Читать книгу Banjo For Dummies - Bill Evans - Страница 50

If you're in the prime years of your life like me, you may suffer from Dunlap's disease. What's that, you innocently ask? Well, Dunlap's disease is when your belly is so big that it “done laps” over your belt! If you suffer from this common malady, you may prefer to position the banjo a bit to the right side of your body, whether sitting or standing (see the section “Standing with your banjo”). Many players position the banjo squarely on their right thigh and may not need a strap to support the banjo at all while sitting. When standing with a strap, you want to position the banjo in a similar way at the right side of your body. If you're a Dunlapper, don't be afraid to move your banjo around until you find a position that's comfortable for you.

Note also the relationship of your hands to the instrument as you both sit and stand. You want these positions to be as close as possible to one another whether you're up or down. Keep your arms relaxed and your elbows bent while standing and remember not to raise the peghead above eye level. Your left hand should easily be able to fret at any point along the banjo fingerboard, and your right hand should have easy access for striking the strings.

Figure 3-5 shows three different ways of standing while playing banjo. Erin (a) holds the banjo a little lower and off to the side of her body. Jody (b) angles the banjo neck a little higher and holds the banjo a bit more off to the side, while yours truly (c) holds the banjo higher on the body and more out in front. All are fine ways to take a stand for better playing.

Photographs by Anne Hamersky

FIGURE 3-5: Erin (a), Jody (b), and Bill (c) use straps for standing while playing and hold their banjos slightly differently.

I spend almost all my time practicing sitting down and even though I've been playing for over 35 years, I still have to make a subtle mental adjustment every time I stand up to play. A day or two before a performance, I devote a share of my practice time to playing standing up so that I'll feel more comfortable playing with others on stage. At a festival, you spend a good deal of your time standing in a circle of musicians at jam sessions, so practicing while standing up is a great idea every now and then (and don't forget to bring a comfortable pair of shoes!).