Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Discuss the Banjo lesson: Banjo Forward Roll Study

#62

Bath Iron Works, Bath Maine… the shipyard where she was build and was refit.

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#63

@BanjoBen, Hey! I played around with all different videos to try to learn this crazy, amazing instrument, and your site is far and away the best! I really appreciate all you do! My friend Rick Stevenson would always tell me about Banjo Ben Clark, and here I am!

Question on the Boil 'Dem Cabbage down lesson. It seems like you are accenting certain notes as you play. It may just come natural to you, but I find it changes the sound and feel of the song compared to the way I play it not really knowing which notes to accent. Any tips on how to know what notes to accent as you pick? It doesn’t come through in the tab, but sounds pretty cool when you get it right.

Thanks!

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#64

I should have known that. I knew it was built in Bath. We let the Pakistan Navy borrow it a few years, and I’m pretty sure that after that it was scrapped in Bath as well in 94.

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#65

Glad to have you! I’m pretty sure I talk in the video about which notes to accent, which in this case are the first notes of the roll, I believe. First time through it’s the index, then middle, then thumb.

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#66

Yep, leased from 89-94 to Pakistan, then sold for scrap. Hate to see a ship scrapped. Rather see her sunk

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#67

Archie,
Yes, was able to download the player and the .tef without any major hiccups!
Thanks,
Mark

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#68

Thanks for the welcome, WillCoop. So far so good. Not only have I got a lot to learn about the banjo, but I’m still figuring out the website and this discussion forum and enjoying the journey.

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#69

Ok. I must have missed it. Thank you!

#70

How do you know which notes to emphasize?

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#71

Checkout Ben’s reply to Brett.weston above, in this discussion.

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#72

I am new to three finger style. I have played around with clawhammer for the past 4 or 5 years and am ready to tackle this style. Thank you for allowing me to “stick my toes in” before making the leap of a paid membership. I tend to be a very analytical thinker and sometimes get accused of being able to see fly poop in black pepper.

Ben, you are an excellent teacher and present thorough, logical lessons. You are pushing all of my buttons. Finding your site is a relief from the morass of many banjo teachers on the internet.

Now for the issue. I am struggling with the timing count on your video and play-a-long mp3s as they relate to the PDF of the piece Boil Dem Cabbage Down. The tab is 4/4 time. Four beats to the measure and quarter note gets a full beat. There are 8 notes per measure. However, when you count at the beginning of your music “One, Two, One, Two, Ready, Go” you set the tempo to be half of what you actually play. I think this is the intent of dmaum in a prior comment on this lesson when it was asked if the mp3s only covered 12 measures (not the entire 24). The count tempo at the beginning of the mp3s only covers 48 beats which is only 12 measures.

Why is the lead-in tempo count half the speed of what is played?

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#73

@mark3, I take pride in how organized and detailed I am, and it’s great to hear when folks notice it :wink: Thank you!

Regarding the count in, please watch this video. The mp3 is from Boil Dem Cabbage Down:

Let me know any questions you have!

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#74

Thanks Ben for help. I too was getting lost with the count offs. I thought it was just me… Makes sense now

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#75

@BanjoBen I have always struggled with timing with forward rolls, and this lesson is a great drill. Especially with the demo track at the begining of the MP3 tracks. I tend to lapse into a shuffle beat at slower speeds which throws off my timing.

I was wondering how to use this lesson as a tool to increase speed? How much speed increase in what time frame. I use Strum Machine and at a 60 BPM speed, it seems to equal about 120 on your track. It has a speed increase feature that will speed up automattically after a set amount of passes.

I really enjoy using your website, Not sure why I had not signed up earlier…SMH

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#76

Howdy @Spin47, honored to have you on board! Yes, I believe this would be a great tool to increase speed. As far as increase in time frame, I can’t give you an accurate answer because that’s different for everyone. I will say that it needs to be steadily increased while listening for quality and FEELING for TENSION! There will be a speed where you will have to really work to play it that fast. That is good. Stay there for a few minutes till you give out…it’s like going to the gym. But the next day, start back a bit slower and build up again.

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#77

Hi Les, Welcome to @BanjoBen 's Forum. I am not familiar Strum Machine but I will say that TablEdit/TefVeiw are great tools for practice and increasing speed. Using Ben 's .tef files which he produces for every lesson. Just load the forward roll .tef file into the Free TefView player and set the speed to 40 bpm, ( yes this may seem really slow to where you are right now but your first goal is to play cleanly, smooth and accurate) play along for 10 minutes on a continuous loop then up the speed 5 bpm and repeat this process until you have a train wreck then back off 10 bpm. Practice this daily for a month and by the end of that period your rolls will be much improved and your speed will have increased. Remember it’s important you start off each practice session at 40 bpm and increase speed at 5 bpm increments… One final note, LISTEN to the TEF file as you play along in time. I use headphones to aid the process

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#78

The Boil CabbageDown Lesson loads at 120 and I have no problem with it, do I still need to go down to 40? Great tool Thanks Archie.

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#79

Hi Les. What I am suggesting here is based on my personal experience. As you work your way through Ben’s lessons you will encounter more and more difficult material at faster speeds. If you can’t play basic roll patterns at speed with good timing then the more challenging material will be even harder to master. Many of the complex licks you will learn later on are based round the basic forward roll.

When I tackle a new tune I always start at 40 bpm and gradually build speed in the way I described earlier. In each new lesson I tackle there is always something new to learn. So yes if your having problems playing a forward roll and maintaining good timing then 120 bpm is way too fast. Slow it down to 40 and work up to 200 - 250 gradually. Your goal is NOT to play fast but to play accurately at a speed your brain and your fingers can cope with.

Playing fast in a group situation comes with your ability to listen and maintain the beat,

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#80

I’m hoping we are talking about the speed shown when the tef file is loaded, or am I mistaken?

I’m not a beginner but have not played in a while and re-visiting the basics before tackling some of the songs.

Thanks for the help.

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#81

Hi Les, Yes the speed shown in the software defaults to 120 bpm when creating a new TAB. Rest assured I am no beginner either but I do tackle each new lesson as though I was starting out.

As I say this is how I overcame the difficulty of building speed, your free to follow my suggestions or ignore my advice.

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