Weiser

Banjo Camp, Weiser, Idaho (www.banjocontest.org)

Becoming a Bluegrass Banjo Player

As you work through the techniques, exercises, and tunes found in this book,
keep the following guidelines in mind to speed your progress and prepare for
playing music with others.

Knowing chords and keeping good time

Banjo players devote a lot of practice time to working up fancy solos from
banjo tablature (the written form of banjo music I introduce you to in
Chapter 3). However, when playing with other musicians in jam sessions,
you’ll call upon a different set of skills than what you might use at home
when you’re practicing.
It’s important to know your chords well, keep good time, and follow the
chord progressions of the songs that are being played, without stopping. And
don’t forget to keep your banjo in tune to the best of your ability at all times!
The best way to get comfortable with these skills is to find a slow jam in your
area where you can try these things out and simply go for it. Another option
is to attend a regular jam and hang on the outside of the playing circle,
picking up skills as you go by watching others and asking questions. You’ll
be right in the middle of things in no time!

Playing roll patterns

Bluegrass banjo is all about precision in the picking hand, which is the right
hand for right-handed banjo players. (Left-handed players can use their left
hands for picking if they have banjo necks made especially for left-handed
playing.) Roll patterns are the picking-hand note sequences that are at the
heart of bluegrass banjo style. Earl Scruggs advises new players to repeat
each roll pattern 10,000 times until it becomes second nature. If I only have a
few minutes to practice, I’ll grab my banjo and play a few roll patterns,
matching them to whatever chord enters my mind. Some day, I’ll be up to
10,000 repetitions myself!
The songs and accompaniment patterns that you encounter in Bluegrass
Banjo For Dummies are based on roll patterns (see Chapter 5). As with
speaking a new language, when you’re conversant with the language of roll