Easy Clawhammer Banjo Part One The Basics

     My first instructional ebook and mp3 exercises will be available soon.  This book will take you from never touching a banjo all the way to playing your first songs.  I have tons of pictures, exercises, tab, and mp3's to go along with it. 

If you just got a banjo, are getting a banjo soon, or know someone who got one this would make the perfect gift. 

The book will be out mid-January but I'm taking pre-orders now for $5.00 off the regular price.  So you can pre-order it now for $14.99 and you'll be the first to get it! 

Pre-order the Ebook here.

All I want for Christmas is a banjo........

If this is you or if this is a family member of someone who wants a banjo this is the post for you!

Tips on what to look for in a banjo and things to consider. 

• price - what sort of budget do you have, do you want an entry level banjo, do you want to forgo the inevitable upgrade to a more expensive banjo later and skip that step, are you unsure if you'll stick with it.  all good things you need to know the answer to before you purchase. 
• banjo type and style - 2 basic types of banjos are open back and resonator banjo.  open back banjos are typically played in the clawhammer or old time style, while resonator banjos are typically played in the bluegrass/scruggs style of play.  NO set rule here so this is a matter of preference in my opinion.  either style can be played on either banjo and or both styles can be played at the same time on either banjo.  i play both styles on all my open back banjos (don't own any resonator banjos at this time because I prefer the lighter weight of the open back). 
• bang for your buck - ok this is extremely important here.  what am i actually getting at with this is do you want to pay more for a name?  just like any purchase you make you want to make sure you are actually getting all the bells and whistles for the best price.  what woods is it made of, what is the tone ring made of, what type of tuners are on it, and on and on and on.  all of this is important from the beginner to expert models.  
• what comes with it - yes this is important too.  who wants to spend a bunch of money on a banjo and not get a case with it?  you can get freebies if you shop around.  free cases, straps, tuners, lessons, and more.  
• shop around - again back to the name thing - we all know that shopping around is the best way to make a decision.  do so, research on the internet, see what's available to view on youtube.  do all this before buying. 

If you want advice from me on any of this I'll be happy to help you.  Keep in mind that I am now affiliated with Gold Tone and do sell their products.  I chose to align myself with them after years of playing their banjos.  I believe they offer quality products at great prices.  I can give you a great banjo, freebies, and lessons from me.  I can also help you compare Gold Tones to other banjos and will always give you my honest opinion about them. 

So in closing I want you to make sure you are making an informed decision before purchasing your first, second, or third banjo.

Mandy

We love because he first loved us.

~ 1 John 4:19

Are you nervous playing around others? Let's talk....

Ok so for most everyone I know public speaking makes them nervous. Really the same goes for most when it comes to performing anything in front of people.

Some folks are fine playing around family, but that nervousness gets ramped up tremendously once they play for an audience of strangers. Here are some strategies that are helpful in making that transition a little easier.  Notice how I said "a little".  More on that below.

If "have banjo will travel" is not something you are saying to yourself and putting into action, then maybe you are just holding yourself back because of that nagging fear of the unknown.

1. Play for your family as much as you can - this may sound like a given but I know folks who avoid others like the plague when it comes to their instrument.  They will go hide in a back room while practicing (all the time).  So get out of that back room and play some for your family.  
2. Get outside on your _______ and play. Porch, your backyard, a park bench, your car with windows down, your truck tailgate, etc.  People will hear you trust me.  Your neighbors, the mailman, the kid riding their bike around the block, walkers at the park, etc.  Having strangers hear you is the first step.  But Mandy you say - what if they don't like me????  To that I say will the world end if they don't like you?  NO it won't.  Putting yourself in that slightly uncomfortable and new situation will force you to overcome that fear.  I believe that you will find a lot of encouragement rather than a lot of discouragement from the public at large.  Of course - first think about what and where you are deciding to play.  Don't go into the library and play for instance.  Don't go next to a kids birthday party at the park and play drinking songs.  Don't play in your yard at 1:00AM.  Don't do silly things. But this is your first step into the real unknown and fear causing emotion of - how will they respond to me.  
3. Find a jam session, create a jam session, see folks that are playing and ask to join in.  PLAY WITH OTHERS.  This is your second real step at how to get rid of that natural feeling of - can i really do this.  Play soft backing to begin with along with what they are playing.  Or if you are leading then play your song proudly.  Everyone was a beginner at one time.  Confidence goes a long way, practice will take you the rest of the way. 
4. Seek out public opportunities to play in front of people.  Is there a local festival happening where folks walk around the park and see many different booths?  Something like that is perfect.  Take a blanket with you and sit under some tree within the festival and start playing -better yet get a couple of people you've been playing with at the jam (or wherever) to come play/sing with you.  Before you know it you will have a small crowd of people near you wanting to hear more.  I have done this countless times folks.  Just do it.  Just be ready to answer the question - Can you play ________? insert a song you do not know here.  Just politely say I don't know that one but how about this and start playing.  You will always run into that because you can never possibly know every song out there.  
5. Now that you are doing all of these things it's time to take it a step further.  Get yourself or your group a gig.  Doesn't have to be a paying deal, but offer to play for the seniors in your community, or at a small event that someone you know is running, a birthday party, your imagination is the limit with this.  Talent contests, open mic nights, there are just a plethora of opportunities for you.  If you attend a church this is a great place to take this step also because some/most of the people are familiar to you.  
6. Now that you are doing this - what can stop you?  

There may or not be a time in your life when you completely get over that little bit of nervousness that comes with performing in front of people.  It's not a big deal really.  I always get a little nervous and I think that is just natural.  But by using these techniques I think you can greatly decrease the amount of nervousness you encounter.  The joy that performing for others brings greatly outweighs the small amount of nervousness anyway. 

So I hope you will get out there!  And one more thing to remember.  Not everyone will LOVE or even LIKE what you are doing.  So what?  Are you friends with every single person you encounter - NO.  Not everyone likes the banjo.  But at the same time I can't tell you how much positive feedback I have encountered.  Plus the banjo itself is a great conversation starter since it's not a guitar.  It's got character!!  

Mandy

P.S. My website is now converted as a dealer website for you to purchase all your banjo needs! Come visit Banjo Lemonade and take a look.  I also sell guitars and other instruments, accessories, and everything you need.  

Mark 5:1(NIV)

19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

How often do you change your strings?

I get asked this quite a bit.  Here's my long and my short answer to this.  So take your pick and proceed accordingly.   Short answer see 1.   Long answer see 2.  Drum roll please.................


1.  It depends.  On a bunch of different things.  Have a nice day :-)

2.  It depends.  On a bunch of different things.

• change them every 3-4 months if you play regularly and/or
• you are having to re-tune using major adjustments (minor adjustments are normal) and/or
• you see visible rust on the strings and/or
• they sound dead 

These are just some basic guidelines as to when to change your strings.  Only you can prevent forest fires and only you can tell when you need new strings.  Over time you will get a much better ear to be able to tell when they start to go dead.  The sound actually changes and they just don't have that pop ring or tone they had when they were new.

Regular use - if you are playing what I would call regularly (over 2 hours a week) I would change them 3 or 4 times a year max.  Unless you are playing over an hour everyday I doubt you will need to change them any more than that.

Re-tuning - each time you pick up your banjo on a daily basis you will probably need minor tuning adjustments due to weather conditions (temperature, humidity, etc) and more major tuning if you for instance take your banjo and have it in your car for an hour on the way to a jam session.  If you only keep your banjo in the home and need to do major tuning each time you play and are having more difficulty keeping it in tune (and the banjo is not having any mechanical issues) then this is a good indicator that you may need a new set of strings.

Visible rust or gunk - Let's face it, I do not wipe down my strings after I play my banjo.  Ever.  I just don't.  However, I have it on good authority that if you want your strings to last for an extended period, then wipe them down with a cloth after each time you play.  This will remove the oils from your fingers that tend to add gunk to the strings.  Not sure how long you can extend the life of them, but anyway that's out there for you to try if you'd like.

Dead strings - do you notice that when you change your strings that you fall in love with your banjo all over again because of the sweet sounds of those new strings?  I sure do, could be because I'm trying to not change them as much.  If your strings are just dull sounding, then they are dead.  Change those puppy's out and you will notice a huge difference.

Pick on friends!
Mandy

It is to a man's honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.

Proverbs 20:3 
New International Version

How to get away from a reliance on Tablature.

Ok so you have a banjo and you've learned some tab.  You are playing some tunes pretty good and enjoying them now.  So now you either 1. are content to keep learning from tab or 2. are watching my vids and learning to let go of the tab or 3. don't even care or 4. have a strong desire to move away from tab all-together.  

If you want to get away from it (which I hope at some point you do) then let's talk about that for a bit.  Here are some of the best ways to easily accomplish getting away from your reliance on tab. 

• learn the songs using chords - find a song you want to learn (any song), look up the chords on the net.  Pick a song you know the melody to well.  Don't go picking a song you've never heard before (not the way to start).  Once you have the chords start to use the basic clawhammer stroke (or just plain strums, or whatever you want to start with).  Play along with a recorded version of the song to ensure you have your timing and rhythm down.  Have fun with it and start adding in little embellishments - slides, hammers, pulls, etc.  
• play with others - this one is great fun!  Get out to some jams and you'll soon see that you don't really know that many songs and you need to start to recognize when chord changes are happening and learn to see when those things are happening.  You learn so fast when playing in a group it is unreal. 
• play by ear - i have a vid on that if you haven't seen it yet check it out.  

You may be saying - Mandy why are you constantly harping on us about this??  

Well I do it because to be completely honest with you unless you want to pick alone all the time, tab is not really that great. Memorizing tab limits you in a lot of ways.  You have to be able to be flexible - for instance, let's say you have memorized a song and play it exactly as you have it memorized a zillion times.  Then you go to the park to play and see a fiddler and a guitar playing sitting under a tree playing.  You go up and start playing with them.  They start playing a tune you know and you join in, but then they alter the song by maybe repeating the chorus or verse parts more than once or twice ?  You have that song locked into your head a certain way, yet now people are playing it a little differently.  Can you quickly adapt to those changes?  If the answer is no, then you need to get away from tab.  You need to be able to adapt quickly.  So if you want to come out of your house and play with others you need to be flexible and by practicing the way I'm telling you to you will develop those skills and openness that you need.  This changing of the number of times a chorus or verse is played is quite common and is the most simple change that can really happen.  If you can't handle this, then you just need to stay home.  I'm not trying to discourage anyone from playing with others, but you need to be able to adapt and it's really not that difficult if you just practice what I'm talking about doing. 

Just go listen on youtube to Old Joe Clark - how many different variations in the speed, verses, and more do you hear?  TONS, because some songs are different based on region.  Plus some folks just play songs the way they play it and it may be slightly different than how you play it but you still would like to be able to play along.  

So at this point to progress past just memorizing tab is a wonderful thing.  

Mandy

I leave you with this simple verse.  

PSALM 23

New International Version (NIV)

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

Have banjo will travel.

Do you have one of these for your banjo???  If the answer is no, I would strongly suggest you obtain a hard case for your baby (I mean banjo).

You wouldn't want some dunder-head to step on your beauty whilst it rests in some soft-sided or cloth bag now would you?  You could damage it seriously.

You may be saying to yourself - now Mandy I really don't plan on traveling anywhere with my banjo. To you I would say are you sure?  What if you have to, what if there's an emergency and you have a house fire? After getting all relatives and pets out of the home wouldn't you go back in for your banjo?  Now I realize I'm being a little bit drastic with this but it's all in fun.  Seriously though, you need one of these.

Taking a banjo out of your home should be natural to you, if it's not then you need to get out more.  LOL. No really - you should be taking your banjo with you when you are out and about.  What if you see a jam session in progress?  I'd sure hate to be banjo-less in that situation.  You just never know when you will pass by a scenic place in your car that begs for some banjo music either.

When traveling with your banjos please remember this also.  Temperature, humidity, and quickly varying things like having a banjo in your car and then going into an air conditioned building will affect (effect) your tuning.  So always have your tuner handy and tune up before playing.  Or say you have your banjo next to a campfire and it's getting chilly at night.  Hope you get the point of this.

GET A HARD CASE PEOPLE - SERIOUSLY.   Hmmmm.... no I do not sell nor am I affiliated with anyone  who does sell cases.  Sometimes I wish I was.  Haha.

Y'all have a good one and get out there and run amok!

Mandy

Psalm 18:30Amplified Bible (AMP)

30 As for God, His way is perfect! The word of the Lord is tested and tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge and put their trust in Him.

***UPDATE*****

Hey folks, since I posted this I have now become affiliated with Gold Tone banjos and sell quality hard cases and more.  So if you see this and want to purchase something from me just let me know and I'll throw in a FREE gift for you.  Just mention you've seen this post.  

New Blog Page for Banjo Lemonade.

Ok I finally have a new home for the blog after the Wordpress site literally died.  If you want to see any of the old posts click below.

Old Banjo Lemonade Blog Page

Going to be adding to this (NEW PAGE HERE) regularly.  I see people subscribing to the OLD one on wordpress, maybe I confused you, sorry.   THIS BLOGGER PAGE is the new BLOG for Banjo Lemonade.  I am unable to post anything to the OLD Wordpress site.