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Bill Evans. Banjo For Dummies
Banjo For Dummies® To view this book's Cheat Sheet, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Banjo For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the Search box. Table of Contents
List of Tables
List of Illustrations
Guide
Pages
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
The Amazing Five-String Banjo
You Want to Play What?: Banjo Basics
Getting into Banjo
Loving that amazing sound
Becoming a true believer
Identifying Different Kinds of Banjos
Five-string banjo: The subject of this book
Tenor and plectrum banjos: Look for another book
BANJOS OF ALL SORTS
Knowing the Parts of a Banjo
Looking at the neck
Checking out the pot
Picking up string vibrations
Becoming a Banjo Player
Making wise purchase choices
Tuning and holding your banjo
Fretting chords with the left hand
Playing authentic right- and left-hand patterns
Practicing some real tunes
Jamming in good company
Meeting other banjo lovers
Keeping your banjo sounding great
Tuning Your Banjo
G Tuning: Getting Your Strings in Order
Relative Tuning: Tuning the Banjo to Itself
Reference Tuning: Getting a Little Outside Help
Using an electronic tuner
Tuning with an electronic tuner at a jam session
Using another instrument as a reference
PROMOTE WORLD PEACE: USE A BANJO MUTE!
Starting to Play: Fretting and Strumming
Talking Banjo Talk
Positioning Body and Banjo
Strapping on your banjo
Attaching the strap
Fitting the strap
Sitting down to play
Standing with your banjo
DON'T LET “DUNLAP'S DISEASE” GET YOU DOWN
Fretting with the Left Hand
Fingering G, D7, and C Chords
The G chord: Real easy
The D7 chord: A little harder
The C chord: More challenging still
Checking Out Chord Diagrams
Reading a chord diagram
Interpreting up-the-neck chord diagrams
Chord Progressions: Playing Your First Song
Playing by the Rules: Songs and Tablature
Breaking Down the Parts of a Song
Feeling the rhythm
TO COUNT OR NOT TO COUNT: IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD
Beats, tempo, and meter
Time signatures, measures, and downbeats
SMOOTH SAILING
Changing chords quickly
Finding the melody
Starting with the scale
SCALING ONE STRING: DISCOVERING THE G-MAJOR AND D-MAJOR SCALES
BRINGING MORE THAN ONE STRING INTO PLAY: THE G-MAJOR SCALE
Trying out a tune (or two)
Reading Tablature
Finding notes
Tracking down the rhythm
Playing Pinch Patterns
Being a Great Team Player
Lead playing: Shining the spotlight on yourself
Backup playing: Allowing others to stand out
Let's Pick! Basic Banjo Techniques
Getting Right with the Right Hand
Clawhammer and Bluegrass: Down-Picking and Up-Picking
Clawhammer Right-Hand Basics
Finding a good right-hand position
Playing your first clawhammer notes
Melody-note exercises
Brush exercise
ALL PART OF THE OLD-TIME WAY
5th-string exercise
Putting it all together: Melody note + brush + 5th string
Using clawhammer banjo as accompaniment
Bluegrass Right-Hand Basics
Choosing and fitting thumbpicks and fingerpicks
The thumbpick
The fingerpick
Acquiring a good right-hand position
Getting set
Putting your thumb and fingers to good use
Playing roll patterns
THE GREAT DEBATE: ONE ANCHOR FINGER OR TWO?
Alternating thumb roll
The forward-reverse roll
The forward roll
Using bluegrass rolls as accompaniment
Sliding, Hammering, and Pulling: Adding the Left Hand
Slipping into the Slide
Getting down the slide: The basics
Trying 3rd-string slides
Undertaking 4th-string slides
Focusing on 1st-string slides
Nailing the Hammer-On
Playing open-string hammer-ons
Giving fretted hammer-ons a chance
Pulling Off the Pull-Off
Digging into open-string pull-offs
Mastering fretted pull-offs
Sizing up special clawhammer pull-offs
Bending the Chokes
Playing the Foggy Mountain choke
Experimenting with choke variations
Putting Your Hands Together
Making sure your clawhammer right hand is ready
Double-checking your bluegrass right-hand skills
Joining forces: Using both hands in clawhammer banjo
Clawhammer slides
3RD-STRING SLIDES
1ST-STRING SLIDES
4TH-STRING SLIDES
Clawhammer hammer-ons
OPEN-STRING HAMMER-ONS
FRETTED HAMMER-ONS
Clawhammer pull-offs
4TH-STRING PULL-OFFS
3RD-STRING PULL-OFFS
1ST-STRING PULL-OFFS
SPECIAL CLAWHAMMER PULL-OFF
Clawhammer choke
Keeping both hands busy in bluegrass banjo
Bluegrass slides
ALTERNATING-THUMB-ROLL SLIDES
FORWARD-REVERSE-ROLL SLIDES
FORWARD-ROLL SLIDES
Bluegrass hammer-ons
ALTERNATING-THUMB-ROLL HAMMER-ONS
FORWARD-REVERSE-ROLL HAMMER-ONS
FORWARD-ROLL HAMMER-ONS
Bluegrass pull-offs
ALTERNATING-THUMB-ROLL PULL-OFFS
FORWARD-REVERSE-ROLL PULL-OFFS
FORWARD-ROLL PULL-OFFS
Bluegrass chokes
Working Up Your First Tunes: Clawhammer and Bluegrass
Stylin’ It: Playing Real Banjo Music
Starting with the right hand
Getting a feel for the clawhammer way
Taking on the melody bluegrass style
Adding the left hand
Creating clawhammer melodies
Playing the bluegrass way
Tackling a Few More Tunes
Playing Styles Past, Present, and Future
Playing the Old-Time Way: Clawhammer and Traditional Styles
Digging Deeper into Clawhammer Banjo
Fretting 1st-string clawhammer pull-offs
Stretching out with double thumbing
Discovering Four Clawhammer Classics
Playing “Old Joe Clark”
Turning on to double C tuning
Playing “Soldier's Joy”
Moving into modal tuning
Playing “Cluck Old Hen”
Playing “Last Chance”
Looking into “Last Chance” tuning
Catching a crooked tune
Discovering Pete Seeger–Style Banjo
Syncing with the Seeger stroke
Playing “Swing Low” and “Little Birdie” with the Seeger stroke
Fingerpicking the Old-Time Way
Exploring Dock Boggs’s style with “Pretty Polly”
Picking “Coal Creek March”
Playing Three-Finger Styles: Scruggs, Melodic, and Single String
Playing Scruggs-Style Banjo
Flowing with the rolls
Making your music hot with some licks
Figuring out the basics about licks
Using licks in your playing
Incorporating fill-in licks
Combining licks to play a solo
Progressing to Scruggs-style songs
“Everyday Breakdown”
“Shortening Bread”
Making Music with Melodic Banjo
Discovering how to play melodic scales
Beginning with the melodic banjo G-major scale
Getting acquainted with more scales
Getting a feel for melodic banjo songs
Enhancing melodic techniques with roll patterns: “Banjo Cascade”
Getting fancy with fiddle tunes: “Turkey in the Straw” and “Blackberry Blossom”
Playing Single-String Banjo
Using the right hand
Single string with thumb and index finger
Single string with thumb, index, and middle fingers
Taking a crack at single-string scales
Single-string, open, G-major scale
Single-string, closed, G-major scales
Single-string, D-major scale
Exercising single-string techniques in songs
“Red Haired Boy”
“Arkansas Traveler”
“Reno's Rag”
“Winston's Jig”
Combining Three-Finger Techniques
Playing Up-the-Neck Backup: Chords and Vamping
Playing Movable Major Chords
The barre shape
Naming barre-shape chords
Playing the G-C-D progression with barre shapes
The F shape
Naming F-shape chords
Playing the G-C-D progression with F shapes
The D shape
Naming D-shape chords
Playing the G-C-D progression with D shapes
Moving from the F shape to the D shape
Playing Movable Minor Chords
Converting F-shape major chords
Converting D-shape major chords
Converting barre-shape major chords
UP-THE-NECK FRETTING MADE EASIER
Using Vamping in Backup Playing
Working out the mechanics of vamping
The right hand in vamping
The left hand in vamping
The G-C-D progression with vamping
Using F and D shapes with vamping
Vamping to “Red River Valley”
Vamping to “Blackberry Blossom”
Knowing When to Use Vamping
Playing Historical Styles: African, Minstrel, and Classic Banjo
Exploring African-American Banjo Roots
Converging Cultures: The World of Minstrel Banjo
Uncovering the historical background
Getting into minstrel banjo
Discovering drop-C tuning
Mastering minstrel technique
Trying some minstrel tunes
“Juba”
“Hard Times”
Branching Out with Classic Banjo
Understanding classic banjo technique
Introducing yourself to the classics
“Colorado Buck Dance”
“Banjoisticus”
THE AMERICAN BANJO FRATERNITY
Networking into Banjo Culture
Taking Private Lessons
Overcoming lesson anxiety
Finding the right teacher
Using local and online resources
Choosing the right teacher
Trying out group classes
Heading online for lessons
Playing Music with Others
Finding a good jam
Getting ready for a jam session
Joining in a jam
CLOSED JAMS: A TIME TO LISTEN
Observing good jamming etiquette
Attending Workshops and Camps
Workshops: Fine-tuning your techniques
CATCHING THE WORKSHOP BUG
Banjo, bluegrass, and old-time camps: Rubbing elbows with the pros
Banjo camp
Bluegrass and old-time camps
Room and board
Heading to a Bluegrass Festival
Discovering what festivals are all about
Finding a festival that's right for you
Buying a Banjo and Keeping It in Good Shape
Finding Your Banjo Bliss: A Buyer's Guide
Establishing Your Banjo Boundaries
Making the Leap: Resonator or Open-Back?
Pumping up the volume: Resonator banjos
Going the old-time way: Open-back banjos
Finding a Great Beginner’s Banjo
Knowing what's in the pot
Getting good string action
Finding bridge height
Measuring string spacing
Checking the tuners
HELP! I'M LEFT-HANDED. CAN I FIND A BANJO FOR ME?
Taking the plunge
Stepping Up to a Better Banjo
Budgeting for a quality banjo
The gradual-upgrade approach
The leap-frog approach
The buy-something-different approach
Knowing a quality banjo when you see it
It's all in the wood: Banjo rims
The fellowship of the tone ring
Necks and resonators
Radiused fingerboards
Banjo bling: Inlays, plating, and engraving
Plugging in: Electric banjos
Adding a pickup to an acoustic banjo
Boldly going electric
Going vintage
Finding the Right Music Store
Buying from an acoustic specialty store
Buying online
Getting you started: A banjo store directory
Getting the Right Stuff: Banjo Gear
Picking Up the Stuff You Really Need
Cases: Becoming King of the Road
Hard- and soft-shell cases
COME FLY WITH ME: BANJOS ON A PLANE!
Gig bags
Flight cases
Strings: You can't pick without ’em
Loop-end and ball-end strings
Nickel-plated, stainless-steel, nylon, and gut strings
String gauges: Light, medium, or heavy
Picks: Giving your fingers playing power
Straps: Take a load off!
Capos: Playing easily in different keys
Choosing a capo
Using a capo
Tuning with a capo
The 5th-string capo and spikes: Going along for the ride
Electronic tuners: Getting by with a little help
Collecting More Cool Tools to Help Your Playing
Metronomes and drum machines
How they work
Playing along with the metronome
Your computer and the banjo
Slow-downer programs
Recording software
YouTube
Taking Care of Your Baby: String Changing and Basic Maintenance
Replacing Banjo Strings
Deciding when your strings need a changin’
Changing strings 1 through 4: A step-by-step guide
Step 1: Figuring out which string is which
Step 2: Removing the old string
Step 3: Attaching the string to the tailpiece
Step 4: Fastening the string to the tuning post
Step 5: Winding the string around the tuning post
Step 6: Securing the string to the tuning post
Step 7: Bringing the string up to pitch
Replacing the 5th string
Setting the Bridge
Discovering harmonics
Using harmonics to set the bridge
Adjusting Head Tension
Relating head tension to banjo tone
Tightening the head
Using your banjo bracket wrench
Making small adjustments
Keeping Your Banjo Looking Its Best
Knowing When to Consult a Professional
The Part of Tens
Ten Tips to Make Practicing More Fun
Practice Regularly
Set Goals
Warm Up
Use Tablature Sparingly
Get the Right Hand First
Gradually Increase Your Speed
Take Songs One Measure at a Time
Play the Right Repertoire
Listen Actively
Keep Track of Your Progress
Ten Great Banjo Players You Need to Hear
Earl Scruggs (1924–2012)
Pete Seeger (1919–2014)
Béla Fleck (b. 1958)
Bill Keith (1939–2015)
Mike Seeger (1933–2009)
Don Reno (1927–1984)
J. D. Crowe (b. 1937)
Tony Trischka (b. 1949)
Alison Brown (b. 1962)
Jens Kruger (b. 1962)
OTHER BANJO PLAYERS YOU SHOULD HEAR
Appendixes
Banjo Chords and Notes
Chords
Notes on the Banjo in G Tuning
Audio Tracks and Video Clips
Discovering What's on the Audio Tracks
Looking at What's in the Video Clips
Customer Care
Index. Numerics
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
Z
About the Author
Dedication
Author’s Acknowledgments
WILEY END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT
