Next?

[thereallynicelady]

The practice for the ‘new’ piece is now underway and OH is in the study working out fingering and playing short phrases over and over again. It takes only a short while for him to choose what to play and then it’s all systems go to master the music. I was wondering how  members here go about choosing their ‘next’ piece. Do you flick through the music you have already, do you arrange your own, do you adapt a piece you’ve heard or do you raid the music here on Classic Banjo Ning? How do you practice? Do you shut yourselves away for hours on end or set yourself a practice time and stick to it? New members, (hello and welcome), did you join to take advantage of the music library, what pieces are you playing at the moment? I really like to see German David’s contributions to the site as he masters the playing of his banjo by practising his exercises and tunes. Please share your 'current' practice piece or tune.

[Jody Stecher]

When I first started playing Classic Banjo the pieces I wanted to learn to play were selected entirely from music I heard, both "live" and on recordings (mostly Van Eps, Ossman, Olly Oakley, and Bill Ball). One thing led to another. If I liked a composition I'd investigate other works by the same composer. Now I was using the score without having heard a performance.  It was slow going that way because so much written classic banjo music of the early 20th century contained errors, especially in respect to chord positions and frets. I'd also investigate repertoire simply on the basis of an appealing title. That approach did not pan out.  

I practice when I have time. It's different each day. Some days it is 10 minute intervals, many times a day, many hours apart. Other days it is 2 or more hours at a stretch. I usually learn only one new tune at a time. In other words I don't start learning a new tune before I've learned to play another new tune all the way through with a reasonable amount of musicality and coherance. But I usually *practice* as many as 4 0r 5 tunes during any week because I like to re-visit and "dust off" older repertoire that I had learned in years past.  Sometimes I don't tackle new repertoire at all but just spend time polishing pieces I once played badly.  Right now I'm working on "Dancer's Dream" and "Sweet Jasmine". One thing I find helpful is to switch banjos, playing the same piece on both regular and zither-banjos. Each of my banjos has a different neck profile and a different response and a different tone so that a passage that is impossible for me to play on one banjo comes more easily on another even though the tone may be not as pleasing. Once I'm able to play a passage on one banjo it becomes easier to replicate on another.  One thing I don't do is read through dozens of tunes at a sitting. I am not a very fast or competent note reader and I need to spend time deciding how I want to finger each passage. I use the written music notation as a storage-and-retrieval medium. I often play the same passage in different ways so for me the staff notation is not a map of fingering but rather a map of melody and harmony and rhythm. Once I learn a Banjo Solo I dispense with the written music for several years until such a time that I suspect I am mis-playing something. (my suspicions are usually well founded). I can't play the music with much flow or expression if my mind is divided between eyes and ears. 

[thereallynicelady]

Brilliant, Jody, thank you for your excellent response. I wonder if this way of practising is common to all banjo players? I admire players who can play without a score. I'm afraid that I need my music in front of me with my eyes fixed firmly on the dots rather than the piano. It's 'panic' when I have to look down on to the keyboard as it's very difficult for my eyes to find their way back to the correct place. My musical 'ear' is not that good (OH will testify to this) and (owning up again) I do not practise as much as I should. I'm a player in the background rather than a soloist. I hope that other readers will 'tell all' on this subject. Thanks again.

[Mike Moss]

My way of choosing pieces to play has changed with time. At first I mainly played pieces I had listened to before, either on modern recordings or cylinders. Attempting to reproduce these performances helped me to develop a "feel" for how the sheet music translates into an actual performance, with its unwritten subtleties. Once I felt confident enough to do so I started attempting pieces I hadn't listened to before, and unearthing a rare forgotten gem of CB music is much more exciting than than mimicking someone else's performance. I usually choose pieces I have seen mentioned in old publications but have never actually listened to and, if I find them musically interesting, I learn how to play them. Most "pot boilers" have fallen by the wayside for a reason, and most of the really good pieces are known to us, but there are plenty of hidden gems out there.

[Alan Sims]

hallo ,really nicelady. I try to practice tunes that i hope i am not going to get tired of .Over the years of playing guitar i have listened to more music of that instrument. since taking up classic that has changed a little. i had a list of about 20 tunes that are now down to about 10 . these 10 left i dont get fed up with and practice daily. I have copied a few from guitar . camp meeting and hello my baby by chet atkins which sound nice on banjo

[German David Patarroyo]

Hi all, glad to hear I have fans in my banjo adventure :). I really appreciate the support and I hope I can share more tunes and experiences in classic banjo. I was thinking about this post, and I guess I have a sort of possible answers: I think I practice and chose a new tune looking for:

1. Common sense. The only way I improve my skills on the banjo is playing the easiest tunes of the repertoire.  Therefore, I am practicing with several tutorials which they have attached easy (when I furnished them!) tunes. For instance: In the Agnew´s tutorial I am learning "Crescent Polka" whereas in the Ellis and Stahl´s tutorials I am learning "Lubly Rosa Breakdown" and "Fourth Etude". I am practicing with five tutorials (Morley, Agnew, Grimshaw, Stahl and Ellis), playing the exercises of only one book per day. Therefore, I have a lot of work to do it and I keep in warm all the time (I usually play 1-2 hours per day, all the week). When I feel comfortable with the exercises and/or tunes of the daily book, I move on with a new one until I get it. Each book has its pros and cons, but I have a lot of fun with them.
2. Learning of the masters. Ian, Mike and other members suggested me trying original banjo tunes taking advance of the huge library from classic-banjo. At the beginning  I was not sure because I did not feel with enough skills. However, playing music is sometimes a matter of ambition, so I started practicing tunes (the easiest) from the library. All you probably have watched my process with Clematis Waltz. Well, I have a lot of work on the road yet. The idea is playing it in a faster tempo, and more interesting, with the piano part!...I am starting using noteflight as a support and its really hard!, but I will continue. In addition, I am furnishing "Sunflower Dance" (I almost get it!) and I am starting to understand "Star and Garter" in order to have more and more challenges...sometimes you can feel tired playing the same over and over...but its a matter of patience and commitment I guess. PD. I play these tunes after I end the practice with the daily tutorial.
3. Curiosity. If you do not feel it, you will not probably know amazing stuffs on the air. Therefore, I am looking for different pieces for the banjo. Actually, I am exploring for pieces of the 1890-1940´s here in Colombia. There is a single waltz on the road...you will watch it soon!.
4. More common sense. Well, I guess I want to play all the tunes I consider I have the skills to do it...so, I will share in a few days (maybe more) "The Marionettes Frolic" from the Weidt´s elementary studies...they are the kind of tunes I like right now...those I can play them!!

Playing banjo is a huge part of my life, therefore I will play, play and play :)

[Trapdoor2]

Hmmm. I tend to play tunes I've heard...and like Jody, explore tunes that have an interesting title or those which come from a composer whose work I have experience with (e.g., Morley, Hunter, Cammeyer, etc.). I often visit the library here and extract stuff to mess about with. Since I collect the old sheet music, when one comes in I will usually at least put the "A" part into the MIDI machine to see if I might want to learn it. Now that German has mentioned Weidt, I recall that I've been wanting to TAB out "Westward Ho!"...so I"ll go do that this evening.

My practice routine is, frankly, a poor one unless I have found something so attractive that I simply go all 'obsessive' on it requiring a 'slap upside the head' from Miz Diane to, 'play something else, please!'

I have a large 3-ring binder with several pounds of music clipped therein (my small music stand can no longer hold it up, I discovered this weekend) and I am wont to simply start at the beginning and play a bit here, flip a few pages, play a bit there, etc., etc. Miz Diane likes this as the tunes change a lot but it really does nothing for my playing ability or memorization skills. It is all in TAB, so I don't really have to think about positions, etc., and I sort out any original notation errors when I make the TAB (I hope!).

I really do best when I have a end in mind. That is, if I'm intending to learn a tune and make a video or perhaps actually play it for someone else or on stage. I did this for "Fun On The Wabash" this weekend (I was teaching at the Smoky Mountain Banjo Academy) but got sick Saturday and slept thru the "Faculty Concert" that evening. Ah well, at least I played it for a few people Sunday morning and maybe I'll finally now be able to video it successfully (fingers crossed).

When obsessive, I will get into my comfy chair and play for hours and hours (if I have the time). I target difficult areas of the tune and work them into a repeating loop...and then just hammer them until they are set in stone. Then I spend hours incorporating those bits into the rest of the tune. These days, I find that after such a session I often have to then 're-learn' the tune sitting in a more 'formal' chair. Gravity is no friend, I suppose.

[Russ Chandler]

What MIDI software do you use, TD?

[thereallynicelady]

TD - I shall await the video with baited breath and my fingers crossed!

[Trapdoor2]

It is the MIDI produced by the TAB program that I use, TablEdit (found at TablEdit.com).

LOL, I mentioned having been reminded to go mess about with a Weidt tune, "Westward, Ho"...which turns out to have been penned by Mr. G. Lansing. Ah well, another favorite composer anyway. ;-) I'll send it off to the Reallynicefamily as soon as it is done!

[Shawn McSweeny]

My CB start was in learning a number  of pieces from the Bill Ball and Peter Labau discs. The Morley pieces really attracted me for their originality, their variety and the intuitive way they fall under the hands. Pieces were chosen on a favorites-first basis, as living with a tune one doesn't really like is a sorry existence.

Meeting a fellow ABF and Ning member, (Becky Schneider), a few years ago gave the opportunity to play from time to time with a professionally trained and very knowledgeable accompanist, so I developed a regular practice routine to  prepare for those occasions when I would visit, (about three hours drive and one international border away). My repertoire was originally small, but good pieces fairly well in hand.

The repertoire has grown and diversified to include more American works and pieces for which no recorded reference is available.  Lately, for new pieces, I've been transcribing some Ossman performances off early recordings for which notation is either unavailable or too far removed from Ossman's arrangement.  I have also just completed transcribing Harlem Rag for banjo from the  piano score (DeLisle arrangement, copy forwarded to your Reallynicehusband). The favorites-first approach prevails.

The regularity of my original practise routine has been interrupted by a few substantial home improvement projects undertaken in the past two or three years and by a legacy of carpel tunnel syndrome originating from said projects.  Currently, on an irregular basis, I practise as much as I can, without overdoing it.