblings
Tagged influence, Inspiration, Musical Ideas, Musical Techniques, Voicings
3 Comments
Nine Reasons a Banjo Teacher Should go to NashCamp
When I was at NashCamp two weeks ago, I didn’t hear anyone else mention that they were a banjo teacher. I’m sure several of the people there besides the faculty taught at various levels, but I got to thinking how … Continue reading
Posted in Banjos and Society, Banjos in General, Venues
Tagged Banjo, Bluegrass, Friends, Good Advice, Jamming, NashCamp, Networking, New Techniques, No Man is an Island, Recharge, Resource, Skills, Teachers
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Seven Facts About Inspiration
1 – Teachers should provide it for students. Some of it, at least. And remember too, the old saying about leading horses to water; it certainly applies here. We get inspiration from many different sources and our instructor should be … Continue reading
Posted in Music in General, Philosophical Ramblings
Tagged Failure, Inspiration, Persistence, Santana, songwriting, Success, Tower of Power, Visualize
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Day Three of NashCamp
Day three of the NashCamp Fall Banjo Retreat is the last day, so Sunday had a bit of a different feeling to it – like we must do whatever we planned to do today or wait until next year. Getting … Continue reading
Posted in Banjos in General, Venues
Tagged Banjo Retreat, Bill Evans, Bluegrass, Grounspeed, NashCamp, Ned Luberecki, October, Rocky Top, Sonny Osborne
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Music: A Cure for Modern Day Complexity
Go check your email. Can’t do it? Maybe the SMTP server is down. Call ’em up and find out. Search for their number and find it if you’re lucky. Go through the voicemail maze and finally leave a message in … Continue reading
Posted in Banjos and Society, Music in General, Philosophical Ramblings
Tagged Complexity, Cure, Information Technology, Music, Refreshing
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Phill Gibson 