Calling banjo players

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Did it have a guitar type body and a neck?

Neither. The best way I could describe it is it looked like a book standing upright and opened almost flat. Reminded me of the music open in front of a church organist, but it wasn't made of paper or card. The "strings" were vertical. I wasn't really paying attention, otherwise I'd have snapped a picture. I looked through the various pics I took in the store, and it doesn't show up.

Do you know what a dobro looks like?

Only from the photos I've seen online. As I said, I mis-labeled it as a dobro.
 
SeilerBird said:
...a banjo is probably the only string instrument I have never played.
I was watching a Marx Brothers movie today and realized I was wrong. There are two stringed instruments I have not played, the banjo and the harp.
 
I can't imagine playing a harp, although it was an integral part of musical culture in the old country. More correctly, it was the triple harp.
 
Actually I think the harp would be easy to play. Basic harps are tuned chromatically so every note is in harmony with every other note. The ones with three registers and a bunch of pedals would obviously be a lot harder. It is kind of like a harmonica that is tuned chromatically, they are easy to play. Next time I am in a music store I will try one out and see how easy or hard it is.
 
Way beyond my mental or physical capability.

Talking of physical stuff, I've repeatedly tried and failed to play that Bb (guitar F) chord. I've researched alternatives numerous times, and always came up blank (except for even more challenging fingering). I was recently at the home of our guitar player and we both came to conclusion that this was anatomically not possible for me. We discussed the possibility of using a capo, and I started to write out all the alternate fingering for various chords.

Shortly sfterwards, I called our music director to discuss what I was planning (I've seen him use a capo with a guitar numerous times). He thought about it, called me back, and told me not to use a capo; He had a "better alternative". Sure enough, as I pulled into a non-musical event last Saturday, he pulled in next to me, jumped out, and proceeded to show me what to play instead.
 
Bill, the first (easiest) cheater chord is to finger just the bottom two strings on the first fret. Then "progress" to a slightly better option - drop the ring finger onto the third string, second fret. All three chords sound close enough to the same, and the cheater chords just blend in when everyone else is playing the correct chord. A big relief for me, because I've been beating myself up for almost 18 months over this.
 
The guitar chord you are talking about, Bb (F guitar), has many different ways of fingering it successfully. If you cannot achieve one fingering then try out other fingerings.

The Bb is composed of 3 notes. Bb, D and F. If you just finger the first two stings of the uke at the first fret you are playing Bb and F, the first and fifth notes of the Bb scale. It is perfectly acceptable to play just those two notes instead of the entire chord. That isn't cheating. If you play the D on the third string second fret then you are playing all three notes of the chord and that is great. Adding the low Bb is a nice touch but not necessary for the chord to be complete.

BTW - Are you keeping your left arm out away your body or is it close to your body? If it is too close to your body the F (guitar) chord becomes impossible to play. The uke or guitar should not be parallel to your body, it should be at a 45 degree angle to your body.
 
When I was a kid, my folks took us to see Eddie Peabody play.  The things he could do with that banjo just amazed me.  I've enjoyed listening to the music ever since.  Now, with Steve Martin playing, I've been listening to a lot more of it.  I tried playing back then, but as with all the other instruments, sports were more of a passion, so I never learned how to play.  I play many kinds of stereos real well though. 
 
If you cannot achieve one fingering then try out other fingerings.

I've tried several different ones, and the alternatives are even harder (for me).

Are you keeping your left arm out away your body or is it close to your body?

Pretty much per your previous suggestions, although it does take some conscious effort on my part, as does moving my thumb behind the neck to increase pressure and keep the forefinger down, whether it's pressing two strings or barre'ing four (same thing for Bb in ukese).
 

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I don't really keep my thumb behind the neck, mostly it is on top of the neck. For the Bb (F guitar) chord I rarely fret it normally. I almost always barre the chord. Barres are so much easier to play one you get the hang of them. Of course I play guitar and I haven't played a uke in years so it might not be as easy to barre on a uke.

One of the most basic rock and roll rhythm patterns is the Chuck Berry shuffle pattern where you barre the F guitar shape and then use your little finger to raise the 5th every other beat. I can't make the reach with my little finger to get to the right fret. I have been trying for 50 years to get that right and I can't even come close.
 
Lots of information available at www.banjohangout.org , a site I help moderate.

I play 5 string banjo.  Can't help much with 4 string information.  You can play all music types on a 5 string, not just bluegrass.

Here's a cip that describes several styles for you: http://zeppmusic.com/Demo_videos/banjo_styles.wmv
 
Thanks for the link Keith. Interesting site.

Meanwhile, I opted to upgrade my banjo uke, and to continue whacking away at that for a while, then  maybe start looking for a 'full size' banjo later.
 
After a lot of research and procrastination, I recently ordered a "full size" banjo. This one is a plectrum banjo (4 strings, 21 frets). It's currently back-ordered at the manufacturer, and should arrive at my favorite music store in a couple of weeks. The store owner isn't a dealer for this manufacturer, and sells few banjos. But she went out on a limb to sign up with this manufacturer and order this instrument  for me, on the understanding that I'm not obligated to buy it. She has a MAP (minimum advertised price) matching policy, and also gives me a negotiated band discount.

Our uke band Music Director, also a banjo player, has agreed to come to the store to check it out. He's also offered (free) private lessons.
 
    Congratulations, Tom. One of the joys of music is seeking the next level - and the limitations of current instrument is one of the drawbacks to doing that.

In my case I first upgraded in the 8th grade from a school supplied coronet to a used one my folks bought - then to a $175 new trumpet they bought for me in the 11th grade. But I peaked out there as to improving due to instrument upgrade. I never reached the capability of that horn - and sold it after my time in the Navy. I now have the same horn, same year and model, that I bought on the internet and started lessons again -- and with the same horn, am still far from what an accomplished trumpeter can do with it.

The little I know about stringed instruments can easily see how small changes or upgrades can enhance how you play. Though it always depressed me a bit when an accomplished player picked up whatever horn I had and played it tons better than me. I actually own a guitar and took a few lessons from friends so know that much about how hard it is to do chords with fingers with movement slowed by arthritis.

BTW, someone once asked me about chords on a trumpet - and I explained one would need to be able to play more than one trumpet at the same time to do that. And it can be done. I can get "noise" out of two trumpets, but have you ever heard of the crazy Swedish musician, Gunhild Carling, and the Carling family band? She plays many instruments and is especially accomplished on trumpet, trombone, and bag pipes - plus an excellent tap dancer. Most of the players behind her are family members - her Dad and siblings.

Anyway, there are a number of YouTube videos of her band and tours around the world. But in this one, she plays 3 trumpets, in harmony, at the same time. Also, she plays the bass fiddle while balancing and playing a trumpet at the same time. On another video, she kiddingly fussed at her banjo playing sister - and to demonstrate how to do it correctly, played the banjo while balancing and playing the trumpet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeZKcBM5nrM

But again, good luck with the new banjo. Looking forward to hearing you plan at Quartzsite in January!!!
 
I'm jealous Tom, I have never ever played one note on a banjo. You should have some fun.

Thanks for the video Bob, that is one amazing woman.

Back when I lived in Santa Cruz in the 90s I used to jam a few times a week with Ranger Gene. We both played guitar. We tried to get more people to come jam with us but usually it was just us two. Well that leaves us without a set of drums and bass. So I eventually came up with the idea of me playing both rhythm guitar and my Casio synth at the same time. The synth has a built in rhythm section that will play in Accompanyment mode. In that mode you push a key on one of the bottom two octaves and it starts playing a tune that has bass, drums and rhythm parts in the key you pushed. You have a choice of many styles, any key and any speed you wish. So every time the chord on the song we were playing changed I would push the proper synth key at the bottom of a downstroke with my right hand and the synth would switch to the right chord. It sounds a bit crazy but it worked real well. We would jam for hours like that, two people sounding like an entire band.
 
Thanks Bob.

One of many reasons for wanting to do this came from something I witnessed several years ago. We were rafted out on the Delta in our boat with 50+ other boats, and our current Music Director was playing banjo and singing in the cockpit of his boat, entertaining 50-100 people who "drove in" by inflatable dinghy. I told him a couple of days ago "that's something I want to do before I leave this Earth", and his response was "you'll do it long before then".

The banjo was the ideal instrument to entertain the crowd in the open air without amplification.

I'm really a long way from being ready to "progress to another instrument", but feel it's a natural extension of playing the banjo ukulele. However, chord shapes for a banjo tuned to CGBD are quite different from the standard ukulele (and banjo uke) GCEA tuning. This is going to be a mental and physical (muscle memory) challenge. An added challenge is that the banjo is typically played over a wider range of the fretboard than a ukulele.

That video shows how talented Gunhild Carling is. The closest I've seen to that is Dolly Parton at one of her concerts at the Arco Arena; Her range of talents and the number of different instruments she played was quite amazing.

Though it always depressed me a bit when an accomplished player picked up whatever horn I had and played it tons better than me.

I know exactly how that feels, and experience it every time I'm with my friend, the Music Director. He taught himself to play the uke after I sent him a "please buy a uke and come teach me" email while he was on vacation in Maui. He did all the above, and showed up at our door the following week, and immediately got me past first base, after I'd been struggling for a month to strum chords.

I have no idea if this is going to work out, but I was given another incentive when we visited our son and DIL near Columbus earlier this year. That's when I found out this KY girl comes from a musical family of guitar, banjo, drums and brass players. Practicing my uke at their place was the catalyst for her to buy another (used) banjo and take lessons from her banjo teacher brother via Skype.

The attached photo is merely a pose.
 

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No reason to be jealous Tom. I suspect you're light years ahead of me in playing any instrument.

That Casio synthesizer sounds fascinating. When we were in Indio a couple of years ago, I hooked up with several uke groups in Palm Desert and La Quinta. In one of the groups the leader had some 'box' on the floor that he pressed (or kicked) with his foot and it would (attempt to) play drums to set the beat. I say "attempt", because it kept going off the beat which, IMO, defeated the whole object of using it.

BTW a few weeks ago I was in my favorite music store (LaMorinda Music in Lafayette) to look at a Luna banjo that I'd learned they had in stock. Luna is the same brand as my banjo uke. It turned out to be a 6-string banjo with a short neck that was tuned like a guitar. They're made so that a guitar player can pick them up and immediately play. I OTOH stood in the store like a dummy, not knowing what the heck to do with this thing. That's when I asked the store owner to get a plectrum banjo in, and she immediately went to work on it.

What she ordered for me is a Gold Tone Cripple Creek that runs just under $500. Inexpensive, but of adequate quality for a beginner or intermediate player. If I ever graduate to the big time, this lady will likely buy it back from me, as she did with my first banjo uke.
 
My guitar amp has a foot pedal and I can use it to set the tempo of a beat my amp will play. The problem is the foot pedal requires two taps to set the right tempo and that can't be done by me while I am playing guitar without screwing up something. I can set the beat before I start playing with no problem but not while I am playing. But it is cool to have the technology.

http://www.amazon.com/Line-Spider-IV-75-Amplifier/dp/B002GYWBJ6/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1368407309&sr=1-2&keywords=line+6+spider

This is the amp I have. It has a whole bunch of stuff built in. If you are interested scroll halfway down the page and read the product description. It does everything except cook breakfast.
 
It took a long time, but my plectrum banjo finally arrived today. After the dealer initially ordered it from the factory, they came back saying it was on backorder. I waited patiently, while the dealer kept getting the runaround from the manufacturer; June delivery became July, then August/September or later.

All the while, amazon.com had the same model in stock and, a few days ago, I ordered it with Prime/2-day shipping. It arrived all set up and, with just a quick tuning (CGBD), was ready to go.

I've been sitting here with the banjo and a chord chart, and so far it's a mind bender after having played ukes (tuned GCEA) for the last couple of years. Have a few chords down, but the brain and the muscles occasionally forget and want to play uke chords. Another learning experience for my brain and muscle memory.
 
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