Thanks WillCoop,
It was a lot o fun and your words are encouraging. Today two of the people I played with stopped by again and asked if I would come along to another regular jam session they have. They said it was fun playing the tabs I brought and they’d like to learn some of the tunes and help me along with my ear training. They said my fundamentals are obviously there and I have good speed, but just need more experience playing with other people.
Great advice Archie…I hadn’t even thought of looking at some of banjo bens guitar solos to play along with, but will give that an the YouTube search a try.
I definitely need to learn some specific licks…I need to go voter those lessons again because I initially just played them, and that’s all. I was so focused before on just trying to get the technical aspects and timing right, but now know I need to bring a bag of tricks to the table too to feel more comfortable. I can follow the chord changes even at high speeds, but can’t always start out on them so I’ll miss a few beats when things are going fast. Also the players used some fairly funky chord progressions and chords and although I could rudimentarily identify the root notes I didn’t feel I could contribute anything other than maybe a pentatonic scale to the mix, which didn’t always sound right. Overall I could play chords along with them, but noticed I need to do some work on my strumming and chops and also on smooth changes.
Sounds like you’ve got a good start, and an idea of going forward…it’s great they were willing to take time to share with you…having others to play with can really speed up the learning process, and makes it much more fun.
The big thing I;m reading here is that they were willing to come down to your level and play along and help you and they are continuing to do so after. That doesn’t always happen. If you do anything else latch onto these players and hang on. Sounds like a big blessing to have them jam with you.
That is AWESOME- congrats!
Kind of implied here in a couple replies… But find jams!
In northern VA, there are a few open jams throughout each month. A couple of them have “beginners jams” in that in one area players with less experience will find easier, slower songs.
I know that getting to jams and practicing playing along with a group is tremendous for ear training.
Another thing you can do is make sure you have I IV V chord progressions memorized in at least the big keys (G, A and D). That’ll cover half - more! - of what you encounter at a jam. If a song has a weird chord thrown in (like the B7 in Old Home Place, or the II chord in the chorus, for example) you can just mute the strings and chop for those couple quick counts.
Also - don’t be afraid to chord along happily at a jam and wave off the leads. After you wave of two, the leader will know you’re a pass. Getting your timing right and getting comfortable with other players is way more important than getting in your break if you’re not ready… You’re breaks will come when they come, don’t sweat it if it takes a little time…
Regarding mandolin, I highly recommend these lessons as an approach to jamming. These are just a couple…I have MANY more on the site that will help:
This course first: https://banjobenclark.com/courses/unlocking-the-mandolin-neck
Then combine with this lesson: https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/wreck-of-old-97-melodic-improvisation-mandolin-beginner
I’ll definitely check out those lessons more. I’m guilty of kind of perusing the lessons and then moving on. I’ve learned a lot that way too< but as I get better I learn there are no shortcuts. I find myself now going back through each lesson. It’s amazing how much more layered they become as you gain knowledge and skill to play the songs. I noticed just a few weeks ago that jumping up the neck was easier now than it used to be and then last night after many attempts Over the past few weeks I finally put together the chop chord progressions. I’ve been going over old songs today where I know the melody and have been playing the chord progressions instead. Just a note here too…the people I played with really enjoyed the melodic arrange,ents you had created. Most of the group plays jazz fusion, but one group member called again today and asked if he could stop by this weekend to play some more fiddle tunes!
Cool! Yes, there are many themes that I weave into the lessons that result in cumulative retention as you watch.
Hey, Ben I tried the wreck of the ol 97’s lesson again and am putting in time on it. I was wondering if humming the tune or singing lyrics for the melody would help me to remember the basic melody while I improvise around the humming/singing. I find I can play the melody and improvise around it some when I’m looking at the basic melody, but I can’t do it without looking. It’s really hard to do, but even so, I’m having fun and came up with a pleasant variation! Nonetheless, I fall into playing the scale and lose the melody unless I write it all down. Any other tips? I noticed on some of your other videos you sometimes sing out the melody…not sure if that helps you remember it or if it’s done just to help us associate the tune with what you are trying to do.
Singing is always good, yes. If you can’t sing or hum the melody, then you don’t know it. I don’t actively sing the melody in my head or out loud when I solo, but the melody is playing on auto somewhere in my brain. This took practice to develop for me.
Hi Kristopher FWIW I listen to the melody a lot when I am working on a tune, I tend to hum a little.
Jens Kruger said in one of his video tutoriasl that he sings the melody, it helps him connect his fingering with the notes positions on the fretboard,
I think this is going to take more than just practice for me…it seems so difficult. I will say that since focusing on the wreck of ol 97 I’ve finally memorized the melody and can do some basic scale progressions within the melody, but I also tend to get stuck on the same patterns and I cannot yet randomize the melody either unless I get off topic. I hope this gets easier! I think I may be too much of a left brain thinker. Creativity is going to take time to develop. Anyone else out there have this problem? The players I’ve seen recently seem to all have a natural capacity to just play…though some have told me they have been playing for over thirty years too, but I don’t want it to take thirty years to be somewhat competent…discouraged, but going to do this every day for a month and see how I progress.
I learned the melody by humming it and when I played the note I hummed as well to memorize under my fingers. Your suggestion helped me…thanks! I can’t sing worth a darn so…humming it is!
Patience! These things don’t happen overnight.
We all learn at different speeds, but yes everyone has the same problems for a time. Creativity is linked to experimentation, listening skills, retention of learned material, amount of time spent on the instrument, etc…it doesn’t just “happen”…it is another learned skill…varying how we play something while retaining the main theme
Yes, it will get easier…the more it’s done the easier it gets.
If you’re doing Wreck of the old '97, you might do some listening to Footprints in the Snow…very similar melody sections but usually played fairly differently…might give you some ideas…
If what you’re trying gets too frustrating or you’re getting too discouraged, have something else handy to work on for a while, then come back to it…Sometimes it takes a break from something to let the brain catch up with a new thinking pattern.
Hope this helps some…Good luck, and work on enjoying the process of learning…demanding time limited results from yourself is not a great goal early in the playing process.
Dave
Hi Kristopher
I would echo everything Dave @fiddle_wood says. It takes an abundance of Patience, Practice and Perseverance to learn to play a musical instrument. Some days are good some days are bad.
Yes…ME!!! I challenge you to watch and attempt to learn all of my build-a-break lessons on the site. Some of the advanced solos may be too difficult but I usually start out on a basic melody. But I talk about how I expand that basic melody into licks, rolls. You can find these by going to the banjo page then clicking “build-a-break” on the collection filter on the left. And, be sure to watch my rolling backup lesson: https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/how-to-play-rolling-backup-for-fiddle-tunes-more-banjo-intermediate
Challenge accepted!
Hello @crohnieks. Do you have any informal monthly jam-sessions you could attend every month? Just reading your post brought back some memories. About 32-years ago, I had just taken up the banjo for about a year while still in college. My brother mentioned to me a monthly “Hoe-Down” jam-session at our Town Hall. Eagerly, I took my banjo there and joined in. There was always a group of about 32-players or so sitting in a circle of chairs or standing with our instruments while some of the women cooked dinner. The group with mandolins, guitars, banjo, fiddles would play from song to song and was a bit difficult to hear yourself, but it was there, that I cut my teeth on being able to move from song to song (without knowing the song) and catch on to the chord progression and experiment with various styles of backup. Eventually a few of us noticed each other and we formed a group that played in some country shows, churches and other events. Back then, I only had bluegrass records to learn licks from so seemed like a slow process learning. (the build-a-break licks @BanjoBen is like learning with full-afterburners on)
Incidentally, I met a beautiful woman there at the Hoe-Down that smiled at me when our eyes me while I was playing “Bending the Strings” or “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” when it came time to take turns playing special numbers. I still remember the whole room going to black & white yet she remained in living color. :-)
We’re still in love and have been married for 32-years. At any rate, I was thinking that joining such a monthly Picking event might help develop your skills and ability to jam if you can find one. HAPPY PICKING!