Great lesson on tricking your brain for playing the chords. Especially helpful is your suggestion on playing variations of different strings within the chord.
I am having a problem with “pausing” when I’m trying to make a smooth transition from one chord to another, particularly G to (full) C. The partial does not seem to be much of an issue.
I’m a firm believer in the “just keep at it” theory and fully intend to do so, but are there any tips/techniques available for smooth chord transitioning (similar to the Speed Test tips) ??
Discuss the Banjo lesson: Basic Major Banjo Chords
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Most of it will be just a factor of time and getting familiar with putting that chord down, but one thing you can take note of is to allow your fingers to rest just above the strings where you’ll be fretting in a few moments. This can slightly reduce the movement and time needed when putting your fingers down.
I have a great tip. Often when we struggle to form a chord, a particular finger is the culprit. So, practice slowly changing to the chord but leading with the various fingers–make your index land first 20 times, then make your middle land first 20 times, and so on. You’ll identify the problem finger and also train your brain to be more confident in that finger placement.
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Hello all!
I’ve been struggling to not mute strings when I play, and developed an alternate way to play the C chord; my question is if it’s a bad habit. In this case, I rest my index on the first 2 strings of the 1st fret, and press the first string of the 2nd fret with my middle finger. Finally, I wrap my thumb around the back to get the 4th string on the 2nd fret. This link is a picture of what I do:
It feels natural to me, but I’m wondering if I should be putting the effort in now to change how I play it. Thoughts?
Also, new here and to playing instruments in general! I’m excited to get serious with the lessons.
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Hi @lennjona602 Johnathon 
I am so glad you asked for help. What you are doing is going to lead to major problems going forward. The best advice I can offer is to follow @BanjoBen 's Beginner Learning track.
https://banjobenclark.com/university/beginner-banjo
Muting strings is all part of the learning process. The fact that you know your muting them is a start. What you’ve got to do is adjust your hand position until your find the position where you can play it clean.
Post a video let Ben see what your doing and he’ll keep you right
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Howdy @lennjona602 and welcome to the forum! Great question!
My advice is to stop doing this asap and work your way through the proper chord shapes. Please post a pic of your hand from a couple angles making the normal C chord so I can see if there is a technique issue.
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Thanks for the great advice Ben. Problem seems to be getting a clear third string which seems to be affected by the middle finger not positioned just right. I’ll definitely work on that via your advice.
I would like to know if the issue of not being able to transition smoothly into the C chord should stop any advancing in the beginner learning track? (e.g. learning rolls, etc.)
Or would you suggest I continue to develop the C chord and complete lessons while that is happening?
Thanks again.
Continue on!
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Thanks. That removes a lot of the C chord (beginner) frustration experienced during the lessons.
Onward it is !!!
Thanks again.
I am 61 and just picked up the banjo last week! I have a piano background, which helps a tiny bit, but there is still a pretty steep learning curve with fretting and learning how to read the tabs. I love Ben’s lessons and am pairing them with in-person lessons here locally, I’m signed up for Cabin Camp in April. I may be one of the least experienced players attending, but I think I’ll be ready and am excited about it. 
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Hi @lindaw1811 Linda to @BanjoBen 's Forum. I too was 61 when I began learning to play banjo. It was a steep learning curve for me too, I started off learning from the Murphy Method DVD’s and Geoff Hohwald’s premium video lessons where I learned how to read TAB. I was 5 years into learning banjo when I signed up with Ben and from that moment on my progress really took off. Ben is an amazing teacher. You’ll be fine at Cabin Camp don’t let your lack of experience hold you back. Our brain is like a sponge it soaks up way more information than we realise. Look forward to chatting with you on the Forum. If you have any questions just holler and I’ll do my best to answer them.
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Welcome, Linda. Enjoy the journey. A good number of us started late, and you’ll do fine at camp. Everyone is supportive and Ben creates a no judgement zone. One quick suggestion since you have a piano background… try memorizing the songs and exercises so you can play them without looking at the tab. Use the tab to clarify and inform, but you want to be able to play without it. The goal is to train your fingers to play what you hear instead of what you see on the tab. Hope to see you at a camp sometime. Take care.
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Thanks for the advice, JKL! When I was in college and took a piano class, after six years of piano when I was younger, the professor told me that I was not good at reading music - I would learn the song and then play it by ear. I find myself doing the same thing in banjo. The tabs are SO much easier to read than piano music, and so I am working on getting more proficient in sight reading this time around, but I am still relying heavily on “feel” and my ear. It looks like only a couple of the songs at camp will be beginner-level and I will work on memorizing those, and familiarizing myself with the intermediate-level ones, even if I am not quite ready to do those on my own. Thanks again for the encouragement!
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Thanks, Archie! I appreciate the warm welcome and the encouragement! I am grateful to be here. I had my first local lesson with a banjo teacher yesterday, and even though it was good to get feedback, I honestly think Ben is a better teacher.
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Hi @lindaw1811 Linda Yes @BanjoBen has quite a unique talent that sets him apart from other professional teachers. I see from your reply to @JKL Jeff that you can read TAB. 
If you are not using the TAB TEF files yet I encourage you to download the FREE TEFView Player and start using the TEF Files. Not only is it better for reading TAB it helps with playing by ear and will help speed your learning progress.
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The fact that you lean more heavily on your ears is a very good thing for bluegrass, Linda. Learning the chord progression in each song is also important. And if you can hear those chord progressions in songs, even better… You are unlikely to look at any tab during camp, but knowing what chords to form and when will come in handy. Archie’s advice on TEF files will help with that as well. Take care.
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Can’t wait to meet and host you! Keep working at it and let us know if you have questions as you go!
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I do have a very a question: do you have a video showing how to use thst TEF player? I just opened up the chords file and pressed play, but I’m not exactly sure how it is supposed to guide me.
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This may be of help:
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Thank you! I was trying it on my phone and it doesn’t want to slow down the tempo. Let me try downloading the app onto my PC and maybe it will work better. Thanks!
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