It’s a good thing BB offers lessons for many different instruments.
All I gotta do is practice…like these folks.
Billy Strings on banjo!?!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiJYOA_3Jgc
What Else Do You Play?
Well I have in the past played an Accordion, a Moothie (Harmonica), a comb and tissue paper, a Kazoo, a Jaw Harp, a Recorder, the Bagpipes, a Peddle Organ, an Electric Organ with button bass, a Ukulele, a Banjo Ukulele and a Guitar. I can’t say that I excelled at any of these. There was no @BanjoBen there to inspire and motivate me. So the Banjo has become my instrument of choice.
What do you play?
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My dad showed me how to form chords on the lower keys of his Hammond organ just before he left for Vietnam in 1967–I was 7 years old. When he returned a year later I could play a few songs for him. I still can play some. When I was 12, he encouraged me to take up saxophone. After gaining some proficiency a couple years later, he and my mom spent money they didn’t have to acquire a Selmer Mark VI—the equivalent of a pre-war Gibson banjo in the saxophone world. I still have that horn and hope to play some in retirement soon. We lost mom two years ago on 5 July 2023. I spent the last two years caring for my dad—often playing banjo—he liked that. My dad passed away this past Monday, 7 July. He was a major part of instilling in me a love of music. I never gave him enough credit for that. I’ll miss him.
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Wow, @JKL so sorry for your loss. So cool you still have that Selmer…it’s an awesome horn. Wonderful story about your Dad’s musical encouragement. Thanks for sharing.
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“What do you play?”
Some days I’m not even sure I play the banjo.
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I am sure sorry to hear that brother @JKL . God bless you for honoring your father and mother.
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@JKL what a blessing to have had a good mom and dad. I pray that from now on early July will spark fond memories for you. I learned banjo only after both of my parents passed, so I will live a little vicariously through you in how special that must have been. Blessings to you.
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My favorite instrument to play right now is piano, though I’m not really properly skilled at it—I just like sitting down and banging out chords when hanging out with friends at church. I wish I had gotten into it sooner because whenever I play I feel like, “this is what I’ve always wanted to do”.
@JKL I’m so sorry for your loss. What a wonderful gift from your mom and dad! I’d love to hear you play that horn sometime.
My grandfather on my mom’s side was a jazz trumpeter. A while ago I acquired his trumpet (I can’t play a note on it though). We don’t have any recordings of him playing, but I wish we did!
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