Hello Fellow Banjo Enthusiasts,
Why did the banjo player bring a ladder to practice? He had trouble reaching those high notes up the fretboard. 
I’ve been diligently working my way through Banjo Ben’s Beginner Banjo Learning Track, and I wanted to share my experiences with the Banjo Backup course.
Everything here is valuable, and if you haven’t yet, I highly recommend investing your time and effort into all of these lessons.
While your experience may vary, here are some key takeaways that resonated with me:
Alan Munde Interview: The interview with the legendary banjo player, Alan Munde, was not only informative but also incredibly entertaining. Even Bens face lit up when Alan started playing.
Major Chords: Ben’s lessons covering I, IV, and V major chords in the various bar, X, and Y positions truly expanded my horizons as I am learning to explore the entire fretboard. No more ladder required!
Enhancing Picking Techniques: The discussions on picking techniques and rolls and smooth chord walking transitions were incredibly valuable.
Chord Walking: I took extra time diving into chord walking and spent a fair amount of time trying to develop my own walks.
As Ben pointed out, major chords consist of three tones, a 1-3-5 , the root, third and the fifth.
So while Ben shows 2 examples of chord walking into the root, and one example of chord walking into a third. I started exploring with chord walking walks into the fifth.
Banjo Single Measure Backup: This part of the course, in my view, is a standout. With he MP3 files looping, I found myself lost in that G - G - C - C - Em - D - G - G progression, playing it over and over at 3/4 speed 10 minutes without pause till everything was smooth a melodic.
For me it’s not mimicking Ben’s adaptations exactly; it’s about having the tools to choose your path and play in your style.
Warm regards,
David
