Hi all,
I’ve been progressing through the beginner banjo learning track.
I’m a bit stuck though. I’m having a super hard time hitting the ‘Banjo Solo’ tempos on the songs. For instance, I can play John Henry pretty well at 180bpm, but that 220 is a big step up.
Should I wait until I can play it at that tempo before moving on? Or should I move on and just keep circling back to it? How is the beginner track intended to be progressed through as far as that goes?
Thanks, enjoying the lessons
Hey Liam! Welcome to the forum!
Generally speaking, once you can play a song without looking at tab, it’s OK to move on. That being said, it’s important to try to identify WHY you’re not able to get it up to speed. Sometimes, folks accidentally use the wrong picking fingers, or have some other bad form in either hand that may be slowing them down.
Keep in mind you have to allow yourself plenty of time. I don’t think of myself as REALLY knowing a song unless I’ve played it through at least 1000 times. For example, I recently learned Beaumont Rag. Now that I have it up to speed, I figure I can play it though a little less than 100 times per hour. So until I have at least 10 hours of playing nothing but that song, I don’t feel I really KNOW it. Others have different methods for learning a song. That’s just what works for me.
If you have some time, post a video of yourself playing something you can’t get up to speed and we’ll try to see if there’s something we can do to help.
Welcome, @sloanliam1091. I second what Mark said - it’s certainly ok to move on before you get it “up to speed”. But I’ll add, don’t be too concerned about speed if you’re a beginner. I think playing with good tone, timing and accuracy is more important. The speed will come as you get more experience.
I third or fourth what was said. Move on and circle back. Sometimes, I never get to the final speed… AND I don’t feel the need to do so. If I enjoy playing it at some speed less than the fastest click track, great!
Happy picking!
Hi @sloanliam1091 Liam 
to @BanjoBen 's Forum
I agree with @Mark_Rocka I have been a Gold Pick Member for about 11 years and have worked my way through ALL Ben’s banjo lessons to date. If I could play everything up to speed I’d be out with my banjo every day earning a good living.
I know John Henry pretty well too but I think I’d struggle to play it at 220. 200 perhaps.
Here’s a tip, open the TEF File in TablEdit or TEFView. Set the speed to 180, play along with the TAB. Now adjust the speed to 185 and repeat the process. Tomorrow with the speed set to 185 play along with the TAB then adjust the speed up 5 to 190 and repeat. That’s the way to develop your speed.
That said, at 180 I would have already moved on. But would continue to revisit the tune.
Hello @sloanliam1091,
I am super impressed that you are able to do John Henry at 180. I’m still working on getting it good at 160. I’ve only been on this site, or playing a banjo at all for about a month, so I know very little, but what many on the site have told me is that it’s better to be slow and accurate than fast. I think in a lot of ways it’s about finding a rehearsal rhythm which works for you and keeps you encouraged and challenged at the same time.
The rhythm which works for me is to get really good at the slower pace and then move on to the next lesson, but keep coming back to the earlier songs as at some point in my rehearsals to work on speed. (as you say, circling back).
There’s a good course on speed tests in the beginning banjo track, as well as one on rehearsal theory which might help establish a rhythm for you as well.
Happy Picking!
Thanks guys, I really appreciate the advice.
I’m going to continue on with the lessons, but continually practice various songs. Probably need to work on my tone a bit.
When I feel like I have a really solid handle, ill upload a video of my right hand and hopefully get some feedback. My plan is to experiment with my pick shapes and angle a bit.
Thanks again, super stoked to be learning the banjo! What an awesome instrument. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun with music.
This is so true. Finding that sweet spot between being bored with what you know and being overwhelmed with learning is a constant moving target. I find myself outside of that range ALL the time. Of course, life does tend to get in the way pretty often.
When I’m in the zone and learning mode is switched on, I like to warm up using songs I already know. It’s so important to keep playing them so you don’t forget how. I’ve forgotten how to play so many songs I used to play.
Once you’ve warmed up, spend some time on a lesson, making sure to take plenty of breaks while learning. If you’re ever in a lesson and you find yourself getting frustrated, that’s when it’s time for a break. Even something as simple as flipping over to social media for a few minutes is often enough for me. You’ll be surprised how much it helps to just stop looking at the lesson for a bit.
And that’s what it’s really all about!
Welcome to the forum, Liam (@sloanliam1091). Obviously great advice already given, but don’t overlook Mark’s comment about getting songs down without using tab. Tab is important to communicate what you need to do to play a song, but it trains your hands to play what you see. A big part of what you should be doing is training your hands to do what you hear. So be sure to step through a couple measures at a time until you can throw away the tab. At this point you should be playing very slowly. Then spend time speeding up your playing using your ears instead of your eyes. You can also move on to learning a new song/lesson as part of your practice while another part of your practice is playing through and speeding up songs you can play without looking at tab. That way you can stay interested while you build your library of songs (while simultaneously linking your ears to your hands).
This is SO true, and I didn’t even realize it until I had been playing for years. Katy once asked me to play You Are My Sunshine. I had never played it on the banjo. To my surprise, my fingers knew almost exactly what to do. It was a real light bulb moment for me because I don’t think that skill had ever been put to the test.
Ben’s pick along lessons (and just learning songs in general) have been a big help in developing that skill.
I just had to come share this experience. I know I said above that taking small breaks could help. I didn’t know how small they could be. I’m currently working on the advanced lesson of Cripple Creek. I had just sped up the 1st B part to 70% and had been working through it for a couple of minutes, quite unsuccessfully, I might add.
Well, my wife texted me and, without even stopping what I was doing, I leaned over to look at my phone. I read the message and then put my focus back on the tab. I instantly started playing it perfectly.
I realized that I had kind of gone cross eyed staring at the screen and taking my focus off of it was all I needed to put the focus back where it should be.
So cool I had to share.
Why do you think I spend so much time on the forum. I am just an old frustrated banjer picker