Top Things to Watch Out For As A Beginner – Banjo
In today’s blog post, I want to discuss the top things you should watch out for as a beginner banjoist. These are a few of the things I see a lot with new students; the quicker you catch them, the better this journey will go.
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Thumb Scraping
One thing to be mindful of is the motion of your thumb. If you swing too wide or dig in too deep, you can get a scraping sound on the banjo head. No, don’t blame your thumbpick right away because it is too “long.” The problem is most likely in the way you are moving your thumb.
HOW TO CORRECT– You correct this by paying close attention to the movement of your thumb. Make sure it isn’t swinging in wide circular motions.
A drill: Strike the fifth string with your thumb, and then quickly bring it back onto the 5th string to stop it from ringing. This trains you to get back to the string quickly without wasting any motion; it’s almost like your thumb is bouncing back. This is great for reducing the tension in your fingers as well.
In real life, you won’ t be able to take this exact path with your thumb, but it helps get you into the habit of reducing the motion. After you do this a few times, try to play regularly (all open strings) and watch your thumb like a hawk. Any time you hear the scraping, stop, adjust, and try again. The longer this goes on, the more difficult it will be to stop.
I have had students take a knife and cut their thumbpick shorter. This can work, but it is also not necessary. It’s a solution to a problem that isn’t caused by the pick.
On the other hand, equipment can sometimes come into play. If your banjo has a very short bridge (usually only on cheaper banjos), this can bring the strings very close to the head. This will then lead to you scraping the head as you strike. Not always, but when this is the case, you will usually hear buzzing from your banjo as it is played past the 12th fret (the action is too low due to the bridge being too low!).
Playing Out Of Time
I know a lot about this. When I was a beginner, I didn’t even know “timing” was crucial. I just thought you played the notes, and that was that. Imagine my dismay at my first REAL banjo lesson!
I’ve noticed when students have problems with a passage, they are more apt to play it too fast. They will rush right through it, almost as if they hope nobody notices. Well, that’s not going to work. The good news is in banjo music, there are only a few rhythms you need to know (8th notes, quarter notes). If you are having trouble with a passage, slow it down to a snail’s pace and attack it head-on. I once heard a good quote, but it escapes me who said it:
Play it so slow that you play it correctly every time.
Rushing through it isn’t going to solve it. I’m not a huge fan of the metronome in the beginning. I don’t see most students having a timing issue so much as a technique or concentration issue. Most people can count 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 if they must. Slow it down and count it out. Sometimes it helps to look at the music and imagine it in your head before trying to play it (I do this A LOT). I also sometimes tap out or sing rhythms if I’m having trouble with them.
Trying To Do Too Much
You know who I absolutely love working with? Slow learners. I enjoy them the most because they aren’t in a hurry to get somewhere. If your attitude is I have to finish this so I can get to the next song so I can get to the next thing….you are going about this all wrong. Quality over quantity. It truly takes months to get a song under your fingers to the point you can play it effortlessly. Sometimes it may take half a year. I always tell students, your success in music comes largely from the ability to do the same things over and over again. If your practice routine consists of trying to learn five complex breaks from an album, you need to rethink your process.
One of the things that made the great banjo players great is not what they played but how they played. This takes time-to get the accents and emphasis right. You need to not only learn songs but listen to them by a variety of people as well.
Imagine if you were building a chair that you had to sit in for the next 20 years. You’d probably want to take your time and make sure it was built correctly. You wouldn’t want it to be some thrown-together rickety old thing that could collapse any minute. That’s how you should think about music-as a craftsman. Slow and deliberate will actually enable you to learn faster.
Unfortunately, technology is partly to blame for this. When I was learning, I didn’t have YouTube. I had the Earl Scruggs black book, Banjo Newsletter, and lots of festivals/jams. Now, people go online and take from everything, as if music is some sort of all you can eat buffet bar. Pretty soon they have gorged themself to the point their belly (or head) hurts. This sort of approach isn’t useful in the beginning. You will only confuse yourself and pull your mind too many ways at once.
Not Working On The Chords & Backup
Even if you have no plans to play with others or attend a jam, you should work on the chords to the songs. Why? It is through these chords that you’ll be able to improvise and create your own breaks. You must take time each week to work on the accompaniment and backup to your repertoire. Let’s say you learn a new hot C lick. How will you know where to plug it in if you don’t know the chords to the songs? In addition, learning the chords will help you understand the structure of the song. This will indirectly help you as you go to memorize the tune. I highly suggest learning the Nashville Numbering System.
Audio-Visual Version
Closing Remarks
I hope this helps you know what to be on the lookout for as you learn to play the banjo. As always, feel free to contact me for questions or if you need one-on-one instruction (I teach anywhere in the world via ZOOM).
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