Here’s a wee challenge for you @BanjoBen mimic this on the banjo
Discuss the Banjo lesson: Sharing Licks
Oh yeah, this is hot
Nice!! This reminds me of something Jake Workman would do on the banjo.
Cool!
I get the concept, but the first lick I attempted ended up with me getting stuck on single string. Even when I tried up the neck, it just didn’t seem smooth. I typically steer away from single string because I struggle to get it smooth. Any ideas of how y’all would attempt this one?
What you’ve done is really cool, @Bcaves. You’ve found a couple different ways to get the same lick/notes in two places. I think your first video is really smooth. A couple things about the single string. First, I’m not an expert by any means and I don’t practice it enough. But the more I have practiced it, I’ve noticed that it gets smoother…definitely a time thing. But, I think there’s a unique “rough” sound in single string playing that is desired. This lick of yours can be used in any tempo of song. If I was playing faster I’d be tempted to take the melodic approach, but if you were playing a song like this, I would use that single string version and be all kinds of proud of that “roughness” https://youtu.be/4kMeQ4c4Q6Y
Thanks so much for the encouragement, it really means a lot. When trying to figure out songs and licks myself, I somehow think I’m not doing it correctly. Things sometimes seem more difficult than I think they need to be.
Ok, I’ll ask and reveal my ignorance… what is meant by playing “single string” or melodic or whatever the other types are called?
Thanks!!
Single string is treating the banjo like a guitar regarding your left hand, and using fingerpicks on your right hand instead of a flatpick. Melodic: https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/introduction-to-melodic-banjo-banjo
Love these licks! This entire site is like drinking through a fire-hose. I’ve going to have to quit my day job to absorb it all. A big THANKS from west of the Mississipi!
Well, this is not Banjo Ben doing, it, but this guy does a pretty good job with the song given the range of the Banjo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fPYUH4cKCI To truly mimic it, It would take a much longer fretboard on a banjo and probably about five guys to fret it, and one guy to pick it. But this is a very cool lesson on mimicking another instrument on Banjo. Do I hear Dueling Banjos Part Deuce in Banjo Ben’s future?
Hi James, Welcome to @BanjoBen 's Forum. Thanks for the link. Jay Buckley is a great banjo player thanks for sharing. My challenge for Ben was a tongue-in-cheek comment. I have been a Life Member for about seven years now so he is used to my quirky feedback.
It’s unlikely that you’ll hear Ben teach/play Duelin Banjo#s on the website due to copyright.
Ha, awesome!
Great lesson Ben. Basically these are all variants of licks out the blues scale? Rob Block uses these types of licks , I have seen them in some of your advanced stuff too among other places. It would be very helpful to hear them applied in a simple song to get a feel of how to integrate them. I seem to always have trouble getting them into the right place initially. I have learned lots of lick only to lose them because they don’t have a home. Once I get a handle on them I can move them around and try variants in different songs. Thanks JH
Great suggestion! Perhaps folks on the forum can take on a challenge of working some of these licks into some tunes/solo
Yeah!!! Ear training!!! Thank you so much @BanjoBen for creating a lesson that encourages us to use our most powerful music learning tools - our ears.
Ben, if playing the first lick, would it best be played over a D chord?
All these licks, as played, fit a G chord.
It would sound great over a D chord but technically resolves to a G, so would be good over a D or G as long as it’s heading to G.