Category Archives: Music

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

Five Lessons, Yea Six, from NashCamp

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Here are a few items I learned this weekend at NashCamp. Some for me, others for my students. 1) Lighten up. No, not in terms of relationships; here, I mean lightening up with my right hand. I pick pretty hard … Continue reading →

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Day Two of NashCamp

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Saturday was the second day of my first time at NashCamp, just southwest of Nashville, TN near the small town of Fairview. I got up and headed for the dining hall, where almost all of the activities took place. Still … Continue reading →

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The Company Band

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Phill Gibson

I suppose such things happen often enough. A bunch of folks at work find they have a little (very little? 🙂 common musical ground and so does the department administrator, who puts them all together in front of everyone to … Continue reading →

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Just a Little More

Posted on October 18, 2009 by Phill Gibson

You know, I suspect EVERY banjo / mandolin, etc. player deep down inside wishes he had started ‘just a few years earlier’! Like the anecdote you hear about when someone asked Warren Buffet (second richest guy in the world, behind … Continue reading →

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Day One of NashCamp

Posted on October 16, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Well, I made it here to NashCamp! I’m sitting in the Dining hall, listening to the cacophony of twangs – barely a guitar or mandolin in sight. Needless to say, it’s rather loud. I see one reason why only banjo … Continue reading →

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Does Musical Ability Decrease With Age?

Posted on October 14, 2009 by Phill Gibson

This is a topic that’s been nagging at me for a while now. I’m 52, you see, and I’m starting to think about what it’s like to get old.  The last thing I want to happen is to not be … Continue reading →

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The Fence We All Straddle

Posted on October 11, 2009 by Phill Gibson

When it comes to ways to learn the banjo or mandolin, there are a couple of different paths we can follow. Each path uses the same set of tools and so can look very similar to the other, but the … Continue reading →

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Bluegrass Owners Association Covenant

Posted on October 8, 2009 by Phill Gibson

No, this blog doesn’t have anything to do with an actual real estate entity. Read on for what it is about. I know how covenants work within a homeowners association. The new homeowner signs the covenant, promising to abide by … Continue reading →

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Back to Basics – 3 Essential Chords

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Phill Gibson

We started this series of basic lessons last time with the 4 essential rolls. Today, we’ll look at the 3 most common beginning chords. What is a chord, anyway? Without going into a good deal of music theory, you can … Continue reading →

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Back to Basics – Intro and 4 Essential Rolls

Posted on October 2, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Here’s another series of blogs I’ve started! This one is on beginning 5-string banjo techniques. Sometimes, it is hard to sort out all the required details from the extras when you’re just getting started in something complex; learning to play … Continue reading →

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