Get a recording and listen, listen, listen

Listen in your car, on the radio, cd's, tapes, records, iPod, whatver.

But at your practice session:

First. . . Determine the key (the written arr. will say) 1 min.

Next. . Plot the chord sequence (same ) 2 min.

Next. . Play through the chord sequence 2 min.

Next. . . “attack “tab. Phrase by phrase 5 min.

(UNNECESSARY, HAD YOU NOT LOST FOCUS)
AT YOUR PRACTICE SESSION:
1. PLAY THRU TAB. TO LOCATE PROBLEM SPOT 2MEV.
2. ISOLATE, AND CHECK MECHANICS -Plc DIR./ FINGER USE 2 MIN.
3. BEGIN SLOW, MULTIPLE (PERFECT) REPS. OF SPOT. .. 4 MIN.
4. BRING UP SPEED TILL FULL SPEED IS REACHED 2 MIN.

CONFIDENCE BRINGS FUN PLAYING BLUEGRASS

For some time now I have been searching to find a “gentle“ procedure which would aid students in evaluating their progress along the Bluegrass journey they‘ye undertaken. Many criteria exist in the literature for evaluating the level at which you play your instrument. Here‘s mine:

Before I begin with the objective, “numbers” evaluation, there is one, small litmus paper scenario you might use to evaluate at what level you play:

Just suppose you receive an invitation to a “by-invitation-only“ jam session next Friday night. From the header on the email, you see that the other players invited include some of the better known pickers in the area. What is your emotional reaction?
(1) Fear beyond description = a beginner;
(2) Some anxiety about your small repertoire = an intermediate;
(3) Complete comfort = advanced.

Now for the objectivity. Which level are you?

Beginner: smoothly switch (8) chords; Play (10) solo breaks by memory, at over half normal speed. Read tablature and begin to use rhythmic dictation. ‘1 gotta be lucky to get it right!”

Intermediate : 15 chords; 25 solos by memory near final speed; understand capo use and transposition; begin concern with back-up sensitivities and sound quality. “I’m a bit sloppy, but ‘11 get close to how it should sound!”

Advanced: At ease/w large repertoire “at speed”; improvisation

One Sunday evening, the CBS program Sixty Minutes featured an interview with the classic band, the Eagles. The interview was very interesting to me as a long long fan of this band. It was also highly instructive and insightful to anyone interested in playing and/or performing with a musical instrument (that would be you).

Anyone who’s at all familiar with the Eagles’ history is aware that over the years, they have had “personality problems”- even to the point of legal system involvement. And the interviewer covered this history delicately and with uncharacteristic sensitivity.

The section of the interview which really caught my attention was the discussion about rehearsal techniques used by the band - the obsessive, extensive repetition of the material. And the incredibly astute attention to the smallest of details in arranging songs to be recorded was brought out. But the most interesting part for any student interested in improving themselves and their ability to perform came with the mention of “THE CIRCLE OF FEAR”.

The Eagles’ “CIRCLE OF FEAR“ practice technique turns out to be something my students have dealt with ever since they joined my weekly ensemble classes. It seems as if the Eagles: Glen Frey, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmidt and Joe Walsh, do something fairly unique when they’re past the initial, individual learning of a new song. What is this something? What’s this technique that finally gets their song ready for the studio?

They sit in a circle and play and sing the song acoustically! They call it “THE CIRCLE OF FEAR” because “There’s no place to hide!” Everyone knows when a mistake is made! This is their final refining technique. This is the secret of their success!

And it’s why you find it so difficult to play in class at times. .

You’re welcome!

1. A PERSON HEARS BLUEGRASS

2. A PERSON LIKES WHAT THEY HEAR

3. A PERSON DECIDES TO PLAY BLUEGRASS

4. A PERSON BECOMES A STUDENT OF BIG

5. A STUDENT ACQUIRES SKILLS

(intending to replicate what they heard in # 1)

6. A STUDENT GOES ON ACQUIRING SKILL

6a A STUDENT “MAY” DEVELOP A UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL STYLE OF THEIR OWN

7. A STUDENT DIES. . a

MIMIC. . . “TO IMITATE CLOSELY”

this is what most of us are attempting to do !

Bluegrass jamming isn’t the ultimate answer to the pathology of our culture. But it is a function that promotes community and sharing in a social setting. A night of blue grass jamming can refresh and provide tranquility in our over-committed and chaotic schedules.1

Social Rules

1. Make sure the intended session can accommodate you (five banjos a jam does not make).

2. Stand in a circle so all players can see and hear you. Maintain eye contact with the song leader and other pickers. Do not stare at your feet, the floor, or your instrument.

3. Announce the song title and (customary) key. Give the group time to retune if necessary.

4. Be courteous,. (appropriate backup; no simultaneous soloing unless playing a harmony part; let the song leader kick off or delegate a kick-off).

5. Play. . . Sing . . . Don’t talk or tune inappropriately.

Musical Rules

6. Stay in tune with the session.

7. Maintain a steady tempo near or at the top of the session’s ability. Never break the rhythm. (Stay on the song’s chord structure at all costs.)

8. Avoid unison notes with other vocalists.

9. Be prepared to come to the aid of a weaker player and/or enter your solo when signaled.

Paraphrase of statements of Pete Wernick, Ph.D., former President of the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)

This is my epistle to those people who think or have thought of themselves as being perpetual bluegrass students . Someone who will never achieve the status of “player”. Someone who thinks; “this hobby might never become fun to do....it’s always going to be work!”

I’d like to begin with what may be a most radical idea for you to consider... and that is this : YOUR SLOW PROGRESS IS DUE TO A MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE NATURE OF CORRECT PRACTICE - NOT TO ANY LACK OF TALENT ! ! !

You think my incessant preaching about repetition, repetition, repetition, is aimed at having you achieve a more conscious control over your body parts. (muscles, tendons,ligaments and fingers) This,my perpetual one, is wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.(and it’s erroneous, too)

I preach repetition, repetition, repetition to you so that you might lose (re. give up) conscious control of the aforementioned body parts and play your instrument thoughtlessly. Just like you walk, speak or chew gum! Think about it for a moment. Each of these daily activities require muscle,tendon and ligament involvement, don’t they ? And yet...if you had to think consciously about involving each body part you’d probably walk or speak in a manner which would be described as... what ? Disjointed ? Jerky ? Awkward? Uncertain? Unsteady?

Could those very same words be used at times to describe your instrumental playing? Are you stuck when it comes to improving speed ? Do your solos lurch to completion instead of flow ? If so... it’s probably because you’re still thinking too much about how to get it played correctly. Stated another way... you don’t know your material as well as you thought you did. If you can admit this fact...you have reached the crucial point which separates students from players. CONGRATULATIONS ! ! !

Staying focused on the physical activity required to complete your solo leaves little time for you to enjoy or even hear the tune you’re playing. Players-at this juncture of the learning process - turn the song over to their subconscious mind. And this act lets them focus on the dynamic subtleties; taste, timing and tempo.Think on these things and your self-image begins to change from a learning student to a player. Do this and you’re ON YOUR WAY ! ! !

Playing bluegrass music is a “fluid and interactive” activity.

Practicing alone exclusively cannot prepare you to “play bluegrass.“

“Solo practice” cannot help you learn to interact with other players.

The amount of “solo practice” can bridge the gap from a novice bluegrass student to a bluegrass player.

“You need a combination of practicing on your own and playing with other people to learn to play Bluegrass”

The Pennsylvania Bluegrass Academy has been attempting to implement this learning philosophy for twenty years.

Come visit us at www.mybanjoteacher.com, and get with the program.... your time’s a ‘wastin’.

Quotes are borrowed from Pete Wernick, the famous bluegrass teacher. The teaching concepts are mine...

Nev Jackson (4/24/2008)

In a recent jam camp in which I participated, I heard what I think may be a close to perfect definition of instrumental tablature. Pete Wernick was teaching the group on the subject of bluegrass music as a description of a way of life that existed in the Appalachian Mountains. He was doing this especially to reveal his distaste for the practice of changing song lyrics, either by conscious choice, or by inadvertent accident.

He was making the point, I believe, that we should honor a composer’s lyrics, and that somehow when we don’t, we’re demeaning the song, and the way of life he’s attempting to convey. He used the term “snapshot” in describing a song. A song is a snapshot or a glimpse into someone’s (the composer) existence, and shouldn’t be altered for a singer’s convenience. Words of a song are important to its meaning.

Also in the context of his remarks he used the word “snapshot” to describe what tablature is. It’s a still life picture of the way an instrumentalist played a certain song - at least once in his life. And that one time, his performance was “captured” digitally. . . . and voila!

I know it goes into a “how to play” book. We buy the book, in hopes to play the song exactly like the player we’re trying to emulate. But he probably never plays the song exactly the same way ever again in his life. Now we come along and attempt to hold ourselves to the “false standard” of that single snapshot of the song in question. Why?

There is no reason to do this when it comes to interpreting a melody of a song. The melody of a tune doesn’t carry the same weight as a person’s lyrics do. If we can get close to the melody. . . good ! But it’s the bluegrass way to embellish or embroider any melody we hear anyway. What we should be try to do in our playing is to catch the essence of what the song's writer intended.

And what is the most basic level building block of a song in the bluegrass genre? You guessed it. . . the chord structure. Learn the chords first. Then you can begin your interpretation in your solos.

So, you’ve decided to take up playing bluegrass music as a hobby. And you’re frustrated with your progress on the instrument up to this point.

If you’ll think back in time, probably one reason for your decision to even try to play, is that you listened to a recording or watched a group of people playing bluegrass. And it looked like lots of fun... Well it is, you were correct in your assessment But, as you’ve discovered, the fun only can occur after much work has been done. (It’s a labor of love though, isn’t it?)
The question is: How do I get there in the shortest period of time? And what is meant by “there?" It is in the definitIon of the word “there” where most of us begin to falter in our journey to become players. “There” often means (unconsciously, of course) like the recording I first heard.

We want to play like the masters play and we want to do it NOW! Sadly, after four years of college, we can earn a masters degree in almost anything; to play bluegrass music at the masters’ level will take a lot longer.

We need a plan!

Plan A: Give up everything else in life and devote all of our remaining waking hours to mastering this art form! OK that’s not an option so this workshop is about Plan B!!!

PROBLEM AREAS FOR ME

AS A ________ PLAYER:

#1. A SONG: a. BLACKBERRY BLOSSOM

#2. A SPOT: ex. CRIPPLE CREEK PART #1, MEASURE #3

#3. TECHNIQUE: ex. PICK DIRECTION

#4, UNDERSTANDING : ex. CHORD CONSTRUCTION

TOO BUSY TO PRACTICE ?

THIS SIMPLY MEANS OTHER” STUFF” IS MORE IMPORTANT

“Your schedule won’t allow practice time”

WHICH SET OF WORDS DESCRIBE YOUR PRACTICE HABITS?

HAPHAZARD - DONE BY CHANCE , RANDOM , ARBITRARY

CASUAL - ACCIDENTAL , DUE TO CHANCE , UNCONCERNED, CARELESS NONCHALANT , LAX.

RANDOM - DONE WITHOUT METHOD OR CONSCIOUS CHOICE

HOBBY - LEISURE TIME ACTIVITY PURSUED FOR PLEASURE

SERIOUS THOUGHTFUL , EARNEST, SOBER, IMPORTANT, RESPONSIBLE, SEVERELY

GOAL - THE OBJECT OF A PERSON’S EFFORT. DESTINATiON

IMPROVEMENT - UPGRADE , ENHANCE. SURPASS , EXCEED, BECOME BETTER

DISCIPLINE - MENTAL , MORAL , OR PHYSiCAL TRAINING CONTROL , ORDER, RULES , PUNtSIIMENT

QUESTiONS PLAYERS SHOULD ASK THEMSELVES:

1. Do I practice every day?

2. Do I practice consistently at the same time of day?

3. Am I doing other things at the same time I’m practicing?

4. Do I have an organized, quiet space in which I practice?

5. What’s the difference between playing and practicing?

6. Is it clear that I've made some progress in some aspect of my playing at the end of every practice session?

7. Do I have a consistent length of time for each practice session?

8. Do I divide my time into segments relative to the areas on which I’m working?

9. Am I a better player than I was a year ago?

10. Do I play with other musicians?

11. Do I have clear objectives before I begin the practice session? (written down on a piece of paper?)

PRACTICE TIMES OF THE MASTERS

In a survey of well known banjo players ,the question was asked: “Back then , when you were learning to play, how many hours of practice did you do every day?“ Here’s a sampling of their answers:

Roy Clark 5 hours

Walt Hensley 4 to 5 hours

Doug Dillard 5 hours

Bobby Thompson 7 to 8 hours

J.D. Crowe 6 to 8 hours

John Hartford 4 hours

Ben Eidridge 3 to 4 hours

Bill Keith 6 to 10 hours

Herb Pedersen 4 to 5 hours

Pat Cloud 6 hours

Bela Fleck 8 hours

- --- — —— -

PLAN B

PLAN B is actually a multi—faceted approach which is designed to address the three central problems of practicing: 1) TIME; 2) GOALS ; and 3) FOCUS. This plan must enable us to fit our work of improving our musicianship into an already busy life. And here is where most of our frustration appears. If we’re not careful and precise in the planning and implementation of PLAN B, it is at this point we will precisely fail.

TIME allotment of The DAY. Sample practice sessions deals with practice primarily from the “time crunch” perspective.

Everyone has the same twenty-four hours in a day . It’s up to each of us to find the minutes consistently and regularly daily. It’s that simple!

SETTING OF GOALS: If we’re vague in this phase of the plan , our arrival at "player" status will be delayed for years. For most of us, this is even a more serious problem than finding time to practice.

Types of goals; 1) increase tempo ; 2) lix a problem measure in a solo 3) learn a new solo ; 4) memorize a chord sequence ; 5) pick direction

FOCUS (how to) Here we get to the nitty-gritty of faulty practice. Phrases like attention span and wind clearing techniques become important


GOAL SETTING

1. Set goals high, but be realistic. If you do not reach your highest goal, you may still reach heights you couldn’t reach the “old way”.

Daily: a new lick, fingering, piece of a song.

Weekly: commit a song to memory. That’s 52 new tunes each year.

Monthly: improve you repertoire tone. Work towards better rhythm.

Yearly: your overall sound, be a regular jam session attender , etc.

2. Write down your goals. Keep a schedule of what exactly you’ve achieved. Adjust that schedule to fit your life changes. Be flexible.

WAYS TO FOCUS

1. Good practicing is creative problem solving. And solving problems is very difficult - if not impossible - in a “day dreaming” state or having to endure constant interruptions.

2. Have a special time and place where you can get alone daily, and work on your music. Be consistent!

3. Single out problem areas and work on them until they vanish - no matter if it takes weeks or months. Get problems gone, then move along.

4. Play everything slowwwwwwwww. Slower than you’d like. This is the only way you’ll pinpoint problems and cultivate good rhythm. You’ll have plenty of tune to work on speed, when everything is working properly.

5. Do NOT sit down and “play what you know”. That’s OK for a warmup (a tune or two), but then get to the problem solving phase and stay there for the majority of your practice session.

6. Review ! It’s about “LEARN

Public: Known by All

Open To All

Free To All

Communal

Not Private

Intimate

Within

Private

Familiar

Closeness

Lover

Without Reserve

So are we saying that to sing with people, you must be, in one sense, able to be unafraid to be open…be vulnerable…as you would be with a lover, but in public? That you must have an element of exhibitionist in you so as to be comfortable being “openly private” with other people? Unashamed, communal, easy, willing to take the criticism that’s liable to come? Yes!!!! This is what is required...

Make up a set list of tunes regularly played at a jam session you attend.

First... warm up by playing some scales (3 Min.)
Next. . . play five of the tunes—in context (12 Min.)
Next. . list the problem tunes. Write them down) (5 Min.)

When we hear a “good” joke and want to tell that joke to our friends, must we repeat this joke word for word as we heard it? Of course not. Do we “study” the guy who told us the joke?

Do we write the joke down and script it so we can repeat it verbatim? No, of course we don’t!

As long as we catch the essence of the humor and deliver the punch line correctly, we are successful in retelling the joke.

Playing a bluegrass song by memorizing a tab is the same situation as retelling a story. We should not get hung up on the verbatim recitation. We need to have the chord sequence correct, the timing right and any essential melody notes in
Time. Then we have a successful rendition. And it’s our very own!!!!

Once upon a time there was a man who became interested in playing a music that was not of his own region or culture. Because of his age and wisdom he quickly realized that his skills were inferior to those players whose sounds were emanating from his sound-system’s speakers. (What he had no way of knowing, of course, was that in their region, this music was a way of life and was played from birth.) His keen mind told him he would have to find a system — a shortcut — if he was ever going to play near their levels

Some time went by and the man’s search led him to a musician/teacher who excelled in this very same music and was dedicated to sharing it with others. This musician who had performed for many years now offered classes in the mechanics of instrument playing and also conducted seminars designed to demonstrate the unique, almost clannish manner by which it is played in its culture of origin.

A few, focused years passed by before the man realized he was able to attend small gatherings of musicians and actually contribute to the good sounds they were producing.

But along his journey he began to notice something: mastering the mechanics of his instrument was only the beginning. The deeper pleasure of this music seemed to be linked to the social intercourse that was occurring between players. So he commenced a study of the cultural and social aspects of the music in addition to his study of mechanics.

As he met more and more people who loved and played “his” music he discovered another great truth: all of them had made, and indeed were still making, the very same journey he was. This caused him to become even more determined to play and enjoy the music with his newfound friends. For this reason, and because of his clarity of purpose, he became recognized as a student of the Pennsylvania Bluegrass Academy™.

From time to time I feel the need, as your teacher, to remind you that a “typical” student does not practice properly and therefore doesn’t accomplish their goals in performance as quickly as they’d like. This condition - known as frustration - can lead to extreme discouragement and termination of a hobby, or more likely a false appraisal of their own skills level the following paragraphs are meant to head off or counteract such a condition.

PRACTICE is totally different from PLAYING.

Perhaps the main issue of this difference is in the area of our thinking, or cognition. Practicing is a labor which, by nature must be thought or thinking intensive. Our brain is busily engaged in learning how to do something we’ve never done before, to play a measure of music. We’re repeating, repeating, repeating in order to combine a “feeling” with a desired sound. In general, we do not consider this sort of activity to be necessarily “fun.” It’s really hard work - hard mental work, and isn’t that the hardest type of work. But the reason a person subjects themselves to this sort of activity is so they can PLAY!

Well then, what is this thing we call playing? And what makes it so different from practice? Perhaps the answer to these questions will enable us to solve the mystery of performance.

When playing, as opposed to practicing, we’re attempting to not think so hard. For sure we shouldn’t have to think about how to “get it right”! By the time we’re playing a piece, we should be trying to achieve a certain “feeling.” And this “feeling” should be the one we achieved by repeating, repeating, repeating certain activities while practicing.

Do you see the difference? When we’re playing, we should be in a state of relaxed, “detached” maintenance. Almost as if we’re listening to someone else playing and not playing ourselves. Our performance should “transcend” or overcome our natural, nagging, self-awareness that we might not get it done exactly as planned. And if this isn’t how we feel, then we simply haven’t spent enough time in practice. It’s this simple. If we approach a solo worrying “IF”
we’ll get it “right”, instead of “HOW” we’ll get it right this particular time, we’re not ready to contribute to the good performance of the ensemble.

It should be pointed out that PRACTICE is a totally different realm than PLAYING. Remember that PRACTICE is thinking. PLAYING is not so much thinking. I’ve heard it described as a kind of relaxed, detached maintenance in which you are the listener as well as the player. The music transcends your nagging self-awareness. Everything learned in practice has to be under your fingers, COLD. Practicing with others develops the other realm of PLAYING. In PLAYING, you make mistakes, but still know where you are in real time to pick up from where you erred. You go on and allow yourself mistakes. You make note of them and go back later to correct them in solitary

PRACTICE. It’s a cyclical process. You begin to learn how to hear.

It seems that practice is the awareness of your fingering, the chord you are on, timing and any other elements which are necessary to prepare you for PLAYING with others. You then take those elements and try them with others in a safe playing environment which is ideally non-intimidating and therefore constructive. Workshops and slow jams are great for musical growth.

Another thing that was hinted at in the discussion of practice was REPETITION. Everything bows down to REPETITION. I usually use hash marks on a page to keep track of a practice GOAL I’ve set for myself. This, by the way is the next important thing for me.

A GOAL is very important. A general goal is maybe a repertoire of songs and specific goal is a phrase, lick, etc. Since you can only practice in a single day, a goal specific to what you want to accomplish and the number of days in which you want to accomplish it is a good idea. If something seems more formidable that you had expected, that is, will take longer to master than you had originally thought, break it up into smaller goals until you have a specific song, phrase, lick or whatever to accomplish in a certain amount of time. Be reasonable. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.

If something is chronically bothersome, like a fingering that makes you slow down when you feel it coming up in time, then consult your instructor as to whether you are encumbering yourself on a certain passage or phrase. Usually, the fingering is ok, but it may be how you THINK about the sequence that solves problem. Sometimes the process of tying together the various practice fragments, licks etc. is incomplete and all you need do is think about the transition differently.

Love your banjo. Pick up your banjo every day, even if you have only five minutes. Make a daily contact with your instrument. It wants to do great things for you.

Get a musical instrument stand and have a PLACE to practice.

Get a CALENDAR and have a written goal of how many hours, what you want to accomplish and your expected time for the overall area you want to master for each week or month. Check off the days you practice and what you did and how long you

RECORD your progress on tape or disk to offset discouragement. Know that that sparkle of notes you desire will come if you want it bad enough.

These and other topics will be included in the revised “Key to Five String Banjo” and the “30 Day Banjo Practice Diet” due out later this year. I’m learning page layout as fast as I can.

* It's been more than 30 years since I began teaching banjo. One of the most frequent stories I hear from new or perspective students over the years goes something like this: “… I’ve always loved the sound of the banjo, but I’ve never had the time in my schedule to try to learn how to play one.” Or: “… I’ve wanted to play a banjo, but could never find a teacher.”
* Thirty minutes each day, used correctly, is all that’s required to achieve a fairly rewarding level on the five string banjo.
* Impatience, the American disease, along with unreasonable expectations can result in discouragement and lead to your being unsuccessful as well. The CD’s to which students compare themselves have for the most part been recorded by “compulsive” professionals who’ve been playing for years. You’re trying to be a “hobbyist player” - at least as you begin.
* THE BIGGEST SINGLE REASON FOR FAILURE TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY THE BANJO IS FAULTY, UNDIRECTED PRACTICE HABITS

Steps in learning to play the Banjo

Roll with it
The essence of the “three-finger” style Bluegrass Banjo playing is known as “Scruggs style.” It is the integration of any melody line into what have become known as “roll patterns” or three-finger sequences. The thumb, index and middle fingers pluck the strings of the banjo in repeating, rolling patterns.

You will see these abbreviations for fingers in banjo music, known as “tab music.”
T=Thumb
I=Index finger
M-The middle finger



Step one
As a student, your first task must be to learn and “own” a few of these finger sequences or roll patterns. Here are the most basic four rolls:

Forward roll: T I M T I M T I

Backward roll: M I T M I T M I

Reverse roll: T I M T M I T M

Double Thumb roll: T I T M T I T M

Now do those rolls without thinking until you can do them in your sleep, or while reading out loud, or while holding a conversation!


Step two
Tunes are accompanied by what we call chords. Chords are essentially multiple notes played simultaneously. Your second task as a student will be to learn and “own” chords, which means fretting, or pressing down, multiple strings with your left hand.
How many chords should you learn? Only 3 at first:

G (no left hand fingering) =diagram

C = diagram

D7= diagram


Step three
Of course, if forming the left hand chords is step two, then your third task is switching from chord to chord smoothly and at a constant rate of speed, or tempo.