My banjo on my knee
One important thing I've learned: I need to stop by a hardware store and pick up a couple swivel clips, which I can then sew one of my handwoven straps to - it's easier to play the banjo when you're not having to think about holding it up quite so much. (And sewing up a gig bag looks like a project for soon. Much more compact and easier to cope with than a big cardboard box, plus I can sew in pockets for music and picks. I think I've found a use for the upholstery fabric in my fabric stash.)
Second important thing I've learned: strumming is not as easy as it looks. Seriously. I'm going to be practicing just strumming (with three easy chords) all week. GG CCC DD CCC. By the time I've got them down, I don't think anyone around me will ever want to hear "Wild Thing" ever again. So it's good that I've been promised "Oh, Suzannah" for next week, isn't it?
Thirdly, um, wow. I can tune a banjo. And produce a chord. Mostly.
Neat lessons. Now for a week and a half's worth of practice. GG CCC DD CCC...
Second important thing I've learned: strumming is not as easy as it looks. Seriously. I'm going to be practicing just strumming (with three easy chords) all week. GG CCC DD CCC. By the time I've got them down, I don't think anyone around me will ever want to hear "Wild Thing" ever again. So it's good that I've been promised "Oh, Suzannah" for next week, isn't it?
Thirdly, um, wow. I can tune a banjo. And produce a chord. Mostly.
Neat lessons. Now for a week and a half's worth of practice. GG CCC DD CCC...
posted by Plain Foolish | 5:00 AM
4 Comments:
Piece of advice--if you feel the need to muffle the sound for indoor practice, do not use a pair of your husband's old boxers. Amber Jean did that and it worked fine until we got to a dance one time and somebody asked to try her banjo. They wanted to hear it better so they pulled out the "rag" she had stuffed inside the head and . . . well, it was a bit awkward.
*snerk* Oh, my. Actually, I'm much more likely to snatch up some of the wraps I use for lunches. I have an enormous collection of bandannas, napkins, and the like that I wrap my bento boxes in.
My sole embarrassment this lesson was that I was uncertain of my repair of the broken string, so I had not clipped the new string short. (And it was my D string, not my G string, which would have been worse...
*snort* Love the boxers story! Matt is always breaking his G string... and he uses my bandannas for the dampening, which is something you will do for the type of banjo music you want to play. Anyway, Oh, Suzannah is a bear for me on the guitar because of the C chord which is hard for me to reach. I have very small hands. Starting you off with Wild Thing is cool.
I also have very small hands. I'm glad the neck of the Goodtime isn't any bigger than it is, or I'd really have trouble with fingering, I think. As it is, my thumb has to be in the "optimized" position (parallel to the banjo neck in the middle of the back) in order for me to reach without mashing down everything.
And I think I may be looking for a nice cheap stool in the secondhand store for putting out on the balcony to practice.
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