Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Dust In The Wind. BB Clark Fingerstyle

This week I thought I’d tackle “Dust In The Wind” by KANSAS as I’ve been working on it on & off. This arrangement by the master Fingerstylist Sungha Jung was a little challenging for me as there are a number of atypical rolls and patterns. The BB Clark foundational lessons really helped me learn what to me, is a fairly difficult song to play.

Oh one more thing…If you look closely, you’ll see that BB Clark himself makes an appearance in this Video LOL!

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Beautiful melody beautifully played Neil

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There’s some complicated stuff in there. You did a good job Neil. How long did it take you to learn this?

It’s nice that Ben made an appearance!

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Hello Chris. To me, it sounded easier than it actually was after I got started on it. Guess the Pros make things sound easy. I think I practiced on and off since last fall. Mostly watching old sci-fi and documentaries on TV while very slowly going through the piece. The work and sweat that went into learning it, I know will hopefully carry forward I hope. Thanks for observing and Happy Picking to you!

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Really impressive! You got that down in one week?!

Also, quick question for anyone, what gauge of strings do you find are best for fingerpicking?

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Hello Mike. Haha No! I spent on and off since last fall on this one. Maybe easy for some, but I had to work at it and still have cleaning up to do.

Regarding the strings, I use MA540 Phosphor Bronze Light Gauge. Recommended by Tommy Emmanuel and other fingerstylists. Luckily, these are available from the BB Clark online store. :wink:

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Well done! The title itself implies nature’s music. But I think the nice, calm, soothing music effect can go well with a cascade fountain and an appropriate light setting for the ambience.

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Good stuff!

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Loved the way you covered the violin run!

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Man you’re doing great at fingerstyle! I don’t play it that often but I appreciate the effort people put into it as with anything.

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Getting that fairly smooth was a bit of a challenge. This song made me sweat a little!

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Thanks Michael, that means a lot. I’ve been working Fingerstyle guitar ever since BB Clark got me hooked ( normally a banjo player). I don’t know how many banjo players out there realize how easy their finger picking crosses over to guitar. For me at least, it’s opened up a whole new world. Wish I could have started earlier, but where was BB Clark in 1978?

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Back when I had that album on 8-track, we’d say things like “far out.” That was pretty far out man. “Somebody stuff a pack of matches under the tape!”

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I remember :slight_smile: The old 8-track. Probably never make a comeback.

Nice picking! That song takes me back in time

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Man you are awesome. Literally. I would love to be able to fingerstyle like that.

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Thanks, Neil! Much appreciated.

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If I ever learn dedicated fingerstyle, it’ll probably be just so I can learn this arrangement :rofl:

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wow, that’s awesome!

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Awesome! I just realized we probably watch a lot of the same fingerstylists lol.

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