Aye but if you had watched the video closely he was using a flat pick.
What kind of songs do you want to learn....?
The link should have just gone to a search page full of songs by the band…I figured that would give you a choice on what to listen to, if anything.
@fiddle_wood i did see all the listings, i just decided to listen to the one in the link and Fat Bottom Girls.
I want to learn both kinds of music, “country and western!” Actually, I’m most interested in fiddle tunes and Scruggs. I’m looking forward to the time when Ben gets the copy-write issues sorted out. I’m not opposed to string versions of the rock classics. But that depends on what you consider a rock classic. A lot of the 70’s country rock had some banjo in it, it isn’t a stretch to make it more bluegrassy. Another way to look at it is to look at the classic tunes that were converted into rock tunes - Gallows Pole, Going Down the Road, Dark Hollow, House of the Rising Sun, etc. Then there are the outlaw country tunes that are amenable to bluegrass. There are a million of them. Turns out those musicians were just taking their inspiration from previous musicians. The recent lesson with Tony Wray showed how bluesy a banjo can sound. I’d like to work on that. My problem is that Ben keeps adding more lessons faster than I can learn them.
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@The_Mole. I agree with you, and those are some of the songs i would like to learn. Especially “House of the Rising sun”. Im not looking at quitting my day job(as soon as i find one) and going on the road. I am not opposed to learning whatever song i can. I love a lot of the Bluegrass songs that i hear. I just want to be versatile when it comes to playing. I do have a few guitar buddies and i would love to be able to play some songs with them. But like you i have to get through the lessons before stepping into the “BIG” world of rock/pop songs. It is fun and exciting and who knows what the future may hold.
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@_Tye_Stick, I have this songbook and I like some of the songs in it.
I tried to play some of them early on, but realized I needed more experience - hence why I am here.
When I started on my Banjo journey, I did not want to play Bluegrass. My grandparents took me to festivals when I was young, but I never really listened to it other than that. I like a lot of alternative music and there are a lot of songs now coming out with some banjo. The problem is the banjo portion is relatively short. So, you cannot play an entire song, OR you play a short melody and then play a lot of backup. That is when I started looking at songs I could learn and play the entire song. That brought me back to Bluegrass where the banjo is often the main instrument. As I listened to various bands, I discovered The Steeldrivers. They are now my favorite band and I hope to be able to play their songs someday. Until then, I will follow Ben’s lessons so I continue to get better. Good luck in your journey.
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@JoeB Try going here…www.banjotom2.org there are a whole lot of different type of songs on here. Some rock/pop, bluegrass, ect…You can download the Tef & pdf files. There also some “premium” ones there that you have to pay for. I bought like 10 songs for $5.00. I have a bunch of them saved on my laptop for future playing.
And that is me also. The more I look at some of the ones I downloaded the more I want to learn the lessons here, its a great motivator to get better and be more versatile. I try to listen to Bluegrass music as much as I can when I’m home just editing some photos or as long as my Sirius Radio is still on while I’m driving. I will still be on “Old Rocker” from back in the day till the day I die.
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A good problem to have …
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I want to learn both kinds of music, “country and western!” @The_Mole one of my fav movies referenced there!
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