I thought this might be interesting since this is pretty far from the music posted here (yeah k-pop and hiphop aren't really my forte). I've been playing for four years and I've been to a dozen or so festivals and a good few jams. Any questions?
Here are some clips
vocaroo.com
vocaroo.com
did you start with the banjo? or what did you play before
I tried trumpet for a month in the fourth grade, but otherwise this was my introduction to music. It's a really friendly and approachable way to start imo
how is it harder to play than the guitar?
The strings are way thinner (actually at a lower tension from a steel string acoustic I feel though) and they will eat up guitar player calluses pretty quick. The biggest hurdle though is the fingerpicking in that you have to adjust to anchoring your ring and pinky finger to the head, adjust to picks, and get super used to the rolls (fundamental picking patterns). Its just way more difficult to pick up than flat picking in my experience.
Is old and in the way the best bluegrass band yes/no
Any tips for getting smooth right hand rolls? I play fingerstyle guitar, but what I'm aiming for is somewhere in the ballpark of what a banjo would normally be doing.
It really sucks to hear, but the only way is to make sure you're doing it right and do it very slowly for a long time. I think the original scruggs book shows the tablature for the basic rolls accompanied by saying "repeat: 1,000,000x" so it's no joke.
Can you explain how clawhammer technique is supposed to work?
The two most popular youtube tutorials contradict each other.
Also I say the original scruggs book because due to a dispute with the player who original transcribed the solos in the first edition (Bill Keith) and went uncredited or unpaid iirc this new version has a slightly different collection of songs and educational materials. Still the best book to learn from though.
My understanding is that the backs of the fingernail(s) hit the lower four strings and alternate with the thumb typically grabbing the top string often in a bum-diddy pattern. Frailing does this but adds up strokes with the index finger in the mix. I'm not very well versed beyond that.
Yes. Jerry Garcia was an extremely talented banjo player, his interests were always in bluegrass
I know guitar, but not banjo. I really love the song Dooley by the Dillards. Is that a hard song on banjo? If I picked up a banjo today and tried working on learning that song, how long do you think it would take me?
And he did it with just two fingers! Also it really was a dream lineup with David "Dawg" Grisman on mando, Vasaar Clements on fiddle, and Peter Rowan on vocals. Great stuff.
Doug is a really interesting player in that he used slightly different role patterns, and well, everything else too. If, having never played banjo you started on that how long would it take? When I first learned cripple Creek (THE beginning banjo song) after about a month if roll practice, that took me about a month or so. But it was still really slow and with poor timing in between notes, so that's my guesstimate. If you have fingerpicking experience probably less than two weeks I figure.
Ever play that "Grey Fox" festival up in NY?
Also, why are you still playing banjo after Bela Fleck finished the instrument? (Is he a poser? Who's a really banjo star? Is Noam Pickelny any good?)
Any recommendations for newgrassish Chris Thile rip offs?
Finally, any chance you'll start a bluegrass band that incorporates aspects of Math Rock?
You hear of this Paul Metzger guy? He does long Indian style banjo music
Who is your idol and how do you feel about Dock Boggs?
Funny thing! I was at Grey Fox for the first time last year! Great festival really. Lol not a huge Bela fan but I love Noam Pikelny's playing, especially on his Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe album. I don't really venture off all that much into newgrass territory myself, sorry! As for math rock, it's funny you should say that as I've been trying higher up hammer ons from the nut to get that chaotic tapping quality a bit, but no such surrounding band as of yet...
My idol is probably Doug Dillard or Allen Shelton (funny as they've come up in this thread). Doug for his unique and almost old time gritty aggression, and Allen Shelton for jazz tunes. I actually own a lot of Dock Boggs' recordings! I love the songs he picks and his interpretation, but I'm not a fan of his voice. I still listen to him a ton because those melodies stick in my head (ie Railroad Tramp, New Prisoners Song, etc.). Weird picker though.
Hey, I’ve been getting into banjo myself. Do you have any advice on how to amplify the banjo? Should I just stick with a microphone?
Do you do song requests?