In my four decades teaching banjo, one of the most common stumbling blocks for students seems to be finding and identifying chords. Learning your banjo chord inversions will be the building blocks...
Banjo Major Chord Inversions
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BANJO MOUNTAIN John Rosen
BANJO MUSIC | SKILLS | ARTISTS
Lifting The Fog On “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”
If you’re a banjo player (and if you’re reading this blog post, there’s a 99.9999% chance you are), it’s a pretty safe bet you’re familiar with the Earl Scruggs classic, “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”....
Searching for Little Sadie
When I began my bluegrass banjo journey as an innocent pre-teen, I remember coming across a little ditty called "Little Sadie". I had recently bought a Doc Watson record (yes, we all listened to...
Demystifying the Alternate-String Pluck
In my years teaching clawhammer banjo, I’ve found that once students have mastered some of the more basic mechanics (i.e. bum-ditty, pull-offs, slides, hammer-ons, simple chords, drop-thumb, rhythm...
The Open-Back Banjo vs. Resonator Debate
In the decades I’ve spent teaching 5-string banjo, a fairly common (and thoroughly reasonable) question usually crops among banjo newcomers just before the first lesson. This question takes many...
Mastering The Bar Chord
Since I began teaching banjo some three-plus decades ago, I’ve had the pleasure of helping hundreds of banjo students become great banjo players. Along the way, I’ve noticed a common issue...
Banjo Picks: Metal or Plastic?
Which banjo picks should you choose? Metal or plastic? If you’ve recently embarked on your bluegrass banjo journey and have begun looking at fingerpicks (or perhaps have already bought a set),...
The Clawhammer Conundrum: Index vs Middle Finger
If you're reading this you are probably wondering "Which finger should I use for the clawhammer strum? The index or middle finger? Poring over online clawhammer forums this morning, I was struck by...
Reframing The Drop-Thumb
Thinking back to the days when I was beginning my clawhammer journey, I remember picking up a copy of Ken Perlman’s “Everything You Wanted to Know About Clawhammer Banjo” at my local library. That...
How To Stop Scraping Your Picks Against The Banjo Head
How do you get your picks to stop scraping against the drum head while playing? As a banjo teacher with years of experience helping beginning banjo students find their sea legs as bluegrass players,...
What is the fretless banjo (and why you might want one)?
What is a fretless banjo? Let's start with frets. Frets are the metal strips inserted into the fingerboard of a stringed instrument and a fretless banjo does not have any. Why? Let’s back up for a...
The Difference Between Clawhammer and Bluegrass Banjo
So, you’ve got your hands on your first 5-string banjo and now (naturally) you want to learn how to play the darn thing. And that’s when you make the discovery: there’s actually two styles of...
FIVE FUN PLACES TO PLAY YOUR BANJO THIS SUMMER
I’ve found that an occasional sojourn into the world beyond our front door with banjo in hand is just what we need to add a little spice to our practice regimen. When we’re able to incorporate our...
BLUEGRASS FESTIVALS HELP YOU GROW AS A BANJO PLAYER
From learning to improvise as a banjo player, to being inspired by other incredible pickers, bluegrass festivals will help you grow as a banjo player. MY JOURNEY AND THE TOPANGA BANJO AND FIDDLE...
DO I NEED BANJO PICKS?
“Do I need banjo picks?” In the years I’ve spent teaching bluegrass banjo, it’s a question I’ve been asked many times? Perhaps you, too, have grappled with this question and have sought advice from...
The Curios (and Improving) Banjo Player
While reading tablature is an essential component in learning to play banjo, there is always the danger that students can develop too much dependence on banjo tab. If this dependence continues over...
Learning to Improvise on the Banjo: Bluegrass and Clawhammer Jams
How does one make the leap from playing banjo songs alone to being able to improvise off the cuff with virtually any song thrown your way? Having been a banjo instructor for decades, this is one of...
How To Mute Your Banjo
So, you’ve just got your first banjo and you’re super stoked to play it. You bring it home, take it out of its hard shell case, put your picks on and start making some noise. And then it happens....
One Finger, Two Fingers or No Fingers? The Right Hand Anchor
When playing banjo, should your right hand be “anchored” to the banjo head with your pinky and ring finger, or just your pinky? Do you need to anchor your right hand to the banjo, at all? When I was...
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