Learning to play the banjo...AND I FLIPPIN’ LOVE IT
 

A good friend of mine let me borrow his sweet banjo (1970s Epiphone EB-99) a couple weeks ago, and I am freaking out over how much I love learning to play it. I’m currently learning “Cripple Creek”...it’s taking a while to get the accuracy down, but I’m getting there.

The banjo is so much fun, I can’t believe I’ve waited this long to learn. Y’all, this could get me in trouble, financially speaking. #GottaGetABanjoNow

Lauren

Learning to play the banjo...AND I FLIPPIN’ LOVE IT
 

Many of us have been down that sad road before, and we're painfully aware where it leads... :eek:

We have a 12-step Banjos Anonymous support group here on the AGF... :halo:

Please feel free to reach out to us 24/7 - we care, and we're here to help... :up:

A great world!
 

I did the same thing recently. The history of the instrument is inspiring with it’s African roots. I’ve become fascinated by claw hammer, which is hard to learn, and the fretless banjo. Many of the songs we love were taught to Mountain people by slaves, and the intertwining of musical traditions is fascinating. While I admire bluegrass, I didn’t know that the banjo had such a long history hundreds of years before Bill Monroe, so much variety. It’s also possible to get really fine instruments for not all that much. Next up for you maybe: mandolin. I think you’ll find explorations of other instruments happily inform your guitar playing.

Correction
 

In my above post I meant to say “enslaved people” rather than slaves. Thanks

Welcome to banjodom.

There's a nice topic here that's got a lot of mileage:

https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=467165

Good to know, Steve. You might be hearing from me soon enough!

Aahhhhh, thank you!! I will definitely check those out!

I’ve been learning clawhammer style as well, and I seemed to have picked up on it faster than I thought I would. Maybe it’s because I am mostly a rhythm guitarist, I don’t know — the style feels more natural to me.

I own a cheap Fender mandolin, but the darn thing never stays in tune, which frustrates me more than anything. So I rarely feel inspired to play it. But it’s next on my list once I can sell a kidney or something to buy a real winner of a mandolin (or at least one that I don’t want to smash every time I sit down to try and play) ;)

Bruce Brockman
 

I play with a guitarist who is much better than I am. His son was my first teacher, and is now a Santa Fe lap steel player because tendonitis won’t let him play gypsy jazz lead any more. His dad, who was the rhythm guitarist, now plays with me. When I acquired a really nice (Jason harshbarger) mandolin, I talked him into getting one and found Bruce Brockman. He’s making a two point mandolin with arched back and top for him for $700. I think that’s impossible, but i f you’re looking you might want to contact him. He’s really nice and sends Paul updates and pictures of it’s progress. So if you think you want to investigate I’d start with him. I am finding so much pleasure in the mandolin

Interesting! I’m hoping I can upgrade to a better mandolin sometime in the next couple years.

All this talk about mandolins is funny...I find myself jonesing for an octave mandolin, and I can’t even play the guitar yet! :)

I say go for it! :)

Lauren, I took up the banjo a little over three years ago and found it's a refreshing change of pace from the guitar, Enjoy!

My son got into the banjo and the next thing I know he made one. Crazy talented kid.

I highly recommend building your own instruments.

It's a great outlet for creativity and you end up getting to have whatever you want guilt-free. All the instruments I currently play, guitars, bass, mandolin family instruments, and banjos have come from my home shop.

https://i.imgur.com/bCj7YPV.jpg