Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

2026 Virtual Banjo Camp!

#1

Hey y’all!

You can register HERE NOW! Gold Pickers: remember that you are sent a coupon code on Tuesday, Aug. 18!

We’re back for another year with me, Kristin Scott Benson, and Bill Evans! It’s a full evening of banjo learning.

Here’s a synopsis of the evening, and feel free to drop questions below for the instructors!

How many times I’ve heard from students: “I know the song out of G position, but they sang it in D :tired_face: I was LOST!”

We’re gonna fix that during this camp. First, we’ll take a popular melody in the G position to make sure we’re familiar with it. Then, we’ll move that melody to C, D, & F positions and learn how to play a break for it.

Not only breaks, though! We’ll also learn how to approach backup in each of those positions, AND include some of our favorite licks that get us out of sticky spots that we may find ourself in. 

Once you know how to play in G, C, D, and F positions, you can play along with any song in any key with the help of the capo. Real banjo players can do this, and you need to know get better at it.

Check out the promo video!

Not available for the live camp on September 22nd? No worries! The event will be recorded, and we’ll send you the link after the event is over.

-Banjo Ben
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TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE

**If you experience any technical issues during the live event, read the comments below!

Video Quality Issues/Freezing Video

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Live Stream Interruption or Disconnection

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Remember, always ask yourself “is it me?” when you experience an issue with your connection, video quality, or audio. Sometimes a simple refresh of the page or a quick device inspection on your end can save you a headache. That being said, please feel free to leave a comment on the event chat feed! We want you to have the best experience possible, and someone on the chat may have experienced what you are experiencing.

Also remember, this entire event is being recorded. So, if you experience an issue with your equipment or internet speeds, you’ll be emailed the entire recording in the coming days.

  • If these steps do not resolve your issue, please text us at 615-512-6549.
11 Likes
#2

This is gonna be a good one. In one of our recent lessons, Kristin took me on my first journey of playing in F. We used “Banks of the Ohio” as our template for the lesson. I used to just refuse to take breaks at a jam on songs in F. Turns out, playing in F is really fun!

3 Likes
#3

Got my ticket! Looking forward to it.

2 Likes
#4

Wish I could go, but unfortunately family obligations and my health have other plans for me this year.

#5

This is a virtual camp. Not only do you not have to go anywhere, you don’t even have to be there on the night it streams. They record it and leave a link to it for everyone who signed up.

The topic of the night will be playing in keys other than G, which I’m very stoked about!

#6

Ahhh, thanks for clarifying that. I will check it out. I guess the “virtual” part should have been a clue huh? :crazy_face:

1 Like
#7

Im in. I got my ticket

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#8

For the virtual banjo camp is there a tune or list of tunes that would be helpful for students to review or learn before the camp?
Mac

#9

There will be one song in particular, and I’ll share that with you soon!

1 Like
#10

Great! Thanks!

#11

I got my ticket today and am excited to learn all that I can about playing banjo.

1 Like
#12

Just got my ticket to the party. Looking forward to it!

#13

Hi Ben, Kristen and Bill,
Hope you will cover some of the areas I struggle with at times:

  1. Many banjo players favor the key of G because the open strings make roll patterns easier and help the melody stand out. When playing in other keys without a capo, are there other roll patterns or techniques that can improve the sound and bring out the melody more in a song? Note: I usually play songs in other keys with a capo using G position up to 5th fret. Very few times I will capo up between the 7th and 9th fret because those capo positions don’t sound as nice to me when playing a song.

  2. When playing up the neck, how do you increase your speed, accuracy, and tone without fumbling over your playing at those higher positions?

  3. Should you play partial chords or full chord positions at those higher positions?

  4. Can you talk about embellishment, passing tones (connecting chords especially at higher fret positions) for a song to jazz it up instead of feeling that every song that you play basically sounds the same based on the roll patterns you incorporate in the song.

2 Likes
#14

Super questions @Rick. I will work to address all of those we can!

#15

I’m registered ! Unfortunately, I won’t be attending in person. I live in Belgium, that’s 7 hours ahead of Central Time. For me the camp starts at 0.00 AM the next day and continues to about 4 AM in the morning. I need some sleep :slight_smile: !

However, I have a question, but it’s a little bit outside of the topic at hand. I consider myself an intermediate player. I’m capable of kicking off a song, taking a break and doing the backup with rolls and vamps. But when kicking off or taking a break in a jam, the first few songs I feel very nervous and make a lot of mistakes (that I don’t do when I practice). The longer the jam continues, the more calm and secure I get, and at the end I’m playing reasonably well. So, my questionis : how can I grow confidence from the beginning of a jam ?

Maybe it’s too big a topic to discuss at this banjo camp, but I thought I’d take the opportunity to ask it anyways.

I’m a huge fan of Bill Evans. I had some lessons he gave in München (Germany), in Sore Fingers (UK) and online. Hiya Bill !

3 Likes
#16

I’m not qualified to give advice, but I have experienced the same thing you are describing and can provide my personal view on it. I believe it is a mental block. For example, I could play decent when playing alone, but if I was asked to play in front of people or at a jam with strangers, I would get nervous to the point where my hands would even shake. This wouldn’t happen when I played for family or a friend I jammed with regularly. It is almost a type of stage freight I believe. Your mind tells you that you have to play good and you are nervous that you will mess up and look foolish in front of others. The harder you try to do good, the worse things get. The two ways that worked for me to get past it is to one, play a lot around strangers until it becomes second nature. Two, empty your mind of any thoughts, fears, or expectations. In a sense, have an, “I don’t care” type of attitude. It’s not the end of the world if you mess up or look bad in front of others, so clear your mind and charge forward. Soon it will go away for good, like the way you said it does after you calm down and get comfortable. Anyway, just my personal thoughts on it.

3 Likes
#17

Agreed. This used to happen to me at jams. The more jams I went to, though, and the more I screwed up taking breaks, the more I realized it doesn’t matter if I screw up, which puts me at ease at jams now.

But I like the way I’ve heard Ben say it at a few camps right before folks get on stage on the final night. Ultimately, the fright comes from fear of being judged, and that’s all in our minds. If I play a wrong note, will anyone think less of me? No. And I don’t know about you, but when I see someone get on stage or take a break who I know is nervous, I’m happy that they are trying. It’s literally the opposite of judging.

It doesn’t take any effort to stay inside your comfort zone.

4 Likes
#18

I echo @Mark_Rocka comments. I also had red light syndrome i.e playing into the camera. When @BanjoBen launched this version of the website 12 years ago this was my first video attempt Warts and All. As you can see I struggled on through, fumbling with the strings. When I got to the end it was such a relief and it gave me the confidence to keep going despite the flaws in my playing. Early days is not about being perfect.

1 Like
#19

Well done ! It’s funny, I wonder if you have the same experience : when I record a song on video, I feel I made a lot of mistakes. But when you re-view it some time later (months, or even years), you say “Hey, that wasn’t that bad after all !”. You hit all the notes, and you played in time, so kudos for that !

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#20

That’s good advice ! I’ll try to remember that in the next jam !