Hi, Tim! Congratulations on being GPotW! That’s some great advice at the end!
Tim Sullivan from Middleboro, Massachusetts
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Congrats and good luck on your banjo studies. Love the quote from Earl Scruggs, so true. Becoming a Master is a lot of little steps, not one big leap. Happy Picking!
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Thanks y’all. I also love that quote. I’m guilty myself of trying to play stuff beyond my ability but eventually I’ll get it after coming back to it once I’ve developed the skill set. Most the time I don’t realize I’ve developed those skills until I try playing those songs/instrumentals or licks later on.
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Hi Tim…Congrats on the GPMOTW. Very cool about wanting and learning to play. You’re NEVER too old to learn. Welcome to the best teacher anywhere online.
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Hi Tim, Congrats on being selected as this weeks Gold Picker of the Week.
I hear what you say buddy but I am in the camp that say’s you should be constantly trying things out beyond your skill level once you get the fundamentals down pat. So long as your not bieing too ambitious, biting off more than you can chew and trying to play fast when you can’t play slow. Working on an advanced arrangement builds skills. It may take six months or even a year of dipping in and out to get there but by the time you master it your knowledge and skills will have improved massively.
Once again well done and good luck on your journey.
Yes, definitely. I am at that point now where I am trying those difficult things. It was early on I should not have been trying some of the stuff I shouldn’t have and getting frustrated.
Thanks for the encouragement.
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HI Tim, I remember back when I started I came across an audio track on the Banjo Hangout of a guy who’s name I’ve long since forgot playing Tennessee Waltz in D. I really love that tune so I wrote to him and he told me he learned it from Lee Marcus’ TAB. It took me two years to learn it and I set myself a goal that if I managed to nail it I would buy myself a Stelling Banjo as a retirement present.
So here is the TAB if you wanna give it a go.
tennessee_waltz.tef (11.0 KB)
PS. You’ll need to buy your own Stelling 
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Hi Tim,
Congrats on the award. Just as awesome as WINNING GPotW… is enjoying everyone’s stories… well, ALMOST…
Nah, nothing is as good as winning, right? What beats winning, right? Ask Ricky Bobby (a lame Teledega Nights reference) 
Ok… Try again… A close second place to winning is to enjoy everyone’s story.
Seriously now, I really do like this feature because WE can enjoy and share so our fellow BanjoBen Forum participants are more than just a name or number on a list.
Keep on Pickin’, my fellow Northerner Banjer Friend.
Thanks Archie. Very tasteful arrangement I’ll add this to my ever growing list of songs to learn.
Haven’t had the opportunity to play a Stelling yet, would love to try one.
Thank you, it is interesting to read the stories and to see the diverse group of pickers from around the country and world.
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Congrats and thanks for sharing the Scruggs quote…
.it is encouraging for me (and many others based on some of the comments above). Thanks again for sharing!
Thanks, keep on pickin’ you’ll get through those plateaus and and keep on building skills. It is quite satisfying.
The last piece of advice seems to work in every area of life. Thanks for sharing, I didn’t know Earl said that.
Yoink!
Yoink! ???
Congrats Tim! Railroad conductor…what an awesome job. Both my grandfathers were Railroaders on the Erie Lackawanna railroad which became Conrail.
One was a switchman and the other tended a coal tower. Lots of railroad buffs in my home town.
Nope, not five o’clock there. It has to be five o’clock somewhere!
Great to meet you Tim. Hee Haw was a great show, too bad we don’t have stuff like that anymore.
Lot’s of clips of Hee Haw on YouTube Brandon.
Yeah I know, I just miss the days of the family sitting around the tv and watching good stuff like that. I remember watching it with my parents every week.
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