Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Banjo help request

#1

I’m not sure if this is the right place but I’m going to ask anyway. I have request:

  1. First … Christmas is on the horizon and my church has asked me to play banjo on a song by Anne Wilson & Josh Turner called “The manger” … it seems to be a simple backup roll (forward/reverse roll maybe) … using a capo on the second fret … but I am not really getting it where I feel good about it. So … is there anybody willing to help me create tab for this song

  2. The bigger question … I’ve been playing at the banjo for a couple years now, but still struggle to figure out arrangements on songs or to create tab for songs that I want or need to play. I was excited when I found ben’s lesson on non-bluegrass grooves and banjo backup, I learned a lot from that but I still have a hard time trying to apply it in making the banjo fit with songs. I already know that I am too dependent on tab, but it keeps me playing

Thanks for listening

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#2

Hey John! Welcome to the board!

Do you have a link to an audio or video of the song we can listen to?

Figuring out breaks to existing songs is a multi-faceted endeavor. First, you need to have enough experience to recognize what you’re hearing. That just comes with practice. Second, you have to spend the time actually documenting what you hear. The more time you spend doing that, the better you’ll get.

I really wish there were some magic words I could use to get you there now, but if they exist, I haven’t found them. Believe me, I’ve tried.

The best advice I can give is to just find things you like to play, learn them, and then play them over and over and over and over… and over. I like to say I don’t feel like I really know a song until I’ve played through it at least 1,000 times.

Daily practice is a must. I notice diminished playing if I step away for a few days. There have been times where I’ve stepped away from a few months. Picking it back up felt like real effort. It’s not like riding a bike.

Just keep at it. You’ll get there.

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#3

What @Mark_Rocka said.

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#4

I agree 100 % with Mark. He has helped me tremendously with my banjo playing in several areas.
My questions about The Manger are…
Are you playing with others or solo?
If playing with others, I would find out what the chord progression is and then play some simple rolls over that chord progression. If you can, ask the others what they expect from you. Do they want you to play a solo or just back up.
If playing with others, do you have a chance to get together with them and practice the song before you are expected to play?

If you are playing solo, you can still play simple rolls over the chord progressions, but try to add in melody notes when possible or licks. If there is a YouTube video of the song, you could slow it down and try to figure out the melody by ear once you know the key. If it’s capoed on the second fret, the song should be in the Key of A.
I’ve been trying to get away from tab for the last year or so, but if you can’t find a tab for the song on the internet, you could get a guitar tab to help you find the melody. The D-G-B strings are the same on guitar as banjo. You would just have to figure out and transpose notes on the other strings. But, I doubt you want to have tab in front of you when you play the song in Church.
Finally, like Mark said, a link to the song could help folks here who haven’t heard it get an idea of how difficult or easy it might be to figure out. Hope some of this helps you.

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