I have a Martin D28 and a Deering Goodtime II. I love playing both of them, and up to this point, I’ve tried to juggle both. I am a rank amateur on each, still very much a beginner.
Given the demands on my time, practicing both daily is not always possible.
In your view, is it practical to study both at the same time? Should I dig deep on one until reach a certain skill level, then branch out?
I’m concerned that if I do that I’ll be missing out somehow. The guitar is more versatile across genres, yet there is nothing like the voice of a banjo. I hate to have to choose.
I wouldn’t give one up unless you actually dislike it. There’s not much possibility that splitting your time between two is going to hurt your overall musicianship; if anything, it will most likely help it. You might want to read through these threads, too:
In my experience, playing better banjo helps me play better guitar, because I gain more understanding of the banjo’s role and how to complement that. Playing better guitar helps me play better banjo, because my ear is more familiar with how guitar rhythm lines up with banjo.
If you find that you take to learning one more easily than the other, you may enjoy putting more time into it than the other, which is completely natural. But unless you end up uninterested in one, you probably will not be benefited from stopping.
Great question, I tried to learn the guitar and the mandolin whist learning to play banjo. I loved the banjo much more than I did the guitar and mandolin and decided to give them up in favour of the banjo. Years down the road I truly regret my decision.
My question is more about WHEN to start the guitar. I am a beginner on Banjo and new Gold Pick member. I am determined to practice all I can to learn the Banjo but I know the guitar is in my future sometime. With these Black Friday deals coming up, I am tempted to get a guitar package but am not sure if I should learn just the banjo for a year before the guitar?
Learning both at the same time can be fun. That way when you get tired of one you can play the other for a few days. If you dedicate yourself to both, it won’t really slow down the speed at which you learn.
I think starting the guitar right now will probably help you advance faster. Of course, you can balance the time you spend on each however you want– even if you decide not to start practicing the guitar for a few months, I don’t think there’d be any harm in buying it now and getting a deal on it.
I agree with @Timothy_L and @Michael_Mark, but I would add a little caveat. A fair amount of people never get past the sore finger hump when learning stringed instruments. If you have been playing less than say 2 months, I might wait a bit more. However, if you are making good progress and you are sure this music playing thing is for you, then the sooner the better!
From experience, I started on banjo a little over a year ago, and jumped into guitar a couple months after starting the banjo. Since they’re both fretted stringed instruments, what I learned on one helped my skills on the other.
Now, I primarily play the guitar (fingerstyle) but I still enjoy pulling out the banjo, and while I’m a bit rusty (only play banjo every few months now) it comes back quickly.
Long story short - learning one will help with the other and vice versa, but if time is a crunch, stick with just the one you want to learn most.