Please excuse so many posts, I'm just finding my way about the site, starting with this blog. I don't feel as though I'm qualified to post any discussions yet but I seem to have got one going, inadvertently, when I referred to hand positions. Thanks, Jody, for the detailed analysis of hand positions. I think it's really up to the person who plays the instrument which hand position is the most comfortable. I'm sure that speed can be achieved with practice whichever method is chosen as you say. Talking about music practice I thought I'd ask how members here organise their own learning and practice of the banjo. (I suppose I should post this on the discussion page but I'm staying here on the blog for the moment.) Do you (meaning everyone out there) have a set way of practising?

Looking back to my music practice sessions when I was first learning the piano at the age of 7, I had a set time to practice and in that half hour (it got longer the longer I played the piano) I practised exercises for technique, scales, new pieces or parts of new pieces, some theory and finally at the end of the session I played pieces that I knew and attempted some pieces that I had chosen (not ones my teacher had chosen). In other words I 'played' on the piano after the serious part of 'learning'.

How do members here 'learn' to play? Does each practice session follow a particular format? Do you just concentrate on learning one piece at once? Do you do exercises or warm ups? It would be interesting to hear. Maybe you don't need to practice much or maybe you will find new methods of learning if a lot of people join this discussion.

I think I've wittered for long enough. My practice today on the blog is inserting pictures so here goes.

Yeah! OH you're too late - I've done it myself.   :)

Views: 111

Comment by Trevor Boyd on April 6, 2012 at 14:18

Hi.  I'm really just a beginner, although I have played classical guitar for many years.  My practice routine is that I don't have one. :-)  I play a mixture of easy pieces and exercises.  So I am currently working on learning Sunflower Dance and the Georgia Medley, interspersed with the the Grimshaw studies.  I try and do half an hour a day although I don't always manage it.  I find the tablature helpful when I can't work out the fingering but I always try to work things out from the notation first.

I have also had a look at Marc Dalmasso's Czerny Petite March (based on one of the Czerny piano studies?).  That has some tricky left hand stretches - tricky even for a classical guitarist like me.  Thank you Mark - not  :-)

Comment by Alan Sims on April 6, 2012 at 15:01

hi Trevor ,i thought just the same . sunflower dance fairly easy to tackle ,then start learning to play petite march then there is these couple of long streches stumbling blocks

Comment by Jody Stecher on April 6, 2012 at 15:35

I thought you were talking about the LEFT hand. The one on the fingerboard.  The difference in the right hand (the one plucking the strings) in the photos seems to be due to the size of the instrument. 

Comment by Trevor Boyd on April 6, 2012 at 19:14

Hi Alan.  Yes some of those left hand stretches in first position are killers - much harder than on the guitar for some reason.  I am getting there though, and I am sure you are too.  Enjoy!

Comment by thereallyniceman on April 6, 2012 at 19:52

For those who are still confused about my lovely, but often confused, wife's confusion! I think what Mrs. thereallyniceman was attempting to say was that when she played guitar she held her right hand like this:

Whereas when she attempted to learn to play Classic Banjo, I showed her the way that the original performers of the era held their right hands, and she didn't feel comfortable with it. 

                                  

If you have never seen Tarrant Bailey Junior play classic style,

Click the link below :

SNAKES AND LADDERS

and be amazed!

Comment by Sylvia on April 7, 2012 at 11:12

Practice.... mmmm.  Well I try and play as much as I can,   Do the "  set " pieces first and try and memorise each before I pass on to the next one.   Don't do scales ( maybe should do ). After doing the set pieces, I do some sight reading, notation that dosn't have the tabs with it because I'm lazy and will read the tab instead of the notation. If I have time after that I go over the old pieces. I have been working some of the Ellis pieces ( the easy ones, I like easy ) and some from the Baur , "The Banjoists Budget "  That Rob entabulated for us.

Coming from Guitar holding it Classic style, I didn't find it too difficult  holding the Banjo, what did take some getting used to was the 5th string and the little finger on the vellum.

Have a Happy Easter Mrs Nice Lady and  OH.

Keep on posting ... please   : )

Comment by Alan Sims on April 7, 2012 at 14:42

WOW, snakes and ladders ,wizard right hand  im gob smacked

Comment by Trevor Boyd on April 7, 2012 at 15:52

The Banjoists Budget was a new one for me.  Many thanks, Sylvia.

Trevor

Comment by Sylvia on April 7, 2012 at 16:13

Hi Trevor , you'r welcome.

 

 

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