Hi there all,
I am a beginner banjo player who has a husband that picks up instruments pretty easy. He has a casual bluegrass group that gets together and he wants me to join. I’m SO nervous since I know that I don’t know nothing. Lol. He says to just chop along in the background and throw in the occasional roll. Sigh. I know my C and C7 chords pretty good but that’s about it.
I don’t want to get into bad habits when trying to join in. Is there a lesson out there that shows the correct chop method for a banjo? I can’t seem to find it in Ben’s lessons.
Banjo chop
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I think the first two lessons in this course should be perfect:
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Start learning your chords.
Learn them so well that you don’t have to think about them.
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@Michael_Mark has offered up some great suggestions.
Learn your chords shapes. These will help you get started.
For tunes the Key of G - You’ll need to know G C D D7 & Em
For tunes the Key of C - You’ll need to know C F G & Am
For tunes the Key of D - You’ll need to know D A G & Bm
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I recently did these and I agree!
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If you’re going to start with “chops” I’d start by learning the 1st position chord shape. It’s called different things by different people. Ben calls it the Y shape. Other’s call it the F Chord shape. I like Alan Munde’s definition the best. He calls it the 1 shape or 1st position shape because the 1st string (and the 4th string) is the root note.
It goes like this for the G chord:
- Pinky 1st string 5th fret
- Index 2nd string 3rd fret
- Middle 3rd string 4th fret
- Ring 4th string 5th fret
When your pinky moves the the 10th fret, that’s C. On the 12th fret, that’s D. Should probably learn that the 7th fret is A, and then start working in other chords.
Once you’re comfortable with that, learn the X shape, AKA the D chord shape, or as Alan calls it, the 2nd position, because the root is on the 2nd string. If you learn where those positions are, it’ll keep you from having to move around the neck so much for chord changes.
Good luck!
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