Learn Jam sessions skills for 5-string banjo. What songs to begin with, how to train your ears, and much more.
The key of A is one of the more common keys in bluegrass and old-time jams. This is because the key sits on the fiddle and mandolin quite well (lots of open strings). If you play banjo or guitar, you’ll likely be reaching for your…
If you are thinking about learning banjo or you already own a banjo, here are some of the most popular banjo songs of all-time. The more of these you know, the better off you’ll be when the requests start coming in! You’ll notice that a…
I was recently playing at a local bluegrass jam and someone wandered in that was a jazz player. They asked about the differences between learning bluegrass and jazz, so I thought this would make for a good article topic. There are some similarities between the…
I think it’s helpful to have a list of bluegrass jam songs by key for reference. In jams we often are forced to re-tune or capo to play in a key. It’s nice to have a bunch of songs for each key. That way you…
Today, I’m going to show you a basic bluegrass backup lick that everyone uses. It was made popular by one of the most famous banjo players of all-time, Earl Scruggs. I HIGHLY recommend listening to the Foggy Mountain Banjo album if you haven’t already done…
Jam Session Survival Guide for Banjo So you’ve bought an instrument, have played for a couple of months, and are now asking yourself the important question, “Am I ready for my local jam session? Here’s a list of Essential banjo skills Know two forms of…
I recently began a youtube teaching tutorial on slow song backup. Here are the first two parts. I begin with just the basic pattern of alternating your thumb and plucking. In the second video, I move on to triplets. THE TABS are available to my…
Here are the chords to Maiden’s Prayer, notice near the end the G/C which is 2 beats of G to 2 beats of C, etc G | G | G | G D | D | D | G G | G | G…
Backup Banjo Connectors Many people get hung up sounding like they are only rolling through chord shapes. How do you add interesting sounds between the chord shapes. Today, I’ll teach you how to take it one step further. I call these things banjo CONNECTORS,…
Playing Banjo In the Key of E One of the challenges beginner banjo players face is playing in unfamiliar keys. Keys that might be great for the guitar player but less conventional for our instrument. Have you ever attended a jam session, only to get…
In my latest teaching video I go over some listening hints for hearing chord changes. These are sounds I often listen for to help me anticipate the next chord change. I think knowing a little more about what to listen for will help you increase…
Improve your practice time Are your practice sessions preparing you for real life jam situations? Are your practice sessions failing to address the necessary skills required to play songs you’ve never heard- Can you show up at a jam and follow along on new material?…
In this video I go over a basic blues lick and then show you how to create many things out of one. The big picture here is COHERENCY in your solo. This coherency is gained the same way a great writer maintains coherency in a…
Want to become a better improviser? Regardless of the instrument? Are your solos going nowhere and don’t know how to get to that next level? Well I’ve created an ongoing course called “Improvisation Insights” that’s available on Skillshare.com and Teachable.com In this course, I will…