Hey Kevin! Glad to have you here. If only there were a way to get good without so much practice, right? 
Introduce yourself!
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Well now I have to post something… Jim here from Connecticut. From what I hear, I’m not the only banjo player in Connecticut. Perhaps the only one in the Northeast corner? Anyway I messed around with the banjo several years ago but never really got anywhere. Then I found Banjo Ben’s site, became a gold member a few months ago, and have been making much better progress thanks to Ben.
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Hey Jim! The board says the last time you posted was 4 months ago. Glad you decided to stick around. Every state needs more banjo players… especially up in New England. 
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My name is Rich and I live in Sheridan, Wyoming. I’ve played guitar off/on for quite a while just for my own enjoyment, never had any lessons or anything. I play a Taylor 714ce, the first guitar I ever owned, purchased about 25 years ago. I started playing guitar in church worship teams over the years. My first was a small church plant that needed a guitar player so I stepped up even though it was terrifying for me to play in front of people. After the set I would literally get off the stage as fast as I could and go hide, certain that I was the worst guitar player in the world! I grew through that and eventually was playing at a different, very large church for a few thousand people. I stepped back from that several years ago, just back to on and off playing at home. At the end of last year I was getting bored playing the same things all
the time, not having any goals or challenges to interest me, so I thought I’d try this flatpicking thing! I had never listened to any bluegrass music before, so it’s all new to me. I found BanjoBen and became a gold pick member pretty much right away in February. My wife also got me a used banjo for Christmas so I’ve started working on that a little bit as well. After radically changing my pick and grip (and trying to actually practice!), I’m making good progress, and I’m excited to be going to the October cabin camp for guitar!
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Hello ya’ll,
I just joined the site a few weeks ago and wow! it’s like an Ice Berg… a little showing on the top and a continent of massive girth below.
I’ve played Banjo, Guitar and Ukulele since I was about 12.
My mother took guitar lessons and I sat around the corner eaves dropping, as “children” were not allowed to interact with adults at work in my family.
So as a latch key kid and only child I was not allowed to go out of the house unless parents were home, So, I’d pull out her guitar and practice what she was taught while she was at work.
Unfortunately for me, she wasn’t getting it and gave up after a year and my round the corner secret guitar lessons stopped.
She also had a Vega banjo and a Pete Seeger “How to play the 5 String Banjo” Record that she intended to use but after her guitar failure, it just sat in the closet.
I dug it out and beat that record up learning to play like Pete Seeger but alas, he never taught 3 finger style on that record. He just said in the book; this is how Earl Scruggs does it, but it never made sense to me at that age.
I kept playing to myself when no one was home (embarrassed to let anyone know I could play), but my family eventually figured it out and my parents bought me a limited edition Conn folk guitar of my own and gave me the banjo.
I eventually hooked up with a couple of people to sing PPM folk songs at events here and there (never for pay, mom wouldn’t allow it), as I could emulate Paul Stookey’s folk picking on the guitar.
After high school I moved away, went to college, got married, moved again to California, had kids and was in college classes part and full time for most of my life.
Through all of this, life happened.
I played when I could but wasn’t diligent as most of those whom I’d find to play with were just strummers and I would get bored because I always ended up spending my precious music time just trying to teach them music theory, different strumming techniques, maybe some songs and the biggest request was how to play 4 finger folk guitar. Worse, my wife at the time was not supportive of music as continuing with school and keeping up grades, being with the family physically and mentally, was the priority. She was not musically gifted and thought it a waste of time as music just took me away from the family.
I eventually graduated college suma cum laude and had a great and busy career in law for the State of California, AT&T, VP of IT for a multi billion dollar Bank and a National Publisher.My first wife left me and I re-married and more life happened.
I was privileged to take an early retirement and took some much needed ME time.
I finished my PhD in behavioral psych, bought a plane and got my private/instrument ticket and have had a wonderful time looking down at the earth for thousands of hours traveling all over.
Because of our mobility with a plane, we bought a small ranch high in the mountain desert of Eastern Utah where we moved after my wife retired. We moved my aging parents there to take care of them, which is more than a full time job as mom’s Alzheimers was really hard on us all. Her passing was an enormous blessing and relief for her, dad and the rest of us.
He’s now 90 and very easy to take care of and since my wife also appreciates music, the other day I decided that I’m going to take my 1 hour a night TV time and move it to music.
Well, temper that with ranch chores and life getting in the way, AGAIN!!
So, I retrieved my guitars, banjos, ukuleles from everywhere they were stored (thankfully they were stored in a 50% humid environment so they’re in great shape) and started playing again.
I even inherited a custom made mandolin that I had commissioned for my mother many years ago that she never learned to play.
The best learning I ever had was in limited sessions jammin and learning with other great players so with technology (vs an old Pete Seeger Record for instruction and slowing down 33.3rmp records to hear the licks) this looked like a great place to start my journey back.
I’ve been working on my calluses and finger agility for a while now and now feel ready to step up.
I was old school, frailing, claw and double thumbing and never learned 3 finger picking but as I’ve watched Banjo Ben through the years I loved his videoettes and teaching style…
Already I’ve got a good hold on 3 finger from just a couple weeks here…Thanks Ben
But here’s the Problem…
I’m an old school ole’fart who has and can do tech but I’m lost on this site…
My Time is still very precious (I have an hour a day set aside so far) so I’ve been looking for a first timer video here, something like…
"How to Use This Site" to show me how all of your high techies do it, but I don’t think one exists
I know there are many ways to practice and many cool tech files with all of this new formats so I’m looking for the How Too’s…
Because I know that there are easier/faster ways to learn from the Masters here, (I just sense it) but assembling it all together would be a lot faster if there were a Techie “How to Use This Site-Road Map”!
If you’ve read this far, thank you and congratulations… you should add another point to your I.Q.!
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Hey Brad! Welcome to the forum! I love your description of the site as an iceberg. I never thought about it that way, but that’s sure what it is.
I don’t recall there being any “how to navigate the site” videos, but it’s really pretty simple. At the top, pick the instrument you want to learn. You’ll then see a list of lessons for that instrument. For the banjo, you can even pick Learning Tracks based on your experience level.
Once on a lesson page, the lesson videos are selected on the left below the main video. Tabs in both PDF and TEF format and MP3 jam tracks are below and to the right.
I highly recommend using the TEF files. It makes learning from tab 10 times easier.
If you still feel confused, shoot me a private message. We can do a phone call and I’ll remote in to your PC to show you how to get things set up.
Glad to have you! Looking forward to seeing you around the board.
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Hey @Captain_Wingnut. Wow. What an intro. At camp, I asked @BanjoBen to take the group through a quick How To on the site. There are many cool features and @Mark_Rocka is IT savvy and knows the site.
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Hey All. Ive been on the site for the last 6month but am new to the forum(2weeks) I started strumming chords on a guitar when i was 8years old(8 years ago). my dream was always to own a banjo but only got a bigginer banjo last august for my birthday. i started playing about 7 month ago and have loved it ever since. at the biggining of covid19, i quit my personal teacher and went all out Banjo Ben and have loved it ever since. im not super good, but have proggressed a ton on both guitar and Banjo. i am also quite decent on piano and whistles and have played accordion halfheartedly 
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Howdy! My name is Joshua and I’m thrilled to be a new Gold Pick member. My musical journey started in 6th grade when I started playing trumpet in band at school. At 17, I traded my trumpet for a guitar and that has been my instrument of choice ever since. Shortly after that, I inherited my great-grandfather’s fiddle. In college I started playing bluegrass with a few friends. We still play together from time to time. Nowadays, I play guitar, bass guitar, and sing in my local church. I have always been interested in the banjo, but I really assumed doing the rolls would be too difficult for me. Here about 3 weeks ago, somebody at my church gave me a cheap banjo and I was pleasantly surprised I was able to learn a few songs and now I’m hooked!
Banjo Ben has been on my radar since about 2015. The Purple Hulls (Ben’s 2 sisters) played a Saturday morning concert at our church and of course I bought a few CDs. So when I decided to learn the banjo I knew where to turn! My goals here on the site include getting proficient on the banjo, as well as progressing on the guitar. Someday, I want to be able to teach my 3 kids to play instruments and be better than me!
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Man I love seeing all of these new faces on the Forum! Welcome Joshua and Justus! So glad to have you here. Looking forward to seeing y’all around the board.
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Im sure I’ll ramble, so forgive me up front.
I’ve been a long time lurker of Ben on YouTube (even when Ben showed up in a video with “Tavin Dillard”). I emailed him some questions many years ago and his response impressed me as a solid, down-to-earth guy. I wished I would have joined the gold pick lifetime when it first came out (because it was a lot cheaper then and I’d be playing well by now haha) but stayed a silver pick until a month ago when my wife said “we have the money, just do it.” I’d hemmed and hawed for years wishing…
Musically, I played trombone from 5th thru 10th grade. Added the clarinet 6th grade (cause my parents couldn’t afford another instrument but my mom still had her clarinet.) I took lessons on the organ for about a year but complained of “arthritis” in my fingers because they hurt when I played haha. I’ve loved the sound of the banjo since I was little. In about 2009 I bought a Gold Tone Cripple Creek 100R banjo. I tried the Murphy method via DVD but couldn’t get the hang of it to sound right so here I am, hopeful to “get it” someday.
I grew up on a small farm in the Great Lakes region, also called the “north coast.” In the mid to late 80s, I went to college to study engineering not far from Ben’s stomping grounds in East TX and even went to his hometown movie theater on occasion. Later I became a missionary bush pilot and served 7 years in the beautiful country of Bolivia in South America. I got real sick so we came back to the USA and we settled near Kalamazoo, MI, as I worked as an engineer for an electric utility for 12 years. 3 years ago my family and I moved to serve at a Bible school in the state of Wyoming. I am the director of technology/IT and work maintenance on appliances, boilers, furnaces, ac units, etc. We have about 160 students. We do a lot of one on one mentoring with students and it is a joy as many of them prepare for a lifetime of service in ministry.
I’m so glad to be learning here as I never could find any local banjo instructors in MI, and nothing is local here in rural WY other than cattle, cowboys, and coyotes. Even though I learned some from the Murphy method, I’m working my way thru the beginner lessons; some is review, some is reinforcement, and some is plain new for me. I am doing the roll studies right now.
Banjo players seem unique in their interests and mine are too. My interests are many and diverse such as ham radio (I even use Morse code at times), motorcycle riding (street and off-road), shooting sports and reloading, flying airplanes and ultralights, flying radio controlled airplanes, helicopters, and have a Drone license and fly drones.
That’s the not so “brief” howdy-do. Again, I’m glad to be here and learning and I look forward to getting to know you all.
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Welcome @jay_dub! I’m in Wyoming (Sheridan), and also a ham as are my wife and 2 kids (24 and 27). My ringtone for each family member is their name in Morse code, lol! We all shoot as well, and I’ve always wanted to get my pilot license but my wife was not too keen on that idea!
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Welcome aboard @Jay_Dub and glad to see your intro! I’m a banjo student too having just started a couple of years ago here with Banjo Ben, and we have a few other things in common too; trombone, engineering, not able to find local banjo instruction, etc. While it never actually took place, I did vicariously pilot ultra-lights and helicopters, and have at least touched the controls while in flight (ha). Thanks for participating and hope to see you around the forum!
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Hi,
I’m Jamie from Ashland City Tennessee. I’ve been lurking on the forum for quite some time now and this is my first post. I am a beginner banjo player and I am also learning how to play a viola. I have been playing the banjo for about 16 months now and my viola for about four. I love to listen to bluegrass, gospel, and classical music.
I was in the July 9th Cabin Camp where I played the banjo and my Gold Tone banjola. The banjola is like a banjo. It has the body of an A frame mandola connected to a banjo neck. It has a really beautiful sound and I use it for playing Bach using my Bach for Banjo book. I have learned the A part of two minuets so far. I play it a lot more than my banjo now.
The viola is a lot of fun to learn and play also. I don’t have a teacher for it and have mostly been learning on my own through YouTube and several books that I have. It is a bit difficult as there is way more information for violins than violas. All of the music written for the viola is in the alto clef. Learning the alto clef is a lot of fun for me along with music theory. I really liked Mr. G’s course on music theory on Ben’s site and wanted to learn more about it. I am half way through Alfred’s book on music theory, alto clef edition, and plan to start a course on Udemy on it soon.
I am also a ham radio operator. I am not very active with it now. I was learning Morse code and then that got sidetracked two years ago when I was divorced. I mostly experiment with HF digital modes with it now. I would really love to start learning Morse code again but lately I have been spending more time on my music hobby.
I am looking forward to meeting and learning with you all.
Jamie.
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Hey Jamey, welcome to the forum!! Hope you enjoy the site!! 
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Hi Everyone,
My name is Monmoth - I am a British guitarist who first developed an interest in flatpicking way back in 2004.
I won’t tell you all about myself, as within my short membership here I’m guessing some regulars will already feel like they’ve already heard my life story from the many long and cumbersome comments I’ve made on this forum. I am rarely short of an opinion…
I’ve know about and admired Ben’s playing and this site for years. - I was always been reluctant to join before mainly as I have a talent for not spending my free time or money well. That I’d foolishly treat the site a like a gym membership, which I wouldn’t trust myself to use wisely. But I eventually subscribed and have not regretted my decision - though others may disagree…
The unusual times we’re all experiencing have given me plenty of time to reignite a passionate interest to improve my Bluegrass playing. I simply hope to get better and to understand what I already know more intimately. To learn as much as I can in short. Ben’s resources here offer endless opportunities for me to improve and I hope to make the most of what’s on offer. I have not found anything that has disappointed me, believe me I’d tell you all
So thank you for your time in reading this - and I thank everyone else whose already familiar with my comments and lack of brevity!
All the best and happy learning!
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Fun to see the new intros! I’ll be at the October camp which will be my first camp, can’t wait. I look forward to meeting folks in person. For those hams out there, I’ve not been active lately, but I hope to
pick it back up a little bit over the winter when the days are shorter and the projects of ranch life slow down. I’m K7RKB.
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Wow!! Man, we have tons in common! I need to come out and see you! Shoot me an email so I can have your contact info: https://banjobenclark.com/contact
Great to meet you and have you on the forum!
Thank you for your assets to the forum, and welcome!
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