New Gold Pick member here. I am so blown away by all the content on the site! And @BanjoBen , you are a GREAT teacher (speaking as an ex-primary school teacher of 30 years experience).
As well as the lessons and resources, the nuggets of good advice in the forum are great. Your comment here is just such an example. Thanks!
Discuss the Banjo lesson: You Are My Sunshine– Slides
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Ben, I have been so pleased with your instruction. It is so refreshing to have such a supportive, encouraging mentor. I am a half-assed okay guitar player who is learning the banjo. Your lessons help me immensely.
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timing is my downfall also! i think if i play it a million times maybe it will be right. maybe two million times. just started using this site. i tend to think of the melody/the words and not the exact timing of the notes. oy!
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That’s exactly what I use the TEF files for. You can slow things WAY down and the timing of the notes stays put. I usually start a new song at 30% speed and increase in 10% intervals until I have it memorized and playing correctly. If timing is right at 50% speed, it’s just a matter of slowly increasing speed until timing is right at 100%.
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Hello, I am brand new to the banjo and even instrument world. I have the first two parts of this song remembered but going into it further I am getting a little tripped up. Is there another video with ore explanation/ slower view of which fingers are picking/ which fingers go where?
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Hi @raeanneayer00 Raeanne 
to @BanjoBen 's Forum.
There are three video’s for this lesson. The first is the introduction and preview, the second is the lesson and the last is the slow play along.
If you look closely at the TAB displayed on the video you will see below each note either a T 1 or 2
This is the picking patterns. T = Thumb 1 = Index & 2 = Middle finger.
By watching the video and studying Bens fretting hand you can see where Ben places his fingers for the melody notes.
When I learn a tune I will usually learn one or two measures at a time, or in the case of a musical phrase sometimes up to five measures.
During this phase I regularly pause the video and practice the phrase over and over to help me memorise the phrase before moving on to the next section.
On the bottom right of the video you’ll see a little cog icon, click on this to slow the video playback.
I also use the TEF File for practice/ play-along. You’ll need to install Tefview on your device to use the TEF files.
Hope this is of some help.
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Shoukd I keep going back and playing the roll exercises everyday?
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Hi @chaddlee1978 Chad Great question. Rolls are a foundational skill of playing Bluegrass Banjo. This lesson is designed to teach those fundamental skills you’ll need later on. If you feel you have mastered these roll patterns then there is no need to play them every day. That said this is quite a short lesson and is useful as a warm up exercise. I have been playing banjo now for over twelve years and I still use this exercise regularly maybe not every day but frequently just as the mood takes me.
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I was doing all the rolls pretty good and stopped doing them when moving through the lessons. After learning “you are my sunshine” I wanted to go back and play them. I’m not as fast as I was nor as good hitting the strings right. I kind of feel like I move a little forward with my progress and then move back some. Hard to move forward if I have to keep going back to old lessons to learn to do them just as good as I used to. So, I was just wondering if this is normal for someone who has only played banjo for 3 months.
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Hi Chad It was normal for me! When I was a beginner I was always pushing myself on, taking on new challenges all the time. But I soon learned that I had to learn the fundamental skills if I wanted to move forward. I learned early on that there are six basic roll patterns you need to learn, not just that, you need to be able to switch between the patterns at will. Rolls are the fundamental framework upon which all licks are based.
For some gifted people three months they can easily master the banjo. I think it took me about five years before I began to see some measured progress. I regularly jump back and forth between lessons. I think it’s normal but others might disagree with my approach.
It’s you membership you can choose how and what you study. I would however encourage you to work through Ben’s beginners section and be sure to record and share your progress with @BanjoBen
Don’t allow yourself to become frustrated, learning to play banjo is very challenging, progress can be slow in the first few years but stick at it and in time you will see improvement.
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Thank you. Yeah, when I first started with the lessons I was looking at my picking hand and I recently started looking at my fretting hand after going back and watching Ben in his early videos saying look at fretting hand. I had totally looked over that the first time I watched the video. So, I got to get used to doing it that way which is getting better. I also went back to the square rolls lesson this morning and I believe after getting this exercise playing down pat again without looking at picking hand, me missing strings or hitting wrong strings will come down to a minimum. I think I do see myself trying to hurry through the beginner lessons and need to slow down. Thank you for your encouraging words. I see myself wanting to learn a new song but I tell myself stick with the lessons. But, I guess it okay to learn some songs on the side.
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I still miss strings sometimes, but I no longer fret about it (pun intended)
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lol. Yeah, takes practice huh?
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I need some suggestions. Ive been playing for awhile but never learn the basics like rn teaches, im glad I found him. But in terms of practice and moving forward, should I learn this tune perfectly before I move on?
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Hi @Richard621 Richard to @BanjoBen 's Forum. I always try to encourage newcomers to Ben 's website to work through his beginner learning path since this is all the knowledge and basics skills you’ll need to move forward. I would also encourage you to record yourself and share your video with Ben. He will assess your playing and offer guidance on moving forward.
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Thank you. I’m just navigating this website but have no idea how to post a discussion topic or where to upload a video
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Hi @Richard621 So to create a new discussion click on + New Topic on the Forum Intro Page select a category Banjo, Guitar, General Chat etc Add a Subject and fill in the box. To share a video on the Forum upload the video to YouTube and post the link here. It wont take long to learn how to navigate the site. If you need help just call out and someone will come to your rescue. Everyone here is helpful and want you to get the most from your membership.
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Welcome to the site, @Richard621! No, you don’t have to get it perfectly, but I do want you to be satisfied with it. I’m more concerned about you being able to freely play it, preferably by heart rather than tab, and comfortable with all the song requires you to do. To me, that’s perfect enough to move on.
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