Category Archives: Tips & Techniques

Quitting While You're Behind

Posted on November 19, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Imagine you are going to a regional bluegrass festival (That would the the Tennessee Valley Old-Time Fiddlers Convention in Athens, Alabama for me). You hear some young banjo player picking out an incredible set of licks and you think to … Continue reading →

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Increasing Speed with Single String Style

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Phill Gibson

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 →

Posted in Reno & Single-String Style, Tips & Techniques | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Banjo Chords in D Tuning

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Phill Gibson

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 →

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A Taxonomy of Sloppy Playing

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Sloppy playing can creep up on you before you know it, especially if you’re just starting out learning to play the banjo. As time goes on and you get more experience, you’ll start to recognize when you’re getting sloppy with … Continue reading →

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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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They Ought to Have a Name For It – Whack-a-Mole

Posted on September 7, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Another practice / performance anomaly. This is the thing that happens when you identify a rough spot in one of your breaks. You start practicing it and isolate the offending habit to clear it up. All goes well, and you … Continue reading →

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Building Up Endurance

Posted on August 26, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Very frequently I have students tell me they have some problems with cramps, shaking, or just an uncomfortable tenseness in the arms and hands. Let’s talk about it. I remember getting those sensations as well as I was first learning … Continue reading →

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How I Measure Banjo Speed

Posted on August 1, 2009 by Phill Gibson

Most musicians measure speed in beats per minute (BMP), which is pretty intuitive for most folks. It’s also part of our standard system of musical notation, so we should all get to know it; so many beats per measure, depending … Continue reading →

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They Ought to Have a Name for it – Stuck in a (Fret) Rut

Posted on July 24, 2009 by Phill Gibson

This happens with your fretting hand when you are playing a lick and you don’t get your fingers positioned exactly right before it is time to pick the notes. You’d like to lift one or more of your fingers and … Continue reading →

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Talent versus Persistence

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Phill Gibson

We should value persistence, even more so than talent, in students. Continue reading →

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