Is there a banjo Ben Clark app in the future? Cause that would be pretty useful for pickers on the move
Banjo Ben Mobile App Feedback and Ideas!
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A great idea! What would you like to see in an app that is different from accessing my site on your phone/tablet?
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Notifications of things like forum posts, as well as the same general ease of use as you have here, but more catered specifically to a smartphone format
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Don’t you get Notifications on Google Chrome ? I do on my PC… Maybe it’s different on an iPhone
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Web sites don’t always work so well or look very good on a phone, hence the inquiry about an app.
Web pages on a portable device over a sometimes slow wireless system and on a small display can be clunky, difficult to use and prone to time outs and errors. Frustrating to say the least.
An app that is designed for the portable device and smaller screen can have much of the functionality built into the app itself rather than depending so much on bandwidth thereby eliminating most lag time issues and errors. The screen real estate and menu system can be reorganized and optimized to provide greater functionality, speed and navigation.
And, other tools, not typically included in a web site may be incorporated into an app, like maybe, built in banjo, mando and guitar, tuners, metronomes, sound and video recorders that can automatically submit your recording to the forum. Pop up key and chord charts, Nashville Number System, common chord progressions… Things that would be handy while you’re mobile.
There’s probably all sorts of cool things that could be added to a BanjoBenClark app.
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I was at a jam last night and talking with a couple from Wisconsin. He plays banjo, she’s new to the mando. I met them the week before. I’ve been talking up BanjoBenClark.com. She has been to the site before but was having difficulty unlocking her three lessons. I wanted to show her some of the finer aspects of the site, like the beginner, intermediate and advanced learning tracks and checklists, the video, the tab and .tef files and the backing tracks of each lesson, the wonderful forum, etc. buuuuuttttt, I was in an area with spotty cell coverage and and it was not a pleasant experience to say the least.
A BanjoBenClark mobile app would have shined even with a minimal connection.
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Thanks @Maggie I am not a mobile phone user these day’s since I stopped working. I used to be on call 24/7 so not having a mobile is a welcome relief. My daughters and my five grandkids are constantly on their iPhones and iPads.
I built a small business website for my daughter’s a few years back using html5 and that works fine across all platforms.
I just assumed Ben’s website would be fully functional on all these devices particularly the iPhones and iPads.
Mind you Ben’s site is a lot more complex than the one I built. I guess there’s good reason to have a mobile app that has more functionality. Although I am thinking it would be much harder to watch videos and read TAB on such a tiny screen
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No worries. I’m curious about something else too. I lived in Australia for two years way back when and they had just one cellular provider which covered the whole country, even most of the outback and I have to admit, the coverage was pretty good.
Here in the US, we have many providers all competing for business and coverage with each provider in certain areas of the country is going to be less than desirable. What is it like in Scotland? What about Europe in general?
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Me thinks Australia is a lot flatter, less physical/metallic objects for radio signals to bounce off. Allowing radio waves to travel further. And less radio traffic to clutter the airwaves allowing stronger signals to pass between overhead satellites and ground station receivers… America is pretty much swamped with VHF and UHF radio stations which have pretty powerful transmitters, reducing the available bandwidth.
Here in the UK the BBC and other TV and Radio Stations were forced to move out of the lower bandwidths and moved to digital radio/TV when mobile companies applied for licences.
At first phone coverage was pretty dire but I has improved over the years. I think my daughters and grandkids are all using 4G devices. Broadband in my area is good other areas it’s terrible.
PS I think the coverage across Europe is good especially. Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the low countries. I have no personal experience of this. But all these countries are technically advanced.
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No, and I want it to pop up at the top of the screen when, for example, someone replies to my forum post. The Australians seem to be quite fortunate to have such good coverage, in Mozambique, there’s three carriers and one is pretty much worthless. The other two are decent though
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I suppose it’ll cost @BanjoBen a pretty penny to hire someone to create an app. Don’t know what’s involved.
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The website works well on my phone and tablet, I feel like is spend a lot of time accessing the material. It would be nice to see an app that has quick access to the material that im working with. I think the skill level tracks and checklists would be great in an app form. Also, it would be cool if there was a function to bring bluegrass players together to form jams and stuff. kinda like a map overlay with player profiles. I think it would really bring the community together.
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Hi David There is a map already on the site where members share their location. Personally. I don’t use it because there are so few pickers in my area and I already know them all.
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Hi David (@shelanskas.david). This is a great discussion and I for one think we should keep it going and get more ideas. I’m suggesting you change title of the thread from “Banjo Ben Question” to something like “Banjo Ben Mobile App”. That might attract more attention from more members and more input.
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Yeah, I think it would be neat have a quick access to my top X number of lessons or my fav backing tracks without having to drive through a whole menu system or do searches on a mobile device to get to what I need. That’s the beauty of an app.
There is a members map on Google maps but not everyone is aware of it and some find it difficult to add themselves and it’s clunky. Again, this would be a wonderful function of a BanjoBen App.
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Amen to the map idea! The map that already exists is hard to find, hard to use, and doesn’t work with my phone (possibly due to parental controls) that function on the app would also help find other members at events like festivals, concerts, nascar races, or traffic jams. It also could make PMing a whole lot easier and more convenient. It would also give me yet another reason to get a new phone
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Yes, more feedback here would be great! I’m changing the title.
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Since I’d be using the mobile app while travelling, I’d love to be able to download and save lesson videos, within the app, from say at least two lessons (keeping in mind some lessons have multiple videos) to work on while travelling. That way I don’t have to keep trying to stream them over a spotty cell network or hotel wifi which I don’t like to use anyway because they’re not secure. I do take my own wifi hotspot with me, but it’s metered, so I’d use up the monthly data allotment pretty fast by watching the same video repeatedly.
In much the same way I can download a movie or tv show from Netflix or Prime before I leave for a trip and I can watch it when I want without an internet connection. It will then expire or self destruct after some number of days or I can delete it to make room for another. I know that presently our browser can save a video, but is that only one video?
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No, it’s a whole lesson. That function of the app would be useful though
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