Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Absolute beginner again

#14

Newbie question alert! I got another set of finger picks to fit some for my wife. She has thin fingers. When I get them small enough, the bands overlap on the back. What is the normal or best approach?

  1. Remove material from the bands so they don’t overlap?
  2. Just overlap them?
  3. Order smaller picks made by (insert company here)?
  4. Feed my wife pizza in her sleep?

Thanks in advance!

Update: Forward rolls are underway and that is where I am spending my time. I am getting in several sessions a day. Index first forward rolls are going ok, thumb first was the most natural for me, middle first feels like I am driving a bike that I have to pedal backwards. Reverse rolls have been tried out for size. I want to get some semblance of familiarity with the various rolls before starting in on a song. When that happens, I will probably do the slide intro version of cripple creek. When the bluesy bag o licks came out I had to force myself to not even think about trying them. They sound awesome, but they are way above my pay grade. “Stay on target. Stay on target.”

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#15

Thanks Mark! It’s a blessing for sure. I have helped a lot of people get started on guitar, and I have never heard someone express regret for buying too nice of an instrument to learn on.

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#16

Thanks for the suggestion. I do have a mute thanks to Ben. My neighbors will appreciate it :slight_smile:

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#17

Hi @Mike_R I bought some really small picks years ago for my granddaughter I think they were made by Dunlop.

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#18

My picks overlap slightly on the back. It’s never bothered me. I believe Katy’s does too.

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#19

Mine overlap too; hasn’t caused any problems for me.

Glad to hear you’re progressing!

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#20

Woohoo!!!

Yep, your guitar playing is going to go into other levels with this banjo pursuit, and that’s a good thing. It’s also good to make your brain rewire a path or two every once in a while. Excited for you!

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#21

Question: I think my banjo weighs about 92 pounds. Anyone have any horror stories about hanging them on the wall? My hangers are into studs.

P.S. I hadn’t been hanging it because of the weight, but I did use a floor stand. I had it fall in a way that didn’t hurt it, but it reminded me why I don’t like floor stands.

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#22

I hang mine on a hanger with a stud. Haven’t had any issues.

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#23

I keep my best banjos in their cases, my old Fender I keep on a floor stand

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#24

The only appreciable damage any instrument I’ve ever owned has ever experienced was when my wife knocked over my Gold Star banjo sitting in a floor stand. Broke everything on the headstock except the face veneer.

I keep my Twanger on a wall hanger with 3.5" wood screws into a stud. Never had a problem.

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#25

Thanks y’all!

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#26

Looking forward to your update!

#27

Thanks for thinking of me! I am about a month into banjo playing. I have played just about every day, except for a stretch where we had the nieces visiting for a week.

Things are progressing and I am still enjoying it and well motivated. I went through the four roll studies. I spent quite a bit of time on the forward roll, maybe half that on the backward, then I did the forward backward for a bit before looking at my first song (Cripple Creek). I just took a peek or two at the square roll and also learned “you are my sunshine.” I have been working on (and really enjoying playing) the two songs “Cripple Creek” and “Sunshine.” I recently started working on “Amazing Grace.” I do feel a bit guilty in that I know I should practice the rolls by themselves more than I have, but I’ll try to get back to that at some point.

I did hit a bit of a milestone yesterday. I was able to get through playing with the fastest backing track on Cripple Creek. I’m not great at that speed, but it was there. Speed gains are kind of interesting on banjo. It seems like a given speed is impossible one day and then within a couple days of practice, that same speed is casual. I know that at some point, gains get real tough to come by, but I am enjoying being able to still see improvements daily.

Perhaps my favorite part of playing banjo is that it has gotten me playing music more with my wife. She has enjoyed working on her rhythm playing, so that has been fun.

I need to get some feedback on what I am doing, so I want to get some video up soon.

Thanks again for checking in!

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#28

Sounds as though your making steady progress @Mike_R The thing with learning banjo is you go through peaks and troughs and as you progress the learning curve grows steeper. Every day becomes a new challenge but on the brighter side as you look back at what you have accomplished and your able to measure your personal progress that’s when you see the rewards of your hard work. On a daily / weekly basis you might see yourself drift backwards or stand still but keep at it, check back again in a month or two and it will surprise you just how much progress you’ve made. Record your progress on video where possible that will give you a diary of your achievements.

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#29

Thanks for the encouragement Archie!

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#30

About time we hear that new Twanger Mr. Mike (and see it in action)!

A quick video perhaps?

And yes, you are too ready! I’ve heard you play guitar and mandolin!

But no pressure!

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#31

That was before I had these Freddy Krueger attachments to my fingers :slight_smile:
I’ll try to get something up soon. I have some technological challenges there, but they can be overcome.

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#32

Hmmmn, Not sure what would be worse… Freddie’s attachments or Edward Scissorshands! If Freddie and Eddie were in a band together, they’d sure be hard on strings!

Take your time Mike. I’m glad you’re giving a new instrument a shot. I started working on Dobro awhile back but lately have been playing a lot of electric.

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#33

In this video, I wanted to show the awesome “Guitar accompaniment” bundle I got with the twanger from the general store. It’s my favorite accessory of all time!

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