Béla Fleck, never heard of her? Sounds like a bunch of amateurs to me.
In reality he’s probably the greatest banjo player to ever live since Earle Scruggs. Considered by most to be a legitimate virtuoso.
Any Tips on Learning to Play the Banjo?
- Thread starter mawnansmiff
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In reality he’s probably the greatest banjo player to ever live since Earle Scruggs. Considered by most to be a legitimate virtuoso.
Christ I’m impressionable.
I bought a ukulele after reading this thread.
I bought a ukulele after reading this thread.
I own and play a 5 string banjo. I play like a rhythm guitar. Tune the first 4 strings like a guitar which is the same as 5 string tuning except first string is tuned up one whole step. I only play in G C or D so the 5th string is not needed for this.
No banjo player but play guitar and have arthritis. Im not sure how bad your arthritis is, but I will mention a few things you may already know or tried.
Larger frets - a guitar with Jumbo frets helps to eliminate pressing down as hard. Pressing down hard shouldnt be needed anyway.
Lighter strings - yes you can put electric guitar strings on an acoustic guitar. 9 gauge strings.
Keep fingers near the frets when playing notes. Fingers do not have to touch the fretboard, the string only has to touch the fret. Kids can play the guitar without problems.
Voltaren gel on my knuckles- Im not a doctor, and not saying to apply, but this helps me and my hands, elbows, joints.
Neck thickness - this took me a while to realize, but guitars have thicker, thinner necks, find a guitar that is comfortable in your hands.
Enjoy the journey!
It was the broad neck of the guitar plus the action of the strings that made it difficult for me hence me selling it.
Hopefully, as this banjolele has a narrower and thinner neck, I should be able to work things out. Also I read that the action of the strings is much easier too, they not requiring as much pressure.
Amazon e-mailed me to say it arrives tomorrow so I've got to get my Y/T videos watched so I'll be prepared for the big day
Regards,
Jay.
Well my banjolele arrived late yesterday. I have to say it really looks a belter with its walnut neck, rosewood fretboard, sapele pot and resonator.
It has lovely little skull & crossbones inlaid as markers on the fretboard and all the metalwork is finely finished. The headstock has an inlaid KMISE logo whereas earlier models only had a nasty looking sticker according to reviews. Also, considering its size, it has some weight to it which is reassuring.
The only flaw, and it really isn't really a flaw, is the grain of the sapele resonator goes east/west whereas I'd prefer it went north/south in line with the back of the neck. I could remove it and replace it but there's no rush.
Setting the floating bridge was a doddle with the supplied strip of plastic to use as a gauge. Then came the hard bit, tuning the thing. I was aiming for G-C-E-G as per one of the many Y/T tutorials I've seen but I was frightened of snapping a string! No matter, I got there in the end with no snapped strings. "Pluck fast, turn slow" the man on Y/T says.
Now I get to the playing. Following the Y/T instructions from this guy to play a simple 3 chord tune (strumming all strings without touching any frets), strumming all strings while holding at fret 5 and the same at fret 7 I get a very 'flat' sound when pressing in the frets and I don't know why. It just loses its stridence and sounds so dull whereas just strumming has that lovely 'jangly' sound.
More work needed methinks.
Regards,
Jay.
It has lovely little skull & crossbones inlaid as markers on the fretboard and all the metalwork is finely finished. The headstock has an inlaid KMISE logo whereas earlier models only had a nasty looking sticker according to reviews. Also, considering its size, it has some weight to it which is reassuring.
The only flaw, and it really isn't really a flaw, is the grain of the sapele resonator goes east/west whereas I'd prefer it went north/south in line with the back of the neck. I could remove it and replace it but there's no rush.
Setting the floating bridge was a doddle with the supplied strip of plastic to use as a gauge. Then came the hard bit, tuning the thing. I was aiming for G-C-E-G as per one of the many Y/T tutorials I've seen but I was frightened of snapping a string! No matter, I got there in the end with no snapped strings. "Pluck fast, turn slow" the man on Y/T says.
Now I get to the playing. Following the Y/T instructions from this guy to play a simple 3 chord tune (strumming all strings without touching any frets), strumming all strings while holding at fret 5 and the same at fret 7 I get a very 'flat' sound when pressing in the frets and I don't know why. It just loses its stridence and sounds so dull whereas just strumming has that lovely 'jangly' sound.
More work needed methinks.
Regards,
Jay.
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It needs to be setup, the action is likely wrong and it's fretting out. Or you're not fretting the strings solidly.
That is likely my problem. If I lay it flat on my lap and use my left thumb to hold the strings it sounds just about right so clearly it's my technique that needs work.
Bending my finger over the fretboard and applying sufficient pressure is what I need to practice whilst just gently strumming. I saw one method was to use another finger to press on the fretting finger to get the right pressure.
I originally set it to G-C-E-G but have now set it to G-C-E-A as per another Y/T tutorial.
Onwards and upwards
Regards,
Jay.
Building enough strength in your left hand to fret the chords is the number one hurdle. But it shouldn't be so hard that you have to do it with your thumb. That's a sign of overly high strings, either your bridge needs to be shaved or your rod needs to be adjusted, or more likely both. A properly adjusted instrument can be the difference being able learn and not. Measuring the string height is pretty straight forward as is adjusting the coordinator rod. Shaving a bridge, not so much. Do yourself a favor and spend few bucks on a good 6" machinists rule, you can use it to check the string height at the 12th fret. It should be no more than 1/8". If it is, you need to adjust the coordinator rod.That is likely my problem. If I lay it flat on my lap and use my left thumb to hold the strings it sounds just about right so clearly it's my technique that needs work.
Bending my finger over the fretboard and applying sufficient pressure is what I need to practice whilst just gently strumming. I saw one method was to use another finger to press on the fretting finger to get the right pressure.
I originally set it to G-C-E-G but have now set it to G-C-E-A as per another Y/T tutorial.
Onwards and upwards
Regards,
Jay.
Just press your fingertips into a steak knife while pissing on an electrical outlet.
Just press your fingertips into a steak knife while pissing on an electrical outlet.
Well... I've had my share of kitchen mandolin accidents and now know better and wear one of those oyster shucking gloves when I use mine.
Yeh, it is a toss up as to whether the mandolin instrument was named after the cutter, or the cutter after the instrument... both are medieval forms of torture.
I think you misunderstood, I only did that so I could actually see that I was indeed pressing all 4 strings on the fret, I don't intend on playing like that.
These here Aquila nylgut strings go out of tune from one day to another though I'm assured they will stretch and keep in tune after a few days.
I've joined a forum called Ukulele Underground (I think) that has some banjolele tips on various threads.
I'm currently watching and rewatching this chap...
Regards,
Jay.
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Good Brand
I drop by there from time to time. It was/is a very helpful site.
I'm a guitar player so when it came to banjo I "cheated" and bought a six string banjo. Plays like a guitar, sounds like a banjo.