New Year New Banjo Player

Well it's 2015!  YIPPIE


Pictured left is a Bob Carlin 350 banjo :-)




So one of your resolutions was to practice your banjo more.  I actually asked this question on my FB page and several other places.  Overwhelming majority said they just wanted to play more. 

Well if you want to play more I have a few tips that may make this resolution easy for you to keep. 

1. Keep your banjo accessible.  Is your banjo sitting in a case in a closet?  If so, try and move it out into the open somewhere.  Hang it on a wall and have some functional artwork, or put it on a stand in your living room.  Just have that baby out where you will see it and it WILL call to you.   "Hey you, play me you jerk I'm getting lonely".  
2. If you don't have the time to put in a 30 minute or hour long session break your time up into 3 10 minute sessions or wake up a half hour early (LOL, yeah right just like you'll wake up early to exercise).  
3. Plan on only learning only a handful of tunes each year.  For you to get good and cozy with a song (to the point where you feel comfortable improvising) you need to play it at least 1000 times.  So get in deep into each song before trying to add more songs.  People often get in too much of hurry and think somehow that memorizing more songs is a good thing.  I think the opposite is really true.  The way I teach you to play you can easily play along with any song if you know the chords, while you take the time to get intimate with the songs you really love and want to learn.  
4. Consider getting MOBILE with your banjo.  Going to shoot hoops with friends at a park?  Why not throw the banjo in your trunk and grab it afterwards and play for awhile under the trees?  Going on vacation - make room for it, the banjo is more essential than underwear in my opinion.  You can always hit up a store and get a pack of underwear, can't get a banjo very easily.  If you need a cheaper model that you won't worry about having in your car or at work I can help you (since I'm a banjo dealer).  Which leads me to this.....
5. Consider purchasing a cheaper banjo to leave at work, leave at relatives homes that you frequent, etc.  Or just buy one to use as your bang around camping sort of banjo.  
6. Finally, KISS.  Keep It Simple Stupid.  I cannot stress this enough.  Don't make everything so complicated.  Banjo playing can be as simple or as hard as you want.  Make time for it, make room for it, love it, pet it, name it George for goodness sakes.  

I hope this can help you to keep your resolutions to yourselves to become that banjo player you want to be in 2015! 

As always I leave you with a verse.

Mandy

Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.