@BanjoBen I thought this was an excellent explanation. Can you do the same with 7th chords?
Fall 2021 Cabin Camp Song List!
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I am in the process of preparing for the East Texas Camp in November to play banjo. I am to the point where I can at least play SOMETHING as a solo for each song on the list. That said, what should I focus on in terms of rhythm? Vamping? Rolling backup? I have 3.5 more months of prep and I want to make sure I use it as wisely as possible, so tips on rhythm, practice, or anything else is appreciated!
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Hi @stevens.joshuat I would suggest all of the above plus know your chord shapes major, minor & seventh Don’t stress yourself out though all reports suggest the camps are quite relaxed
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Right! I want to get that sweet spot where I work hard so that I get the maximum benefit but don’t stress myself out. It is going to be a big step to play in front of people, but it sounds like camp is the perfect place to do that!
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Don’t stress! Me and you are gonna have a BALL! The fact that you have some sort of solo down for the songs is huge. Yes, try to know your vamping, but work on the rolls too…we’ll be working on this at camp. Here’s an early release of the lesson dropping later this week that I made for @Archie https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/real-deal-pick-n-fill-1-banjo-intermediate
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Is that hat your wearing coming onto the store sight anytime?
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Sure is! Just gotta get caught up on a few things, should be in the next week or so!
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Yay! It looked awesome so i’ll be looking for it 
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Can’t wait to get home and dig into that lesson! Thanks!
Also, I second @Shaky_loves_banjo’s comment on the hat. I gotta have one of those!
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I really miss the old intro 
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I think he should record lessons in that outfit!
With a horse, of course.
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I’m excited about this lesson. Thank you.
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Thank you @5-StringPilgrim Jeffery. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend the camp and would have loved to be able to sit in on Katy’s lesson. I have always been fascinated by her ability to play backup whilst she sings.
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Hello everyone. I’m bringing my mandolin to the November Texas camp. I mainly want to learn what people tend to look for in a bandmate and how to communicate song ideas with one another. I have mostly played guitar on my own and sung. I have done duets with other vocalists but I have very little experience playing with other people (some very loose jam sessions.) I love having the date on my calendar and the song list to focus my attention and set goals. I’m 6’8" and I chose mandolin because my friend Jay said he wants to see the largest person he knows play the smallest instrument he knows. I like to sing and I want to learn to sing while I play the mandolin (I can do so with guitar.)
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It’ll be good to have someone around for me to look up to! ha! Can’t wait to meet you, @brian.mabry.edwards!
You have a great question there and you should know that one of the big things we learn & work on at Cabin Camp is precisely how to be a bandmate and communicate musical ideas. A large percentage of campers have little to no experience making music with others–you’re gonna be just fine. I’m excited for you to come out to the farm. It’s gonna be one heckuva weekend!
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I’m definitely looking forward to it!
Looking at the Old Joe Clark (Mandolin Beginner) it says key of A and there is an A major chord, and then an E major chord, all good, then a G major chord in the B part, woh! Where did that come from? Is that just some odd ball thing that works in this song? This web tool http://musictheorysite.com/namethatkey/ just goes bonkers if I put in A E and G major. I mostly want to double check that I am reading the tab correctly.
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Yup, it’s correct! The G major is the flat 7th tone in the key of A, which gives this song a bluesy feel. The frequent use of the flat 7th tone in this song puts it in the Mixolydian mode, but you probably don’t need to worry about modes yet 
… unless you’re a theory nerd like me…
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