What’s everyone working on these days? What’s one musical goal you have between now and the end of the month?
Share your practice!
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For banjo, I have been working on Ol’ Ben Clark (the basic one he posted about a month ago). The speed on that one is not coming as easy as one would expect. The speed plateau hit at about the 170 range. I am currently at about 180 with a goal of 200. The problem seems to be mental more than anything. There are slight variations throughout, and I get them crossed up sometimes. I also seem to be getting mental about it as I catch myself tightening up before or after messing up.
I am also working on making some of my slides incorporate a quarter bend as has been been discussed by Ben, Michael Mark and Russ. I have been doing that by revisiting Cripple Creek.
June 25 marks the midway point of the year, and I can start working on Christmas tunes again. It’s a question of lazy/ambitious. If someone STILL hasn’t put away their Christmas decorations in early June, they might be kind of lazy. However, if they ALREADY have them out in early July… well, they are getting on it.
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I do this to expose you to the variations, so after you get “exposed”, try playing through with your favorites instead of trying to follow the tab.
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Oh, I feel exposed alright 
Thanks Ben, will do! I am hoping to get to where I can think it/do it with the variations on the fly, but I am a ways off on that. Whenever the brain functions, things get typically get wonky. I’ll shift the approach as you suggest to “normalize” it and build speed for a bit.
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Right now I’m working on contest versions of Billy in the Lowground & The Old Rugged Cross.
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Lots of review & isolating “trouble spots” lately…will continue with the same for at least the rest of the month. No specific goals other than to get more comfortable, in tune, and more consistent tone.
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@Fiddle_wood got a contest you’re competing in? Or just to learn the arrangements? I find contests are one of the best ways to push yourself and be creative. You can win or lose… I’ve even been last place in a contest! 
… but I always feel like I’ve won because of the hard work I put into it.
My goal for the end of this month is just to get my contest version of Big Sandy River smooth and polished at 110 bpm! I have the arrangement but nailing the EXECUTION takes just as much work and time, for me.
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No contests. I just like the challenge and they are good to work on when there is no one around to play with. Just trying to get more comfortable with all the possibilities of the instrument.
I’ve only ever competed once in music. SPBGMA band contest in Nashville like 30 years ago. I think we placed 16th or 17th out of 800 entries that year. i remember Audi Blaylock was a place ahead of us and Weary Hearts won IIRC.
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800 entries, what? How long did it go on for?
They usually have like 10-20 bands now.
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I’m working on What a Friend We Have in Jesus (on guitar) and dueling banjos (on banjo).
Be able to play dueling banjos with my sister (without messing up too much).
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I’m just working on relaxing, releasing the tight grip I have on the neck and the pick, lifting my anchoring hand a tad off the bridge, and using my pinky to reach more frets.
Any advice would be gladly received.
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My musical goal for the end of the month is to have a musical goal by the end of the month.
Sadly, I’m never naturally one for organized planning, and I don’t like making a practice plan because it’s rare for that to line up with what I’m feeling/in the mood for. So I tend to sit-down-and-learn-things less than I’d like. I’ll also rarely learn an entire break/arrangement and instead just pick my favorite licks out of it to influence my style. My goal is to actually NOT play them perfectly, but to partially forget them so I’ll automatically make up parts of them and therefore kind of have my own lick.
But, I did verbatim learn a few Kenny Smith breaks to Winter’s Come and Gone (which was really fun because of the drop tuning), and also learned Shenandoah, which I promptly forgot because I didn’t practice it. I’ve also been really thinking about my arrangement for Galax, mainly about how nice it would be if it existed. 
Most of my practice is improvisation and if I learn something new, it’s to add more phrases to my vocabulary.
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I vote for a moderate tempo Angeline Baker with lots of ornaments. Since you asked for my opinion 
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Working on a couple clawhammer songs (on banjo). Streets of Laredo and Undone in Sorrow. Both are in F (strings tuned to DCGDF 1-5), so it’s good to work them together. The Sorrow one is aptly named as I’m pretty sorry at it 
, but I’ve got Laredo down. Even changed it up some, but the big challenge is attempting some singing while playing. But I’m finding that my banjo doesn’t fit very well in my shower.
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What’d you choose? I finally chose mine yesterday after thinking about it for way too long 
East Tennessee Blues
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I’m still not sure, but maybe Temperance Reel.
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I am working on expanding my fill licks, transitions and walking to chords. I realized I over used the forward-backward roll and alternating thumb rolls. I’ve been trying to incorporate the forward roll into my playing. For some reason I have timing issues with several measures of FR.
I’ve been learning Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright. That’s kinda my theme song as I near the next season of my life.
IMHO, I’d leave the Christmas tree up all year. I think at night, the lights calms everything down a notch.
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First entry was a sent in recording & some info on the band. From there I forget how many were invited to play at the convention. Entries came form all over the world. There was a day (or two?) of eliminations and then the top 20 or so were invited to play the finals on the next day.
There were so many great bands there it was amazing. I doubt I could have picked between any of those who placed above us. They paid 15 places back then.
I sure miss those days.
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Well, I’m working on a variety of things:
- [older] Salt Creek, Red Haired Boy and Blackberry Blossom @ 200 bpm
- [newer] Black Mountain Rag @ 200 bpm
- [newest] Wildwood Flower XP
- [newest] picking and singing “Worried Man Blues” with some improv
On the improv front, I’m trying to be inspired by and recreate my favorite parts from some Billy Strings solos on Dead tunes, which I find to be fricken’ fantastic – although it’s not so bluegrassy (more jammy).
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My goal is to be able to play my banjo at least 1-2 times a week, which my wife and my three daughters and my cat let me play for at least a few minutes 
if I catch these minutes I’m currently practicing folsom prison blues…
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@Fiddle_wood wow that sounds fun! Now any bands can go compete as long as they register in advance while there’s still space and pay the entry fee. There’s still two rounds of eliminations and then finals, and they give paid prizes to 10 bands. It’s always one of my favorite things to do.
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