Tag Archives: Banjo

What I Would Do Over

I went to visit my folks out in the country this past Sunday afternoon, just as I often do. While there, I took the opportunity to go visit my old bedroom. The furniture has changed in there since the days … Continue reading

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Building Up Endurance

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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Should Music be Cubby-holed?

A friend and I were talking about various qualities of musical instruments and he made the comment that guitars, banjos and such instruments can easily play alone, whereas a brass or woodwind instrument, say, a trombone, really needs other instruments … Continue reading

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Back to 16th Avenue

I finally got back up to 16th Avenue in Nashville a few weeks ago. I was there to retrieve two of my banjos after getting them repaired at Classic Ax on Music Row. Plus, we brought the kids with us … Continue reading

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The Banjo & Bluegrass Jam Session is Tomorrow!

The Practice Banjo & Bluegrass Jam Session at The Coffee Tree Books & Brew As usual, this is on the third Saturday of each month; Augusts jam will be on the 15th. Kind of early for the third Saturday, but … Continue reading

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Binaries and Triads

We’ve all seen some common binary concepts in life from time to time. Things like digital vs. analog, good vs. bad and even something so commonplace as night vs. day. But do you know any concepts that involve triads? How … Continue reading

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How I Measure Banjo Speed

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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When New Skills are Like a Magnet

When you learn repetitious musical techniques, it can also be human nature to resist things that are very close to what you already know. Continue reading

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A Great Time at the Banjo Jam

We had a great time at our Banjo Jam Session at The Coffee Tree on July 18th! We usually start these practice sessions off by working through a chord sheet with several standard songs we’re familiar with (more or less) … Continue reading

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Technique Control, Part III – Left Hand Techniques

Last time, we looked at several aspects of control with respect to right hand techniques (or the picking hand, to make it independent of whether you’re left or right-handed). Today, let’s look at how we need to control what happens … Continue reading

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