Banjo instruction

Steve Hackney · Post by **Steve Hackney** » 24 Nov 2008 3:58 pm

Tamara, if I don't get better at pickin mine pretty soon, I'll let ya know what dumpster I throw it in so you can find it easy.

Robert C. McKee · Post by **Robert C. McKee** » 25 Nov 2008 5:38 pm

Okay Steve...here it is in a nutshell. 'sa matter'o'fax..it's how I learned. First you go buy yourself a bag of marbles. Every time you learn a song on the banjo, you take one out & put it in your mouth. Keep doing this until the bag of marbles is empty. Then...when you've finally lost all of your marbles, you're a genuine banjo player. Hope this helps....

Steve Hackney · Post by **Steve Hackney** » 25 Nov 2008 6:45 pm

Robert. My wife said I lost all my marbles a long time ago, but I still can't play the banjo.

Robert C. McKee · Post by **Robert C. McKee** » 27 Nov 2008 5:56 pm

lol, my spouse says the same thing. Course, what I meant to say was....take the marbles from the bag and put them all in your mouth, then every time you learn a song, take a marble out and throw it away. When you've lost all of your marbles, then you're a banjo player. Oh well....guess even a banjo player can make a mistake now and then.......

Ronnie Boettcher · Post by **Ronnie Boettcher** » 29 Nov 2008 7:33 pm

Tammy, You should go to a bluegrass jam. I am positive that someone there will let you try one and play along with a few songs. It really is a blast. All you have to do is take your thumb, and finger picks with you, so you don't have to bend someone elses, to fit your fingers. The banjo is tuned to a "G", and the small fifth string is a G. So starting with the little string, it is tuned, G-D-G-B-D. From there, baring the frets is like moving your bar on the steel. And you just have 2 other positions for chords to worry about. Good luck, and soon you will have one of your own.

John Poston · Post by **John Poston** » 1 Dec 2008 3:11 pm

I've been playing banjo forever and seen just about every beginner book out there.

I feel the best beginners book is Janet Davis, You Can Teach Yourself Banjo - Mel Bay book. It has all you need to get started and will get you through all the main picking patterns, chords and has a nice intro into the melodic style.

Larry Edwards · Post by **Larry Edwards** » 19 Jan 2009 2:39 pm

you boys are allways pickin on poor ol"e banjo pickers. probly if someone was pickin on steel players there would really be an uproar huh? i play 5 string i have a lotta enjoyment with it get a few boys over to the house have a couple of cold ones and let"er go