A year of progress

[FIrebelly]

A year ago today, I dressed up like a hillbilly for Halloween and got my dusty banjo out of the closet to play on my porch as kids approached. I re-caught the banjo bug! I hadn’t played for years and was extremely rusty. I could only play about three songs from memory. I dove back in head first and started practicing hard. In January I joined Banjo Ben as a lifetime member and found the nice folks on this forum! Over this last year, with the help of this site, I have made amazing progress…

-I’m playing smoother
-I’ve memorized over 20 songs
-I’m breaking away from tab
-I’m improvising pretty well on basic songs
-I’m playing more up the neck
-I’m learning single string and chord melody playing
-I found my dream banjo this year
-Jamtrainer has been a great tool that has improved my playing and made it fun to practice
-I’ve learned a ton from everyone on this forum!
-Started playing some mandolin

I’m having a blast and have seen a lot of progress primarily because of Banjo Ben and you all!

Thanks! I’m looking forward to the next year!

Me and my son last year……

[Archie]

Glad to hear your making progress @FIrebelly Chuck

[FIrebelly]

Thanks Archie, I appreciate all you do on this forum!

[BanJoe]

That’s all well & good, but the real yardstick of progress is how many kids your banjo playing scared this year!
In my case, the kids thought it was cool, but the parents would reach for their cell phones. intent on speed dialing the cops if there was any indication of “Dueling Banjos.”
No one ever calls the cops on mando players.

[FIrebelly]

“No one ever calls the cops on mando players.”

True, it’s a lot easier to conceal a mandolin under your jacket when running from the music store!

[BanjoBen]

I’m sure thankful you’re here! Plus, you won a $100 General Store gift card for your costume entry!

https://youtube.com/shorts/ZY5SpfB2hNM?feature=share

[FIrebelly]

Thank you sir! I am the one who is very thankful! I enjoyed the contest, thanks again for all you do! I truly appreciate it.

-Chuck

[Mark_Rocka]

Man, that’s a solid year to be proud of. Memorizing 20 songs in a year is impressive by itself. Then you add in all that other stuff and that’s really something.

Congrats on all the hard work!

[FIrebelly]

Thanks Mark! In all fairness, the 20 songs were pretty basic versions of easy songs like Rolling in My Sweet Baby’s Arms, John Henry, Wabash Cannon Ball etc…and I had played a lot of those songs before I quit banjo. I started with the low hanging fruit. I also worked through the beginner lessons, and am still practicing a lot of material in those lessons. Now I’m kind of stuck in the early intermediate stuff. That’s the beauty of the way Banjo Ben has set up the lessons, it becomes apparent real quick where your skill level is and what you need to work on. Thanks again for all of your help over the last year!