Thanks, easier than I thought!!! got it down. its a Boomer thing!!!
How Far to Take Each Lesson
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Hi CC…
I repeat most of the songs many, many times. I do add to my playlist, and when I go back to the earlier songs, I find they are easier after playing “harder” songs. I am not very speedy most of the time. I will be honest that I haven’t used the tef files much. But have made a new goal to do this and to play along with Ben’s various speed recordings more. I think this will help get my speed up.
Best wishes, Peg
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Well I don’t think you should have it perfectly up to speed before moving on, but there’s a balance there as many have stated so well here. I like to have a song’s melody and chord progression down well enough that I can jump in and give it a try, at least. My overall skill level is what allows me to be able to do that with most songs to a certain expertise, though there will be “tough” songs and “easy” songs.
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Ya know, I’ve been thinking about how I’d respond to this question for a few days and quite simply I try to keep it fun. I know some can play the same thing 1000 times in a row, and I respect that, but that’s not me. So when I practice, I’ll run through the songs that I know (that helps my speed) and maybe try to add a lick or melody and then work on 2-3 new songs. I have found that each song requires a different approach. For example, at Banjo Camp last October, we were given a list of songs to learn. I made a playlist on Spotify and looped songs like 9 Pound Hammer and Wabash Cannonball during my drive from Indiana down to Tennessee -cuz it’s hard to play when you don’t know the melody. I then typically print off a PDF tab and start with @BanjoBen videos and then, depending on the song, utilize TEF files, the Amazing Slowdowner, or both. Another example: I can play simple versions of Amazing Grace and Red River Valley by ear, but I’m now moving “up the neck” as I add licks and melodic segways. I will say that I fell in love with the Purple Hull version of What a Friend we Have in Jesus and I DID probably stick on that tune 1000 times until I got it pretty close to “right.” Great question @theChristiancowgirl!
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Hi Ben,
I saw a video of Janna Kim playing “Classical Gas” on banjo! WOW!!! I figured Bela Fleck could do that, but she is great!!! I know Mason Williams wrote that in the 1960s (I remember). Would that be a hard song for you? Pretty amazing what banjo players can do~~~~~ we aint as dumb as people think we are due to “THAT MOVIE”.
Always learning.
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