I just purchased some more books by Steve Kaufman. I was listening to the songs and noticed it sounded different from Banjo Ben’s recordings/ style. Would someone be able to tell me what the difference is between Steve Kaufman’s playing and Banjo Ben’s playing or is it how it is recorded/ which instruments were used? Thank you!
I am going to try to post some of Mr. Kaufman’s songs to compare with Banjo Ben’s songs.
I think @BanjoBen learned guitar from Joe Carr at South Plains College Texas. I am sure he learned from others.
Every player has a little bit different style. That’s what makes each player unique and fun to listen to. Check out the bluegrass tunes David Grier plays. Very different from a Bryan Sutton or Billy Strings. But they are all great to listen to. Great question! -Dave
Sorry it took so long, nothing wanted to work for me. Here is (I believe) 6 songs back to back that Steve Kaufman.
Told you, the video is too long. I’ll try to fix it real quikly.
If you verify your YouTube account, it should remove the 15 minute upload limit.
I verified it and now it should work.
Couple differences I know of. First, Steve is much faster and more agile a picker than I am.
His arrangements tend to be more melodic/straightforward/fiddle-like whereas I’m more influenced by syncopation/etc. of players like Kenny Smith.
RE recording, his guitar is way more out front and panned differently than mine is. The recordings aren’t as clean, mainly due to the technology differences of home recording back when he cut these.
Finally, he has sold about 40 million more learning resources than I have.
I love how fast Steve Kaufman, but I also love how clear Banjo Ben is with his notes.
Banjo Ben is really a fun teacher. He helps you at whatever level you’re at, and makes everything easy and fun.
Would you be able to go a little bit more into what you mean?
Steve and other giants in that vein might be more inclined to play the melody of a tune with steady streams of eighth notes in a fiddle-influenced rhythm, adding embellishments and runs like a fiddle might do.
Some groudbreaking players like Clarence White and Tony Rice started to play melodies and improvise in a style influenced by the likes of electric guitarists, pianists, horn players and other jazz pioneers.
For example, this difference really jumps out if you listen to Dan Crary’s version of “Dusty Miller” and then listen to Tony Rice’s band play the same tune:
Similarly, here’s Dan Crary’s more traditional take on “Forked Deer” followed by Kenny Smith’s arrangement:
Every player is different and most don’t fall solidly into one of these “camps” – these are just to show how stylistic influences tend to come out in one’s playing.
I went to Steve Kaufman’s camp a few years ago. Steve was teaching the beginners class. Just like Ben he’s a really nice guy and explains things well. He asked me to show him what had been working on and I pulled out a few tabs I had printed off from Banjo Ben’s site. Steve said he knew which program the tabs had been made on. I told him about how we have access to a TEF file for every tab. He was impressed by that saying how great a resource that would be. Steve has authored a lot of books for Hal Leonard, some have example sound files but not all. Each single book is a tiny fraction of what we have access to on the BB site.
And I am thinking @Bhive Greg what you’d fork out for those books would easily cover a years Gold Pick membership.
I love Steve Kaufman’s teaching so much! I go back to his stuff a lot. I’ve always wanted to go to one of his camps, but with a farm and a job it’s kind of hard. I would love the opportunity at some point.
I didn’t realize he had them on Hal Leonard. I usually get his Parking Lot Picker Series and his DVDs through Homespun or Flatpik.com. I love DVDs because I learn best from visuals. That’s another reason why I love the BB website, He shows how he does it.
I see what you mean @Michael_Mark, I went back and listened to them and heard the steady 8th notes verses the syncopation that Banjo Ben was talking about.
What will my improvising turn out like since I listen to the eighth notes (Steve Kaufman) and Syncopation (Banjo Ben)?
I know this is kind of off the subject, but where would you consider Andy Leftwich and the Doucettes in this? Are they Syncopated, I don’t think they are the 8th notes, or are they something else?
Andy Leftwich does whatever he wants to do and whatever he wants to do is exactly what needed to be done 
It’s more about what you take note of and learn. I listen to fusion, but it’s hard for influence like that to just manifest on its own in my bluegrass playing. If I transcribe and learn it and implement it, it will.
“An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted upon by an external and unbalanced force.” – Sir Isaac Newton
One notable difference for me, and a reason why I would have to say I’ve been getting more out of BB than some of the Kaufman materials I’ve used, is that especially in the advanced lessons Ben draws on a really wide range of musical elements (blue notes, minor scales over major chords, syncopation, crosspicking etc.) to give his arrangements that bluegrass spice, whereas Steve’s advanced arrangements I’ve seen seem to mostly involve a more conservative melody arrangement moved up the neck. Learning to play up the neck is obviously important and a good use of time, but I really like the snarl and tension Ben puts into his arrangements.
I do notice that difference now, too. He especially goes more down the neck in his Parking Lot Picker series for the advanced. His intermediate has a little more cool stuff at the neck, but I believe it’s mostly runs and/ or crosspicking.