Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

The practice video thread 🎶 - New vid added 11/8/23 - Gold Rush - Guitar

Ok, great! The people have spoken! By the way, don’t forget I have dozens of Christmas lessons already on the site. I’m doing a couple weeks of Fireball Mail then will jump on Christmas.

12 Likes

Thanks y’all!! :blush: better to early than to late, to learn christmas songs…

3 Likes

@Severin, nicely done!

I also think it is about time!

Reminded me of my silent night practice 3 year ago… I don’t know if I’m better off or worse now.
Silent Night - Guitar - Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

2 Likes

@JohnM
I liked it back in '19, & still do! Nice job there, thx for adding to the thread!!

2 Likes

Thank you @JohnM! I like your guitar playing too! Great Job!

2 Likes

Thanks Simone! :slight_smile: I have definitely improved on flat picking but not so much on fingerstyle as I had not attempted many.

And thanks too Severin!

2 Likes

My latest practice:

17 Likes

@Lucy_L
That is excellent picking. The tone is awesome! When I grow up I wanna pick like that :slightly_smiling_face: ! Seriously though I really enjoyed it :purple_heart:, thanks for posting (and fixing the title!!)
Just curious, was that recorded directly on a phone, if not, what did you use?
Hopeful to see more of your work sometime soon!

5 Likes

Nice Picking Lucy!

6 Likes

I’ll second Simone on the tone you’re getting. Sounds like you’ve found the sweet spot!:+1:

7 Likes

Good%20Job @Lucy_L

4 Likes

Others have already said this, but I’ll say it too… Fantastic tone!

3 Likes

Wow, that sounds amazing! What a great picking!

2 Likes

Thank you! I just used my iPhone to record, nothing super fancy :laughing:

3 Likes

Thank you @JohnnyD, @Fiddle_wood, @Archie, @Mason_Crone & @Severin!

6 Likes

I’ve been working on Little Georgia Rose - melody & backup
(especially trying to grow beyond the vamp)

So here’s my latest practice video.

15 Likes

Great job @JohnnyD I love that tune. Always been meaning to learn it.

I have the same problems trying to insert fancy backup - I find when I have to think about it I get lost - I TABbed out a few fancy backup licks into a couple of guitar / mandolin solo TEF files, just to practice filling the holes, it seem to help a little as I wasn’t pausing as much to THINK what I was going to play. Many Many repeats till I found the auto pilot. Still a work in progress.

2 Likes

@JohnnyD
Nice picking there! Really liked how you included footage of how you’re practicing & working out the beyond the vamp part. Coming along nicely! Looks like you’re right on the edge, meaning pretty soon you’re gonna take off with it! Thanks for posting!! Ps: how’s your playing & singing coming along? Enjoyed your “inevitable” post on the banjo page. I’m still working on the singing/playing thing :grimacing: … (mando)…

1 Like

Great playing! I love Strum Machine too.

4 Likes

Ok so here’s a vid singing and playing…
My Little Georgia Rose
I was on the fence about putting this up but then figured I would as @JohnnyD has put his up in the banjo category.

I am not much of a singer but would like to have the skill to.play & sing if I wanted to & have kinda been working on it with various songs. This is the latest, which I just realized is the same song as above post and that was not planned I promise! (serious!)

This is the 1st time I’ve ever played this song and while familiar with it (the chorus, haha!) I don’t know the words and was reading off a guitar lyrics sheet for key of C - but I was playing in B. That’s my only cheat. And I STILL messed up the words, you’ll see me laughing at myself! :grimacing::grimacing::grimacing:

Goals were:
Sing & play
Don’t stop
Don’t look at my fingers during the breaks
Do pentatonic stuff for breaks as a friend of mine suggested
Stay in time (hahah!)
Play it with nothing else playing in the background
One take and done

Mandolin isn’t exactly a play and sing by itself instrument, unless its one of those pretty strummy or arpeggiated songs, it sounds wierd by itself and singing. Before I decide to chicken out, here ya go…

14 Likes