Anybody have one of those days where you just can’t play at all? Seems like I have that every day…maybe I’ll get a kazoo.
Practice
I wish I could give some tips, but I don’t even remember exactly how to tune a banjo. Here was a recent related topic in guitars:
https://banjoebenclark.com/forum/t/having-a-bad-picking-day/258/1
Hang in there. I think the kazoo is probably premature.
BTW, Not that I could have given any help, but I just thought I’d pass it along that the practice video is private and I couldn’t watch it.
I had about three of those days last week…Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday…they suck, but if you keep at it, they pass. I had to skip practice Saturday because of work and the honey-do list, but I picked it up last night and everything seemed to flow a little better. I’m not gonna say good, because I don’t think I am good…YET, but the idea remains that sometimes I think when I get frustrated, I just need to walk away and give my mind AND fingers a chance to calm down…as dumb as that may sound.
Here is a link to another thread on the same subject:
https://banjoebenclark.com/forum/t/having-a-bad-picking-day/258/1
Playing ability is like a stairway when first learning. you shoot up for a bit quickly, then level off and can’t seem to progress for a while.then start improving again. It’s like this for most people and is perfectly normal. I will usually use the “can’t progress” days as “attempting new stuff” days. reading a tab for the first time and trying to memorize it goes so slowly for me that I don’t notice my inability to play as fast or as clean as I usually can like I do on stuff I’ve gone over a great number of times.
As you continue to progress in your playing more things will come naturally and those days you feel you can’t play will decrease in frequency.
Thanks for all of the advice…i will get there one day. In the meantime, my teacher is moving to Louisville, KY so I’m gonna be hanging here more…sorry in advance 
.
Here’s a video my teacher just made…not bluegrass, but he definately changes the attitude of what banjo playin can be:
I get those days all the time. I find if I can’t work throuygh them, I have to put down the banjo for the night. All day I look forward to the time I get to play in the evening. I truly enjoy it and findds it de-stresses me. Once it gets too frustrating and shows no signs of getting better then it is time for me to put it down for the night and pick up a book or something else.
Happens to all of us.