Guys I’m having such a hard time with staying on time with rolling backup, I want to figure it out and go play with others but I seem to just have a mental block with this backup stuff. Any tips to stay on beat??
Discuss the Banjo lesson: Intro to Banjo Backup Utility Rolls
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Is there a tune/recording you can play over and video for us so we can see where you’re getting tripped up?
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I can try! Let me know if this works. Low quality video, sorry, not really sure how to do this properly!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_rJPko9C0prvZYQ2e07_TUZ1d-MrxdT-/view?usp=drive_link
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That works great, thanks!
What’s tripping you up is that sometimes you’re not playing the full roll pattern, and instead you end early. This happened to you first at 0:28 and it got you ahead of Ben’s backing track for the rest of the song, essentially. Your first time through the roll, you played this:
Wheareas the roll is intended to be played like this:
Do you see how the second roll has the last G note landing on the first beat of the next measure, so it can be repeated without being “offset”, if you will? That note always “resets” you to the first beat of the measure, and then you would play the rest of the pattern:
Whereas your pattern ended early, putting that note before the start of the next measure and offsetting your rolls that followed. Here’s a transcription of what you played:
The fix: Basically, go back and practice the roll patterns and get them consistent so that you are playing a full roll pattern every time, without modifying it like you do here. I don’t think you’re consciously modifying it; I think your fingers are just forgetting the roll pattern, cutting it short sometimes and getting out of sync. Great question, and good ear noticing your issue!
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oh wow, totally see / hear it now. Thanks for the detailed response on this. I’ll keep practising!!
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Hi @ephyp044 Everett I would also encourage you to wear headphones when you practice. It’ll help you stay focused and find the groove. Or as some might say “In the pocket”
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put the backing track through my headphones you mean?
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Yes. immerse yourself in the music
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