tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47036853679660015822024-03-13T16:44:49.876-07:00Banjos are coolTips, tabs and advice from the UKGarry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-30113585658405459042012-08-07T13:48:00.000-07:002012-08-08T01:06:51.911-07:00Banjos: The Islander OB Ash Leaf 5 String Open Back<img border="0" height="160" width="230" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y5DmM9qWhdk/UCF81g7PgzI/AAAAAAAAAJU/hf0O9DibHZ0/s1600/islander.png" alt="" />
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Choosing your axe is never easy, especially if you’re like me and want a banjo that stands out visually as well as audibly. I certainly want my next purchase to be my last for a while, if not for good, as I have been playing for a couple of years and know that this is no longer a fad, and something I want to stick at - I confess, I’m an addicted! So I’m starting to put together wish list of banjos to check out and start saving for, and remembering what my mother taught me about always buying quality, I am already setting my sights quite high. </p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Currently at the top of my list is the Islander OB Ash Leaf, which I consider to be a work of art. She’s a real beaut, handmade using Ash for the body and Maple for the neck, gives her the persona of a playful brunette, capable of turning any head that catches a glimpse of her in the corner of their eye. <a name='more'></a>Everything else is elegantly understated, and traditional, which really puts the grain of the Ash rim on center stage. As far as sound and playability goes, well I’m gonna have to get back to you on that one, as I’m off to try one out at Banjos Direct later this month, and I’ll be sure to let you know.</p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">You can read more about the <a href="http://www.banjosdirect.co.uk/handmade-in-england-islander-ob-ash-leaf-5-string-open-back-1482-p.asp" target="_blank">Islander OB Ash Leaf at Banjos Direct</a>.</p>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-16516808769271884182012-07-18T01:35:00.001-07:002012-07-18T01:36:08.765-07:00Advice: Timing<img border="0" height="160" width="230" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ijpX-v6Nf38/UAWRbbFmefI/AAAAAAAAAIo/nDqMFwM-bV8/s1600/timing.png" alt="" />
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Not so long ago I started thinking about the difference between my playing and that of the players I admired. How can they make the same set of notes that I’m playing sound so much better? I decided to record myself so I could listen to my playing objectively. I used Garageband on my Mac to lay down a basic backing track for “Whisky Before Breakfast”, and then recorded the banjo part. When I listened back I noticed my playing was not as even as I thought it was, and there were many tempo variations. I went on to record myself without backing, and the tempo issues were worse. I tended to rush the easy bits, then slow down when the rolls go challenging, and it was clear that I had to look at improving my timing. Sadly, unless timing comes instinctively to you, you’re gonna need to buckle down and do some real practice, and if you’re like me, a little impatient, and have never had a lesson in your life, you’re probably lacking fundamental skill.<a name='more'></a> </p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">So what can you do to rectify this issue. To my mind there is only one answer, which is to practice to a metronome. Someone once told me that if you can play a song really well slow, then you can play it better at normal tempo, this makes sense, and is true, because you have time to think about what you’re doing as well as being able to focus on the quality of the notes you’re playing, which is something you don’t do when you’re playing the song as fast as you can.</p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">The best way to start practicing to a metronome is to go back to a simple banjo roll, such as a forward roll. Then you set your metronome at a slow tempo, such as 70bps, which will tap a steady 1,2,3,4 beat. Then start playing the roll to the metronome, one note every beat. This will feel really slow, and will be hard at first, and you might want to increase the tempo slightly. Once you have mastered this you can move onto playing two notes to the beat. The standard way to learn this is to vocalise the gap in between the beats on the metronome by saying the word “and”, for example “1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and...”. Here the “and” becomes the second beat of the pattern/roll. Again practice a basic roll at around 70bps. Once you have mastered this, start to increase the tempo by 10bps every minute (no less), until you can’t keep up with the metronome. At this point stop, as you will do more harm than good to your playing, however, you’ll probably have noticed you were able to play faster than you could before before, as this is a pleasant side effect of practicing in this way.</p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">As I mentioned earlier, you can learn a lot about your playing by recording it. Use your computer or smartphone or whatever you have available to record yourself playing along to the metronome, and then listen back, you will always notice something you want to improve. </p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Eventually you will instinctively feel the timing, and your playing will be more even. I recommend that you continue to practice to a metronome, especially when learning new songs, as they really make you play slowly and not rush the learning experience. </p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">If you don’t have a metronome you could use an <a href="http://www.metronomeonline.com/" target="_blank">on-line metronome</a>, or if you have an iPhone or Andriod phone, you could download an app (I use Guitar Toolkit, which cost a few £’s, but there are many free alternatives). Failing that, you can go old school, and buy a real one for under £10 on ebay :)</p>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-34720059220640478082012-07-16T11:23:00.001-07:002012-07-17T01:22:22.972-07:00Tab: Foggy Mountain Breakdown<img border="0" height="160" width="230" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Krg6UblYVAc/UARYxdkrf5I/AAAAAAAAAIY/7LmzpTNSXTQ/s1600/earl.png" alt="" />
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">About a year ago I started going to a local bluegrass meet, held monthly at the Red Lion pub, Wolvercote, near Oxford. The group comprises of some impressive fiddle, mandolin and banjo players, and they effortlessly play many bluegrass standards, including some cool instrumentals such as The Cherokee Shuffle and Angeline The Baker. </p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Keen to join in, I listened out for a tune I could quickly master, and one that would be played often. I was looking for something with a simple sequence, a really good hook, and it also needed to make me sound clever! Needless to say, I came across my first party piece quite quickly. It was on my second visit, the night was really cooking, they had a double bass player in and plenty of soloists, and as a rousing rendition of Blue Moon of Kentucky finished one of the better banjo players kicked off Foggy Mountain Breakdown. I was hooked.<a name='more'></a></p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Foggy Mountain Breakdown was written by the bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs, who is the man behind the way most people play bluegrass banjo, heck they even call the picking technique "Scruggs style"! Earl had originally played in Bill Monroe’s band, in fact he had been the first banjo player in the group, as banjo was considered to put "sand in the gears", and the one thing Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys hated more than anything else was playing slow! However, Scruggs was a prodigy, he was to Bluegrass banjo what Keith Richards is to rhythm guitar, and he showed the world how to add a bit of lightning to your playing! </p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">There might have also been a subliminal reason for me latching onto Foggy Mountain Breakdown, as I learnt not so long ago that it is used as the background music for the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YXCjPgktQM" target="_blank">car chase in the movie Bonnie and Clyde</a>, but I digress, let's talk about playing the song. </p>
<h4>The Roll</h4>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">After the playing had finished, I had a chat with the guy who had so effortlessly played Foggy Mountain Breakdown and I said I’d like to learn it. He was more than happy to talk about his playing and went on to give me one very important piece of advice about the way you pick the initial banjo roll. "You see", he said, "it's basically starts with a forward roll, but you play the third note with your thumb instead of your index finger". I tried it out, and it really does change the feel of the main riff, as the thumb gives it that extra punch! It does take a bit of practice, but it's worth getting your head around. </p>
<div class="tab"><pre>
| | | |
D|----0-------0-----------0-------|
B|0-------0-----------0-----------|
G|--------------------------------|
D|--------------------------------|
G|----------------0-----------0---|
I M T M T I M T
</pre></div>
<h4>The Tab</h4>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">There are already many tabbed versions of Foggy Mountain Breakdown out there on the internet, but I guess one more can't hurt :) </p>
<div class="tab"><pre>
| | | | | | | |
D|----0-------0-----------0-------|----0-------0-----------0-------|
B|2h--3---2h--3-------0-----------|2h--3---2h--3-------0-----------|
G|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
D|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
G|----------------0-----------0---|----------------0-----------0---|
I M T M T I M T I M T M T I M T
| | | | | | | |
|----0-------0-----------0-------|----------------0---------------|
|2h--3---2h--3-------------------|--------------------------------|
|--------------------3/--2-------|0-----------0-------0-----------|
|--------------------------------|------------------------1/------|
|----------------0-----------0---|--------0-----------------------|
I M T M T I M T I T I M I T
| | | | | | | |
|--------2-----------------------|--------2-------2-----------2---|
|----------------0---------------|----0---------------0-----------|
|------------------------0-------|--------------------------------|
|2-------------------------------|2-----------------------2-------|
|--------------------------------|------------0-------------------|
M I T T I M T M I T M
| | | | | | | |
|----0-----------0-----------0---|----0-----------0---------------|
|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
|0-----------2/3-----0-----------|0-----------0-------0-----------|
|------------------------2-------|------------------------1/------|
|--------0-----------------------|--------0-----------------------|
T M T I M I T M T M T I M I T
| | | | | | | |
|--------2-----------------------|--------2-------2-----------2---|
|----------------0---------------|----0---------------------------|
|------------------------0-------|--------------------0-----------|
|2-------------------------------|2-----------------------2-------|
|--------------------------------|------------0-------------------|
M I T T I M T M I T M
| | | | | | | |
|----0-----------0-----------0---|----0-----------0---------------|
|------------0-------------------|------------0-------------------|
|0-------3/--4-------0-----------|0-------3/--4-------0-----------|
|------------------------2-------|------------------------3-------|
|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
T M T I M I T M T M T I M I T
| | | | | | | |
|------------0-----------0-------|----0-------0-----------0-------|
|--------2h--3-------0-----------|2h--3---2h--3-------------------|
|--------------------------------|--------------------3/--2-------|
|0-------------------------------|--------------------------------|
|----------------0-----------0---|----------------0-----------0---|
T I M T I M T I M T M T I M T
| | | | | | | |
|----------------0-----------0---|--------0---------------0-------|
|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
|0-----------3/--2---0-----------|0-------------------------------|
|------------------------2-------|----------------0---------------|
|--------0-----------------------|--------0---------------0-------|
I T I M I T M T M/T T M/T
</pre></div>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Finally, I found this on youtube, filmed in the year of my birth, it's fantastic!</p>
<iframe width="700" height="410" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AJOIqmlI65Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-10006631620786055212012-06-22T08:34:00.003-07:002012-06-22T09:19:40.382-07:00Technique: Ukuleles are cool<img border="0" height="160" width="230" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v6TnKbue-V4/T-SLdJ7UgXI/AAAAAAAAAII/onj8rhzeca8/s400/uke.png" alt="" />
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">News flash! "Playing the ukulele can help you practice your banjo techniques". Interested? Read on. </p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I have a need to play music almost everyday, it's like an addiction, which has often resulted in me almost going out of my mind when I don't have a guitar or banjo to hand, especially when on vacation. Taking instruments abroad is a pain, there is the extra cost, the risk of theft and finding somewhere to make some noise. As a potential solution my missis brought me a ukulele, nothing special, just a £30 Mahalo, but small and quiet enough to travel with. I then searched YouTube for some lessons, sussed out some chords, in preparation for my first holiday with my uke. At first I found it quite unsatisfying, and after a while, just strumming it bored me (I'm not a song and dance man), so I started to pick a little, which was OK, except picking was weird because of the way the uke is tuned (this I will come back to later). When I returned from holiday my uke found its way to the attic, which is where it stayed until the following summer holiday. This cycle repeated for a couple of years, but this year I made a bit of a breakthrough, which I feel compelled to share.<a name='more'></a> </p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">This years vacation was in Indonesia, lucky me! We started our holiday in Lombok, and on the second day I decided to find somewhere quiet on the beach to play a little uke. As it turned out, it was the one day of the week that the beach was full, as many local people had gathered to socialise. I decided to have a look around, and saw some teenagers playing guitar and percussion. I decided to watch them for a while. One of them saw my uke poking out of my rucksack and called me over, I gladly accepted his invitation and played some lead over the songs they were playing. They were all very amused by the uke, and I'm pretty sure they had never seen one before. At the end of the song one of the boys passed me a guitar and asked me to play, I took it, and quickly realised that what I had in my hands was a real piece of crap, it was barely playable! They kicked off another song, and I joined in the best I could. We played for well over an hour and chatted about music and home, they showed me many traditional songs, it was a fantastic experience. Walking away it occurred to me that these guys couldn't afford decent guitars and were just making music with what they had. I am not exaggerating about how bad their guitars were, but they had really learnt how to get the most out of them, and this realisation made me look at the uke in a new way, which was that this is all I have, and I'm gonna stop focusing on its limitations and start making real music.</p>
<h4>A simple song</h4>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I decided to start with a simple song and then learn how to embellish it. The song I chose was an old Haitian song called <a href="http://deenotes.homestead.com/yellowbird.html" target="_blank">Yellow Bird</a>, which a friend had shown me many years ago when I started playing guitar. The chords in the song are C | G7 | F, which you'll find examples of at <a href="http://www.alligatorboogaloo.com/uke/chords/chords-GCEA.html" target="_blank">www.alligatorboogaloo.com</a>.</p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Start playing it with the down, down, up, up, down uke strum pattern (see video below).</p>
<h4>Using banjo rolls</h4>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I started playing uke several years before I played banjo, and have always treated it like a little guitar, which has been problematic, especially when I've tried pick arpeggios. This year I've been playing lots of banjo, which has reprogrammed my fingers, and I started using banjo roles, primarily the forward reverse roll. This is actually a really obvious thing to do as the uke has a high string on the top, just like a banjo.</p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Here are my modified froward/reverse and forward roll picking patterns on a C chord.</p>
<div class="tab"><pre>
A-|-------3-----3-----------|
E-|----0-----------0-----0--|
C-|-0-----------------0-----|
G-|----------0--------------|
A-|----3--------3--------3--|
E-|-0--------0--------0-----|
C-|-------------------------|
G-|-------0--------0--------|
</pre></div>
<h4>Frailing or claw-hammer </h4>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">If you can frail a banjo, then you can frail a uke, and it really sounds cool, have a look at my video below and I'll show you how.</p>
<h4>My first video lesson</h4>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I've dug out my most scary shirt and videoed the basic techniques I've spoken about. Be warned, there's singing!</p>
<iframe width="700" height="410" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7ZbSuEtyBlA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<h4>Fin</h4>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">So there you have it, I have not only been able to practice and maybe better my banjo techniques quietly whilst on holiday, I have really enjoyed playing my uke. This year I'm not going to put the uke in the attic, and I'm sure (if it ever stops raining) I'll play it loads in the garden and maybe even at a gig :) </p>
<h4>An excellent resource for uke players </h4>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://ukulelehunt.com" target="_blank">ukulelehunt.com</a></p>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-877534843633421462012-06-18T03:26:00.001-07:002012-06-18T03:59:04.355-07:00Advice: Amplification<img border="0" height="160" width="230" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cmGCXvcZBpo/T98AEdt5AxI/AAAAAAAAAH0/BdBPP9G7EfA/s400/amps.png" alt="" />
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Moving from your bedroom, or your friend's living room, and into band situation comes with a requirement for amplification. Generally Banjos don’t come with pickups or built in speakers, so you’ll be faced with the challenge of choosing the best solution for your taste and situation. </p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">The type of music your band plays is a factor, and you might not want to go down the route of expensive pickups and amplifiers, as they do change the sound instrument, and you might be after something more natural. An option here would be to use a small number of microphones and a PA system, which I have seen done to perfection by <a href="http://www.myspace.com/thecoalporters">The Coal Porters</a>. These guys all stand around a single microphone, moving closer or further away to change each instruments volume for solos and sound balance. If you want to do this you’ll need a omni-directional microphone, which can pick up sound with equal sensitivity from all directions. I would personally only recommend this technique for bands without drums, typically Bluegrass. If your interested in seeing how this is done, then have a look at this The Water Tower Boy’s video recording of <a href="http://youtu.be/fRJsyefzWJ0">Uncle Pen</a>, I love these guys, and if high energy Bluegrass is your thing, then you should check them out.<a name='more'></a> </p>
<h4>Using a single microphone</h4>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">You could try using a single microphone in front of your instrument, which can work well in small line-ups, but can get problematic when drums or other loud instruments get involved. Often the issue is simply hearing yourself, especially if you don’t have monitor speakers, and at high volumes you can have feedback issues, which can be very frustrating. Another issue is that you can’t move, and if you do, you disappear from the sound. There are clip on microphones that get around this, but these tend to be expensive, and can easily be knocked out of place, unless you’re seated or particularly good at standing still! </p>
<h4>Using a pick-up</h4>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Another option is to fit a pick-up to your banjo, which is actually very simple to do. I use a <a href="http://www.banjosdirect.co.uk/schatten-bj-02-standard-banjo-pickup-with-rosewood-jack-assembly-1399-p.asp">Schatten BJ-02 banjo pickup</a>. Fitting it was very simple, all I had to do was stick the sensor inside my banjo head, directly under the bridge. The jack input simply clamps to the side of your banjo, and then you’re ready to rock, pick, strum or whatever. This pick-up wasn't cheap, and there are other options, which I know very little about. However I will say that I am very impressed with my choice, and it has not let me down yet... If you decide to use a pick-up you will notice that the sound and feel if the instrument will be quite different from the acoustic sound of your banjo, however this is not necessarily a bad thing.</p>
<h4>Choosing the right amp</h4>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Once you have a pickup fitted you can plug directly into a PA and play, however this might not give you the best tone, and also might not offer you any direct monitoring of your sound. To get round this you’re gonna need amp. </p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">When I started playing in bands I tried plugging my banjo directly into my Fender guitar amp, and it fed back like crazy, I have had similar issues with other guitar amps and quickly learnt that I needed to purchase an acoustic instrument amp. I started out with a 35 watt Laney acoustic amp, which was too quiet for my band, and in my opinion, didn’t sound great at medium to load volume. So I did some research and tried out a few other options. If you search the web for “the best acoustic amp”, you’ll certainly come across the AER acoustic amp, which I have tried, and they do sound very, very, very good, but they also cost around £800, and that’s a lot of money for an amp in my opinion. This lead me to the Fishman Loudbox. I managed to pick mine up second hand for under £300, and it really does the job, especially at volume. There are many other amp options available today, including the <a href="http://www.banjosdirect.co.uk/critically-acclaimed-incredible-value-tanglewood-t6-amp-1325-p.asp">Tanglewood T6</a>, which is currently getting great reviews. What I will say is that choosing an amp has just as much to do with personal taste as the instrument you’re plugging it into, and what’s cool for me might sound like cheese wire to you. So go try some out, and at the very least search for the amp you like the look of on YouTube, where you can nearly always find some dude doing a demonstration/review. </p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Another major plus with most acoustic amps is that they tend to come with two channels. One for instrument inputs (jack lead) and one for a microphone, and I often use mine as a mini PA at smaller gigs, pugging both vocals and banjo into the same amp. All this grouped with having good sound monitoring, built in reverbs and feedback reduction make acoustic amp a good choice. </p>
<h4>Cables, leads and tuners</h4>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Finally you can buy special cables for plugging acoustic instruments into amps, which are optimised for acoustic frequencies and can give you better clarity of sound than standard electric guitar leads. These are good, but remember that if you use a tuner pedal or instrument effects, you'll need to ensure all the patch leads you use are acoustic leads, as otherwise any audio benefits will be lost.</p>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-3830021132243603912012-05-30T09:23:00.001-07:002012-05-30T09:25:07.461-07:00Article: Essential Listening<img border="0" height="160" width="230" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_IzUjkN13vo/T8ZEu6TdTEI/AAAAAAAAAHk/dfmpEQVMudU/s1600/essential-listening.jpg" alt="" />
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">My last post focused on a new generation of banjo players, and how the banjo has found a place in the 21st century, but however much I dig what people are doing now, I have overwhelming admiration for the players who brought the banjo to our attention in the first place.</p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">In my opinion it is essential to listen to music as close to its source as you possibly can, for example, if you want to listen to Rock ‘n’ Roll, you should listen to the Elvis Sun recordings, if you want to listen to the Blues, then check out some Jimmy Reed and Leadbelly... and if you want to accomplish anything on banjo, then listening to some pivotal players from this genre will pay dividends as you develop your own style.<a name='more'></a> </p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">For some, then names I am just about to mention will be obvious, but my articles have always been aimed at Me 3 years ago, when I had no idea where to start, and in my opinion, there’s no better place to start than Pete Seeger. </p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Pete Seeger is unarguably a fantastic player and performer, who in his youth had witnessed many of banjo players who appeared on the earliest recorded music. In the 1940s Pete worked for Alan Lomax, finding and documenting the best of American Folk music, and has played with the likes of Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly & Bob Dylan. You could easily write a book on this guy, he's done so much, but the important thing about Pete Seeger is that he learnt from real old timers, and he had the brain, enthusiasm and technical ability to retain this music and then bring it to a whole new audience. Pete Seeger also re-recorded many old standards, which are easier on the ear than some of those early 20s recordings, as well as some songs of his own. I started out with the Pete Seeger “How To Play The 5-String Banjo” DVD, which teaches you a handful of old styles, and it’s also inspiring to watch and listen to the guy. Pete even had a TV show in the 60s called “Rainbow Quest”, which features some amazing live footage of traditional American folk music, which can be easily found on youtube.</p>
<div class="quote-top"><div class="quote-bottom"><p>I’m pretty sure I’ve worked out the tuning for Doc Watson’s version of “In The Pines”, which is “Ab E Ab B E”, and once you have this the melody comes real easy...</p><div style="clear: both;"></div></div></div>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">My number 1 favorite old time banjo tune is Doc Watson’s version of “In The Pines”. It’s just one of those songs that really moves me. Doc is actually better known for his guitar work, but occasionally he plays the banjo, and when he does it’s fantastic. I’m pretty sure I’ve worked out the tuning for Doc Watson’s version of “In The Pines”, which is “Ab E Ab B E”, and once you have this the melody comes real easy.</p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I love using alternate tunings on the banjo, and to me none is more satisfying than mountain modal, often associated with clawhammer technique. A key player of this style is Clarence Ashly, who is probably most well-known for his recording of "The Coo Coo Bird". To the untrained ear, this song could sound like it was from another planet, to play it is heaven, to sing it, well that’s another story. His version of “The House Carpenter” is also very cool. Other favorite songs from this era include “Sugar Baby” and “Pretty Polly” as recorded by Dock Boggs, and instrumentals such as “Darling Corey” as recorded by B. F. Shelton and “Leather Britches”, traditionally a fiddle tune, and brilliantly performed on banjo by Pete Seeger.</p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Charlie Poole certainly deserves a mention, as his style paved the road to modern bluegrass music. However, this music is not bluegrass, it’s something that happened along the way. Apparently Charlie Poole’s three fingered style developed as a result of a baseball injury. His music has a very commercial edge, and I’ve had so much fun jamming songs such as “Sweet Sunny South”, “Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues” and “He Rambled” with my mate Tom, who has nailed the the acoustic bass runs, which add so much to Charlie Poole’s recordings. </p>
<div class="quote-top"><div class="quote-bottom"><p>You really hear the music is evolving into something that sounds like modern bluegrass...</p><div style="clear: both;"></div></div></div>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Moving slightly forward in time we have The Stanley Brothers, whose sound blends preacher style vocals and a mixture of clawhammer and picked banjo. You really hear the music is evolving into something that sounds like modern bluegrass. Have a listen to with “Little Maggie”, “Little Birdie” and “Man Of Constant Sorrow”.</p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Possibly the most influential figure in modern bluegrass would be the prodigy Earl Scruggs (noted for perfecting and popularizing a three-finger banjo-picking style played by Charlie Poole), who played alongside Bill Monroe. In their music the banjo takes center stage, it’s sharper and much more technical sounding than before, check out “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” and “Blue Moon Of Kentucky”, in fact buy a whole album :)</p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">If bluegrass isn’t your thing, then check out the beautiful, melodic playing of Tony Ellis. I particularly like “Cherry Blossom Waltz” and his rendition of “The Wild Fox”, which I could listen to for hours. His playing style is closer to Irish music than America, and can be very moving.</p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I really could write for days about this subject, but I have to stop somewhere! Look at this as a taster, and that this music will easily lead you to other artists, which in my case were people like Obray Ramsey, Karen Dalton, Rev. Gary Davis and Uncle Dave Macon. </p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Lastly, if really old time music is your thing check out Harry Smith’s Anthology Of American Folk Music (you can listen to it for free on Spotify).</p>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-50280295617551007632012-05-26T02:13:00.000-07:002012-05-30T09:24:42.359-07:00Article: New Blood<img border="0" height="160" width="230" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rT1I6Bs4fxU/T8CZ3S-27gI/AAAAAAAAAHU/w-FOehjG9WI/s1600/blood.jpg" alt="" />
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Up until fairly recently the banjo has been absent from UK pop culture, in fact I struggle to remember hearing it on commercial radio during my teens, 20s & 30s, with exception to the Rednex version of "Cotton Eyed Joe" - why, Why, WHY!</p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">So how could an instrument that was so vocal in the 60s folk movement become so unpopular? Was it because George Harrison never played banjo on "Norwegian Wood"? Bob Dylan and the Stones certainly didn't use it in the early parts of there careers, which is a sad thing, cos it would've worked well on some of there tunes. Over the years there were a few exceptions, such as The Violent Femmes <a href="http://youtu.be/2aljlKYesT4">Blister In The Sun</a> and "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" by the Byrds, have a listen to <a href="http://youtu.be/omLysJCkP8E">I Am a Pilgrim</a>, it's cool, but this album is more of a nod to the past than a step into the future.<a name='more'></a> Looking back it seemed that nobody considered the Banjo to be a creative instrument, you had to learn to play the thing like Earl Scruggs or some other pro, and for years when ever anyone mentioned the banjo all you heard in your head was <a href="http://youtu.be/1tqxzWdKKu8">Dueling Banjos</a>. Yes "Dueling Banjos" it's cool, and I do secretly wish I could play it like all those guys on YouTube, but for my generation it pigeon holed the instrument firmly the the American Deep South.</p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">And then, about five years ago I heard an American Indie band called Le Loop. Their music is largely banjo lead, very experimental and a bit triply, have a listen to <a href="http://youtu.be/3Q1-uQjEroA">Canto I</a> from their second album, you'll get the picture. Shortly afterwards Mumford & Sons turn up, and love or hate them, you have to admit that their banjo player can really pick, check out <a href="http://youtu.be/fNy8llTLvuA">The Cave</a>. Mumford & Sons banjo player (Winston) also plays on a lot of Laura Marling's songs, check out <a href="http://youtu.be/JvwWzcLfH-k">Rambling Man</a>, it's cool. The banjo naturally fares better in the USA, and in recent memory we have had The Be Good Tanyas (check out <a href="http://youtu.be/-0SmXVrLlZ4">Waiting Around To Die</a>, a Townes Van Zandt cover) and Gillian Welch's <a href="http://youtu.be/KsW-IDdaurI">Six White Horses</a> (good old time picking). However my favourite American act has to be Hurray For The Riff Raff. Alynda Lee Segarra (singer/banjo) plays the banjo with space and atmosphere, using the instrument purely for colour, check out <a href="http://youtu.be/dWhpiIgc5tA">Young Blood Blues</a>, it's ain't clever playing, but it sounds awesome. The UK has it's banjo talent, I love the banjo on Euros Childs <a href="http://youtu.be/buFe920WYQk">My Love Is Gone</a> and recently I heard Mary Epworth's <a href="http://youtu.be/722dDnXtkgA">Black Doe</a>, and the banjo and violin rule on this recording. Finally a bit gimik, and have added this on the insistence of my partner, check out Hugo's <a href="http://youtu.be/LloIp0HMJjc">99 problems</a>, it might make you smile :)</p>
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I guess what I'm saying here is that we live in extremely diverse times, and the banjo is back. I play banjo on a handful of songs in my bands set (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/swindlestock">Swindlestock)</a>, and it has a massive impact. Sometimes I get a concerned look from the audience as I plug it into my amp, and then I play, and people just love it.</p>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-63840953406575331112011-04-05T13:34:00.000-07:002012-05-26T02:23:23.095-07:00Tab: Little Birdie, as recorded by The Stanley Brothers<img border="0" height="160" width="230" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sOk6MVuTUhM/TZt59gb1ggI/AAAAAAAAADU/Sue6kJ1KLTY/s1600/stanley-brothers.png" alt="" /><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I went to the <a href="http://www.folkjam.org/recurring-jam/uk/oxfordshire/oxford/oxford-bluegrass-and-old-time-music-jam-the-independent-republic-of-bluegrass-and-old-time-a">Oxford Bluegrass and Old Time/Appalachian music</a> jam last Thursday, and had a really cool time. There just a really nice bunch of guys, who welcomed my mate Tom and Me with open arms. Most of what I they played I was not too familiar with, but then I am new to this game. However I was able to play along easily and take the odd solo. I also got asked to play and sing a song, and choose <a href="http://banjosarecool.blogspot.com/2011/01/tab-down-beside-ohio-as-recorded-by.html">Down Beside The Ohio</a>, the Obray Ramsey way, and it went down really well. Anyway, I should get to the point, that being, how to play <a href="http://www.we7.com/song/The-Stanley-Brothers/Little-Maggie+1?m=0">Little Birdie</a>. </p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I was put onto this song by a Mandolin player at the Bluegrass jam, and agreed to learn it for next time. I quickly scoured the Internet for a tab or a YouTube video, but was unable to find a version similar to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stanley_Brothers">Stanley Brothers</a> version.<a name='more'></a> However I found out that it was in drop C tuning, and I could hear it was obviously frailed. Next I figured the chords, C and G, that’s easy, but its really fast! Next the melody, then worked on mixing it all together, and here you have it, enjoy! </p><div class="tab"><pre>D----------------------------2---|2---2---2---2---2---2---2---2---|
B----------------------------1---|----1-------1-------1-------1---|
G------------------------0h2-0---|----0-------0-------0-------0---|
C--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
g------------------------------0-|------0-------0-------0-------0-|
|2p0-0-------0-------0-------0---|----0---0---0---2---2---2p0-0---|
|----1---1p0-0-------0-------0---|----0-------0-------0-------0---|
|----0-------0---0---0---0---0---|2/4-0-------0-------0-------0---|
|--------------------2-------2---|------------2-------2-------2---|
|------0-------0-------0-------0-|------0-------0-------0-------0-|
|----2---2p0-0-------2-------2---|--------------------------------|
|1---1-------1---1---1-------1---|--------------------------------|
|----0-------0-------0---0h2-0---|--------------------------------|
|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
|------0-------0-------0-------0-|--------------------------------|
</pre></div><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Note that the verses are the same as the instrumental breaks minus the melody.</p>
<iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fbanjosarecool.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F04%2Ftab-little-birdie-as-recorded-by.html&layout=standard&show_faces=false&width=600&action=like&font=arial&colorscheme=light&height=25" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:600px; height:25px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-72992999559311508182011-03-09T12:47:00.000-08:002011-03-10T05:19:57.241-08:00Advice: How to work out songs by yourself<img border="0" height="160" width="230" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WBx8n6C2vfM/TXfb_WY85QI/AAAAAAAAADM/rEHiBZjAMZw/s1600/ear-tuning.png" alt="" /><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I've come across a lot of people who play Banjo really well but can't transcribe songs for them selves. Many have tried and failed, usually when they started playing, and since then have been convinced they don't have "the ear" for it. Thing is that 99% of them are wrong! If you can play a song from start to finish and know you haven't played a wrong note, or can tell if your Banjo is out of tune, then you have a good enough ear to work out simple to intermediate songs and beyond. </p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">However I will agree that it doesn't come naturally to us all, and like our playing, it can take time to develop. It certainly took me several years of occasionally trying and to varying degrees failing before I was able to transcribe songs myself, and to help you speed up this process I am going to share some advice.<a name='more'></a></p><h4>Only use your tuner once a week</h4><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">No really. The first thing you need to develop is your hearing, the more you learn to focus on the sound of the strings of your Banjo the better your ear will get at hearing them, not to mention how much you'll impress your mates when you tune your Banjo by ear - that's how you spot a proper musician! </p><h4>Learn the chords first</h4><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Never learn a song 1 bar at a time. Start off without the tab, get the songs chords from the internet and then simply strum along to the song working out where the chords change yourself getting a feel for the song as a whole. Learning to sing it will also when you come to play the songs melody. This will also make working out the notes much easier when you come to it. </p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Eventually try working out the chords for yourself. You may have already picked up on the fact that many songs, especially old Banjo tunes have very similar chords, for example G,C & D. </p><div class="quote-top"><div class="quote-bottom"><p>One issue with learning complicated songs is they often happen so fast, and this is where I'm gonna get all 21st century on you...</p><div style="clear: both;"></div></div></div><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">One thing that might stump you is key, ofter the first chord. Banjo players can use capos to adjust the pitch or movable chords. So if my first chord isn't G, I would move the chord up or down the fret board until I find the pitch. Once you have found that start chord you have a reference point and can use capo or play up the neck using F and D shaped chords. Remember at this point all we care about is learning the sequence.</p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Once you have the chord sequence down, try to hear if you are playing the correct shaped chords in the right position. This might not be apparent until you start to play rolls etc, and relies as much on your experience as a player then anything else, for example - If you have already learn't to play movable chords, you will be more likely to hear them in other peoples songs... Also look out for minor and 7th chords.</p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">There are another couple of issues that might stump you. Firstly, the Banjo is not always tuned to G. With Bluegrass G is a pretty safe bet, but old mountain tunes often use modal tunings, C comes up a lot as does D, so I advise you to experiment with alternate tunings from time to time to give your ear some valuable reference points. </p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Secondly, and most annoyingly the recording might not be in tune. I had some trouble when I first started working out <a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/obray-ramsey?cat=entertainment">Obray Ramsey</a> songs. He tunes his Banjo about a semi tone lower than open G, and I realized this because all the chord shapes I tried sounded too high. </p><h4>Know your rolls and techniques</h4><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">One thing that has helped me work out songs is knowing and practising my rolls, technique and scales. It's a fact that the more you familiar yourself with these fundamentals them the more you will hear them in the music you imitate. For example, as soon as I had worked out the chords for <a href="http://banjosarecool.blogspot.com/2011/01/tab-down-beside-ohio-as-recorded-by.html">Down Beside The Ohio</a> I quickly noticed he was playing a forward reverse Banjo roll for most of the song.</p><h4>Using "Looping" and "Time stretch" </h4><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">One issue with learning complicated songs is they often happen so fast, and this is where I'm gonna get all 21st century on you. There are several computer programs out there that can really help you. I use program called <a href="http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/soundforgesoftware">Sound Forge</a>, which allows me to view a song as a pattern or sound wave. I can select chunks of the wave and loop it with ease, allowing we to hear the section again and again until I figure it out. I can choose which side of the stereo to listen to, which helps in situations where the banjo might be really clear on one of the two sides. Finally if I'm still struggling I can use something called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_timescale-pitch_modification">time stretch</a>, where I can reduce the speed of a song without adjusting the pitch, very handy for working out complicated or varying Banjo rolls or frails. </p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Sound Forge is quite expense, but there is a free version call <a href="http://audacity.sourceforge.net/">Audacity</a>, which has all the features I have mentioned.</p><h4>Don't give up</h4><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Don't be disheartened if you can't work out a song, go try and find it on the internet and learn it, and play along with the recording, and continue to practice new and varied techniques, but most importantly try again and again because sooner or later penny's will start to drop :)</p><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fbanjosarecool.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F03%2Fadvice-transcribing-how-to-work-out.html&layout=standard&show_faces=false&width=600&action=like&font&colorscheme=light&height=25" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:600px; height:25px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-623541912984636522011-02-28T13:55:00.000-08:002011-07-21T13:36:38.819-07:00Banjo tuition: Dick Smith, London's No.1 point of call<img border="0" height="160" width="230" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p-Ygt-twpjo/TWwWHtsRnBI/AAAAAAAAADE/sv17SKCMwVk/s1600/dick-smith.png" alt="" /><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">This is first in a series of articles where I hope to point you in the direction of that illusive group of people who teach Banjo in the UK. And I am setting the standard high with my first addition - Dick Smith. </p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I first saw Dick play Bluegrass Banjo about 18 months ago, during his stint in the Coal Porters, and was really blown away by his speed and technique. At the time it hadn’t occurred to me that anything happened above the 5th fret of a Banjo without the intervention of a capo, but that night Dick demonstrated a variety of sounds and rhthems, with his hands flying around the fretboard like a hillbilly Van Halen! I have since been in touch with Dick and told him about my blog and asked him if I could write an article on him and add him to my up coming list of Banjo tutors in the UK, and here we are.<a name='more'></a></p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Like many Banjo players, Dick started on guitar playing the sort of music you would expect from a young bloke growing up in the the late 70s early 80s. He came by his first Banjo in 1987 when a mates Uncle gave him a banjo in payment for helping him move to Forest Hill, in addition to scrambled eggs with chives and garlic and a couple of tins of beer. Said Banjo served as little more than wall decoration until 1989 when Dick’s partner noticed ( her description) "A hairy man kept walking past the house with a bath-tub on his back staring through the window". A few weeks later they met said hairy man at their local on what turned out to be his 33rd birthday, who turned out to be Chris Rudd of the then embryonic skiffle band, "Lost T-Shirts of Atlantis".</p><div class="quote-top"><div class="quote-bottom"><p>The Bluegrass cassette never stopped playing, and Dick was well and truly hooked!</p><div style="clear: both;"></div></div></div><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">That night they went to his house and jammed on a variety of home-made instruments and he was asked to do a gig the following Friday, playing guitar, uke, dustbin drums and bath-tub bass. With the addition of Sammy Pope on drums, they went onto for a busking busking band, saved their pennies and brought an old London taxi!! They then drove to Cornwall to attend Dick’s sisters daughters christening, found an apartment in St.Ives and hung out for a week. Whilst busking on the high street they befriended an older guy with a brimmed hat whom on our departure gave us a cassette of bluegrass music*. Dick had never really heard bluegrass before, but this tape (the only one in the taxi) was played continuously! After Cornwall they decided to go to Edinburgh, the Bluegrass cassette never stopped playing, and Dick was well and truly hooked! </p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Dick is currently focusing his time on passing on his knowlege to who ever wants it and is offing Banjo classes/workshops in London SW17(Tooting) & E17(Walthamstow).</p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">If your interested then you can contact Dick by email: <script language="JavaScript"> <!--
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</script> or visit his website <a href="http://www.banjosmith.co.uk">www.banjosmith.co.uk</a><br />
<br />
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</p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 10px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;border-top:1px solid #ddd;padding-top: 10px;">*The cassette was : Butch Robbins - The Fifth Child (Hard to find, deleted) and John Hickman </p>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-34593084808318400972011-02-17T10:46:00.000-08:002011-03-09T13:10:02.563-08:00Bluegrass: Resources for beginners to intermediate players<img border="0" height="160" width="230" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UNg5MG1_N2w/TVrOMyFq0MI/AAAAAAAAAC8/IqMfdIrHqkw/s1600/teacher.png" alt="" /><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Learning to play Guitar is easy here in the UK, there are 1000s of books, websites people willing to teach or show you some cool new trick. Now as the internet reaches maturity we can easily find many resources for Banjo including books, youtube videos, message boards and several good tab sites, which were impossible to find 10 years ago. Frustratingly, Banjo teachers are few and far between, and as part of this project I intend to create a list of as many I can find (any Banjo teachers reading this article, who lives in the UK and wants to be listed please comment on this post or send me a email). I have sadly not been able to find a local teacher in Oxfordshire, where I live, so my journey started on youtube, where there are loads of Bluegrass lesson, varying in quality. Many of the lessons are basic, and you tend to have to go to another website and pay for intermediate or advanced lessons, but they are good to get you started. There are also many youtube videos where people just demonstrate that they can play a certain tune, but they offer no explanation as to how, other than what you can see. <a name='more'></a></p><div class="quote-top"><div class="quote-bottom"><p>Note that tabbed versions of songs vary from player to player, so you don't always get what you want…</p><div style="clear: both;"></div></div></div><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">As I have mentioned in previous posts, learning this way is OK, but you can skip over learning technique, which can literally slow you down in the future. Feeling I was lacking direction from learning the youtube way I decided to buy a book. I searched amazon and purchased the one with the best reviews, which is called "Complete Bluegrass Banjo Method" by Fred Sokolow, which comes with a CD (always a good thing in my opinion). Now I haven't seen any other theory books on Bluegrass Banjo, and feel to tell me about your particular favourites, but I have found this book to be exceptionally good. It starts with all the major rolls and quickly moves on the moving up the fret board and then so much more, and I feel if I complete this book I will be moving into the advanced levels where only a tutor, experience and my own personal creativity will take me further.</p><div class="tab" style="text-align: left; padding: 20px;"><h4>Recommended books</h4><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Bluegrass-Banjo-Method-Book/dp/0634053272/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1297969009&sr=8-1">Complete Bluegrass Banjo Method (Book & CD)</a><br />
There is a vast amount of information in this book, all clearly set out with good examples and includes snippets of music theory, chord charts, and other concepts, while focusing primarily on the right-hand rolls that are at the heart of bluegrass banjo. </p><h4>Tabs, chords and lyrics</h4><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.banjohangout.org/tab/">banjohangout.org</a><br />
Hundreds of free Banjo tabs, many of which require addition free software to view (usually free to download). You can also request tabs via the forum.</p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.ezfolk.com/bgbanjo/">ezfolk.com</a><br />
Some good lessons for absolute beginners as well as a small tab archive.</p><h4>Lessons online</h4><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.freeguitarvideos.com/banjo_lessons.html">freeguitarvideos.com</a><br />
Several excellent free lessons in video and tab (pdf) format and several intermediate lessons for paid download.</p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com">youtube.com</a><br />
Search for the song you want plus the word lesson and the word Banjo, you might just get lucky :)</p><h4>On your mobile</h4><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.agilepartners.com/apps/guitartoolkit/">GuitarToolkit (iPhone)</a><br />
GuitarToolkit is a handy little applicator, which has a Banjo setting with handy fetures including Chromatic Tuner, Scales & Chords (for most tunings), Metronome and Custom Tunings.</p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.downloadcheapapp.com/bluegrass-banjo-basics-iphone-app-26424.html">Bluegrass Banjo Basics (iPhone)</a><br />
Tuition app aimed at beginners where you can play along with tabbed scores and learn simple rolls.</p><h4>Find a teacher on line</h4><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://ukbluegrass.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=6">ukbluegrass.com</a><br />
If learning by your self still ain't your thing have a look at this website, which lists many teachers, possibly in your area.</p></div><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Finally, I have learnt much from many of the freely available Banjo tabs on the internet, but note that tabbed versions of songs vary from player to player, so you don't always get what you want. However tabs and chord charts can give you a good starting point and I will discuss methods for working out song by yourself in my next post. </p><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fbanjosarecool.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fbluegrass-resources-for-beginners-to.html&layout=standard&show_faces=true&width=600&action=like&colorscheme=light&height=30" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:600px; height:30px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-18586278836722124042011-02-03T11:18:00.000-08:002012-05-31T01:23:29.055-07:00Clawhammer: Patrick Costello is cool<img border="0" height="160" width="230" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TcQX_g1RRAs/TUr8WjHCsKI/AAAAAAAAACo/m8UWcTUr3xM/s1600/patrick.png" alt="" /><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">When I brought my first Banjo I hadn't actually given any thought about what style I wanted to play. I knew about Bluegrass, but I was looking for something different, so looked around the internet for inspiration. The first style that I came across that really appealed to me was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clawhammer" target="_blank">Clawhammer</a> (sometimes known as Frailing), a rhythmic and at times repetitive style of playing popular long before Bluegrass. Many of the tunes I came across used modal tunings like (GDGCD), which give the Banjo a much darker sound, the archetypal example of this would be <a href="http://www.we7.com/song/Clarence-Tom-Ashley/The-Coo-Coo-Bird?m=0" target="_blank">The Coo Coo Bird</a> by Clarence "Tom" Ashley. Over the next few weeks I watched loads of lessons and examples on youtube, and I have to admit I was really struggling with the style until I came across a guy called Patrick Costello, who has posted loads of free content online for several years now.<a name='more'></a> Now if you haven't heard of this guy, then watch the clip below. He is an amazing Frailer, and a great teacher, and if you watch his clips you'll start to think of him as a good friend too. He does talk a bit, quite a bit, but he talks so much sense, and he'll have you playing Clawhammer in no time! Patrick has <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/Dobro33H" target="_blank" title="Patrick Costello Banjo lessons">several other lessons</a> on youtube, and has also written a book called <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/ABookOfFiveStrings" target="_blank">A Book Of Five Strings</a>, which can be downloaded for free. I have not read it, but I am sure it's full of really useful information.</p><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="700" height="569" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qo0cy0REMY8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Saying all this I have not stuck with Clawhammer as my main technique for the following reasons.</p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Firstly I find that it's not a great style for playing in bands that play original music, and are not trying to create an purist sound. The style is certainly cool for the odd song, but things can very repetitive if you try to use it throughout your set. The problem is that Clawhamer is very much a rhythmic sound, and a dominating one at that, great for solo performances, but using that sound again and again, song after song certainly lost it's appeal, this is especially an issue in bigger bands where it can overpower other instruments. I also have very brittle nails, and my nails would ware down quickly and become broken and painful. If this is an issue for you, but you really want to play Clawhammer, then look into the some of <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Play-5-String-Banjo-Region-NTSC/dp/B0002GU5IO/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1296760547&sr=1-3-fkmr1" target="_blank">Pete Seeger's</a> methods, which are easier as you don't use the backs of your nails. You'll find these in his Banjo course, before he starts talking about real Clawhammer, which he does as well, and has a couple of cool tunes worth learning.</p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I learn't so much from playing some Clawhammer, it is a beautifully rhythmic style, which sounds fantastic even at an intermediate level and I am more than happy to have it as part of my Banjo DNA.</p><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fbanjosarecool.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F02%2Fclawhammer-patrick-costello-is-cool.html&layout=standard&show_faces=true&width=600&action=like&colorscheme=light&height=30" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:600px; height:30px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-52581787949372831372011-01-30T06:52:00.000-08:002012-05-26T02:21:03.238-07:00Tab: Down Beside The Ohio, as recorded by Obray Ramsey<img border="0" height="160" width="230" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TcQX_g1RRAs/TUV1mSCjvUI/AAAAAAAAAB8/4_wkjG_H2dY/s1600/obray.png" alt="" /><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I came across <a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/obray-ramsey?cat=entertainment">Obray Ramsey's</a> music a few months ago when friend sent me a link to <a href="http://allensarchiveofearlyoldcountrymusic.blogspot.com/search?q=obray">Allen's archive of early and old country music</a>, where you can download several of his albums. The albums were recorded in the late 50s and early 60s, and are a fantastic example of real old-time banjo picking and singing.<p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">So with a new found love for Obray's music I set about learning "Down Beside The Ohio" from the album "Obray Ramsey Sings Folksongs From The Gateways To The Great Smokies", one of my favorite Obray songs. The first thing to confused me was what tuning he was using, it sounded like G, but lower, and then I realized the recordings (taken directly from old scratchy vinyl) were about half a tone flat. I'm unsure if Obray is tuned flat or the records were played a little too slow), but I tuned my Banjo to F# and I was in business. <a name='more'></a>I have read that Obray plays a two figure style, but "Down Beside The Ohio" sounds closer to the recording when you use three finger rolls. I also love the way Obray just vamps on the verses allowing plenty of room for the vocal performance to shine through, and also allowing for the theme to used repetitively through out the song as solo breaks. Below I have tabbed the intro, the instrumental breaks are just variations of this and he simply vamps the verses, using open G, D7 and C chords.</p><div class="tab"><pre>|--------------------------------|----0---0-----0-----------------|
|--------------------------------|--0-------0---------------------|
|----------------------------0---|4-----------4---4-----------0---|
|--------------------0---0h2-----|--------------------0---0-2-----|
|--------------------------------|------0-------------------------|
|----0---0-----0-------0---------|----5-------5---------0---------|
|--1-------1---------------------|----5-------5---3-------5p3-----|
|2-----------2---2-------2---0---|5-------5-------------------4/2-|
|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
|------0-------------0-----------|--------------------0-----------|
|----0-------0---------0---------|--0-----0-----0-----------------|
|----0-------0-------------------|3-----3-----3-----------3-------|
|0---------------0-------0---4---|--------------------4-------4---|
|--------2/5---------------------|--------------------------------|
|--------------------0-----------|----0-----0-----0---------------|
|----5---5-----5-----------------|----0---0-----0-----------------|
|--5-------5---------------------|--0-------0---------------------|
|5-----5-----5---5---5/4-0---2---|4-----------4---4---5/4-2-------|
|--------------------------------|----------------------------4---|
|--------------------------------|------0-------------------------|
|------0-2p0---------0-------0---|--------------------------------|
|--------------------0-------0---|--------------------------------|
|0-----------4/2-0---------------|--------------------------------|
|------------------------0-------|--------------------------------|
|----0---------------------------|--------------------------------|
</pre></div>
<iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fbanjosarecool.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Ftab-down-beside-ohio-as-recorded-by.html&layout=standard&show_faces=true&width=600&action=like&font=lucida+grande&colorscheme=light&height=30" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:600px; height:30px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-39863117382546167352011-01-25T05:27:00.000-08:002011-02-19T10:23:52.250-08:00Bluegrass: It's all in the wrist<img border="0" height="160" width="230" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_TcQX_g1RRAs/TT7I4gUVq0I/AAAAAAAAABU/qfdxd5eqDUo/s320/wrist.png" alt="" /><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">If I could travel back in time and change one thing about how I set about learning to play Bluegrass Banjo it would be to pay more attention to what I was doing with my picking hand. However I just delved in, focusing on learning the notes with little regard to technique. Sadly, unless you stumble on the right way to hold your wrist by accident you are unlikely to ever achieve the speed and quality of playing you are trying to emulate. This was certainly the case for me, and this was not helped by the amount of tabs out there, which enabled me to bypass any fundamental Banjo theory, which I might have learn't from a book or a teacher. Saying that, many of the books I have read seem to cover the matter in brief, right at the beginning on those pages we always skip past. I personally feel most students need regular advice about technique, which would do more to communicate the vital importance of hand position.<a name='more'></a></p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">So here's some advice. </p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Firstly, go to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re5mADE_tLU" title="Banjo Lesson: Beginner Rolls">youtube</a> and watch some experienced Bluegrass Banjo players play, you will learn more by watching other players then any other method, and you will soon notice that their picking hand hardly moves, and their arm is really relaxed. When you practice make sure you anchor your picking hand on the Banjo with your ring and little finger fixed to the head (the skin), as this will reduce movement and improve accuracy. Always try to keep your wrist straight with your figures in a cupped and relaxed, and only rest your palm on the bridge when you want a muted or deadened sound.</p><div class="quote-top"><div class="quote-bottom"><p>Practice your rolls daily, as they will become the foundation of your playing…</p><div style="clear: both;"></div></div></div><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">Practice your rolls daily, as they will become the foundation of your playing. You don't need to practice for hours, 10 minutes will do, and as you practice focus on reducing the amount of movement your fingers are making (the more your fingers move the longer it takes to play a note). I also find that using a metronome really helps, as you need to accent the 1st beat of each bar on most Banjo rolls. If you don't have a one, then either add one to your amazon wish list, use one <a href="http://www.metronomeonline.com/" title="Online metronome">online</a>, or for those with iPhones, install one of the many apps that have tuners, metronomes, etc. I recommend <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/guitartoolkit/id284962368?mt=8">Guitar Toolkit</a>, which also has Banjo chord charts and scales for all tunings. </p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">My final piece of advice is to use finger/thumb picks from the start. At first I didn't because I thought they felt too odd and regretted it as I was not been able to get adequate volume and attack in my playing. This is most noticeable when playing with others, where your instrument can easily become over powered. You choose between plastic or metal, as I believe this is a personal choice on the tone you want to produce.</p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">There is much more I could tell you, but to be honest you don't have to look far to discover more. Remember to watch the professionals, and don't just learn notes, learn technique :)</p><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fbanjosarecool.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fits-all-in-wrist.html&layout=standard&show_faces=true&width=600&action=like&colorscheme=light&height=30" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:600px; height:30px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-61657440195466811682011-01-22T07:07:00.000-08:002011-02-19T10:24:43.152-08:00Advice: Buying your first Banjo in the UK<img border="0" height="160" width="230" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TcQX_g1RRAs/TTrxhCThSbI/AAAAAAAAABE/4drv2I-tsPs/s320/1st-banjo.png" /><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">A couple of years ago some friends of mine decided to put a Folk/Bluegrass band together, I has happy to join in, my intention being to play slide on my Dobro and develop my abilities in that area, however my friends had different ideas for me. Long story short, you've guessed it, they suggested I should buy a Banjo, and me not needing much of an excuse to buy a stringed instrument set about finding one to learn on. My first port of call was ebay.co.uk, where I typed in 'Banjo' and got nearly 4,000 results! Knowing a little bit about how search engines work I then typed 'Banjo -strings", to exclude unwanted items from my search, but still I had around 3,800 results, and then there were other questions, what is the difference between a Tenor Banjo, or an Open Back, a Resonator..? I needed to do some research. So back I went to Google I went, and typed 'wiki banjo', and read the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banjo">wiki page on Banjos</a>, which told me I needed a 5 string resonator Banjo to play Bluegrass, the style I wanted to learn to play.<a name='more'></a> </p><div class="quote-top"><div class="quote-bottom"><p>Bluegrass Banjos tend to be highly decorated, it comes with the genre, and that finish is a large part of the price of a Banjo…</p><div style="clear: both;"></div></div></div><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">One important piece of advice to consider when buying a Banjo is what you want it to look like. Many Bluegrass Banjos tend to be highly decorated, it comes with the genre, and that finish is a large part of the price of a Banjo. Personally, I like something with as little decoration as possible, which is a good thing when buying a banjo for under £500 because you get more of an instrument for your money.</p><p style="color: #444; font : normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">I resumed my ebay search, and I found that you can buy a new 5 string Banjo for as little as £70! However I have seen several instruments of this price range, which have the expected tuning issues, as well as poor components, which wear quickly. I wanted something that would at least get me to an intermediate level and I needed some advice, so I left ebay, and decided to start a fresh search. It did not take me long to find <a href="http://www.andybanjo.com/">andybanjo.com</a>, which claimed to be the UK's widest selection of new, used and vintage banjos. My initial impressions were that the site looked a bit old, but that's not always a bad thing, and seeing that Andy was a UK supplier I decided to give him a call. Andy Pekins can best be described as a Banjo geek, all knowing, able to offer expert and at times blunt advice, and withing no time at all I purchased a Rover RB35 Resonator Banjo, with a case for under £300. This was not the cheapest Banjo he had, and far from the most expensive, but the one that suited my needs, and aesthetic taste. Within days I received my Banjo, perfectly set up, with clear instructions on how to fit the bridge, and a guarantee to change it if I was not happy. I was set up and ready to start my journey.</p><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fbanjosarecool.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F01%2Fbuying-my-first-banjo.html&layout=standard&show_faces=true&width=600&action=like&colorscheme=light&height=30" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:600px; height:30px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4703685367966001582.post-21605713419700880152011-01-14T16:04:00.000-08:002011-01-26T08:49:01.221-08:00Communication from another planet<img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TcQX_g1RRAs/TTMfHg1uF_I/AAAAAAAAAAU/DJKlx5oo4aI/s1600/me-and-gez.png" /><p style="color: #444444; font: normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">There was a time when communication from another planet was more likely than a global network of computers giving us all access to websites and blogs dedicated to the humble Banjo. And yet here we are with 1000s of enthusiasts sharing their talent on <a href="http://www.youtube.com">youtube</a>, 1000s of downloadable or streamable songs on sites such as <a href="http://www.we7.com">we7.com</a>, and a new generation of artists using Banjo to add colour to their music, proving that in the 21st century Banjos are still cool.</p><p style="color: #444444; font: normal normal normal 12px/18px 'Lucida Grande', Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;">So why am I writing this blog? There're loads of banjo sites already! That's right of course, and part of my motive is needing a portfolio piece for my CV and wanting to write a blog about something other than web design (my profession), but also because I feel there are holes that need filling in the world wide web's Banjo listings, and hopefully I can fill these gaps, starting with my 1st article about buying a decent Banjo in the UK, which was something I could really have done with reading a year or so ago! I will write this article very soon (just as soon as I've finished tweaking the CSS to make this blog look pretty). I also want to share with you my experienced learning how to play banjo, tips, mistakes I have made, things I have got right, tabs that I have transcribed that don't yet exist on the web, my list of who's who's, must listens as well as all the cool stuff I have found on the web. </p>Garry J Richardsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00475944967651835786noreply@blogger.com0