Friday, December 15, 2017

banjo notebook

Critique and Analytics  

The Anger Sessions:  I've learned something.  When a practice sessions goes to shit, which happens with some frequency, I resort to an angry, almost violent rote of right hand rolls.  I even play hard as if to dare the strings to break.  I even put on goggles once because I knew that something was going to give and I didn't want to be blinded by the steely tension I had.  But, invariably, when I revisit the instrument the following day, I learn that the session was, in hindsight, very productive.  I mus'n't ever forget this.  But everything has it's limitations.  January 19, 2018 was mine.

Clawhammer Nights:  I've discovered that during those late nights when I decide to play without waking the wife and boy, I can practice my clawhammer, sans picks, and enjoy the pure haunt of the notes when they resonate off the head of the instrument.  There's more than one way to coax the music out of this fascinating instrument.

Capo:  The capo enables vocals.  I need to remember to capo at four, and fifth [G string] capo/spike at fret nine if I want to use my vocals.  The capo accelerates my progress artificially.  Makes me faster on account of the reduction in fret width and resulting digital movement.  Never stray from the banjo, sans capo.  It will make me a better player. When I start getting burnt out or hit a lull in my progress, change the capo.  Practice brutally with no capo and then enjoy the rewards with it in place, especilly at four and nine.  Use the capo as a reward when I get burnt out on playing with an open neck. 

Picking:  I'm not distributing the audibility of each note with equal volume.  I can't even discern many notes.  It's as if I'm not striking them at all.  Part of it could have to do with the recording, but not all.  That's a fact.  I have to learn to hit the strings consistently.  Practice this by slowing down until I get it right.  

Metronome: 90 bpm.  Start out with quarter notes.  Advance to eighthnotes.  Eightnotes are easier because the temporal intervals do not allow enough time to fall out of rhythm.  The metronome is a humbling exercise because it makes me fall into line behind the beat.  The beat takes the spotlight, and I am subservient to it's perfect cadence.  If I ever find someone who will play the guitar with me, my metronomic practice will allow me to fall in behind the guitar.   

Alternative Tuning:  When the time's right, get a second banjo to keep tuned to alternate keys.  That way I won't have to spend as much time tuning and retuning.

Practice: After I warm up with licks and runs, organize the practice into specific arrangement in a specific order.  Foggy Mtn. Breakdown (FMB), Fox on the Run, Nine pound hammer, Cripple Creek (uses entirely different right hand rolls).  Cripple Creek roll needs to be exercised, even though I dislike it.  Practice alternate rolls lest I fall into the habit of using only the forward/backward Scruggs roll.  Learn to play whilst standing.  (Very difficult).  Remember Classic G lick and its variations.  Casey Anthony's shave and haircut ending roll.  Use the capos sparingly.  Use them all.  Don't be afraid to take a lesson from someone who will use a flattop guitar in order to allow me to fall in.  I think that the banjo is secondary to the flattop.  It behaves best when it is in the company of the acoustic six string with a big, deep box.

Abstract:  Even though my goal is to play in more of a back-up, non-traditional bluegrass style, I have to first learn to play the traditional, Skruggs-styled method, which calls for the FMB lick, the Classic G, the forward backward rolls, and the fret 2 to 4 slide from the Ballad of Jed Clampit, among many others.  Ironically, the kind of banjo style I'd like to eventually master is far less complicated than what is required for these traditional pieces.  It's like getting a mathematics Ph.D from Princeton and going to work as a kindergarten math teacher.  But, it's got to be that way.

Ergonomics:  Ergonomically, get into the habit of left thumb support.  Warm up with every conceivable right hand roll.  Integrate diverse roll patters into other rolls.  Mix it up.  If I'm not comfortable with suggested ergonomics, use what feels right to me.  But gravitate toward the suggested methods that have been tried and found to be effective.

Notes:  Listen to the Ballad of the Ghost of Tom Joad and listen to Beck's new album as well as Neil Young's Harvest album.  That's what I need to aim for.  The banjo creates a haunting, ghost-like accompaniment to powerful acoustic riffs.  This ancillary accompaniment would be the extent of my participation with others.  I doubt I'll ever be comfortable with a traditional bluegrass accompaniment.  Those folks are just too insanely masterful at their music.  Learn about the history of the banjo.  We came down from the trees in Africa.  Afterward, our ancestors stretched strings over hollowed-out gourds.  Start with that.  Then follow up with the criminals who enslaved the Africans which brought these unwilling subjects into the kleptocracy, called America.  The history of the banjo's arrival to America is bloated with sins against humanity and bleak with story after story of institutionally sanctioned subjugation of human beings by the same set of slave importing entrepreneurs from Charleston that would eventually overtake the Gullahs and Geechies as they drove past their island villages with their eager golf clubs in the trunks of their Cadillacs.

Remember that the banjo is probably not an instrument geared for solitary play, since there's no bass.  So, don't get discouraged when I think it sounds like someone's clanking a iron skillet up against the side of the house.  Just put it down for a while.  Just walk away.

Finger and Thumb Picks v. Bare Fingers and Thumb:  There's a universe of subtle emanations that are drowned out with finger picks.  To me, the solution would involve use of a microphone, two bare fingers, and one bare thumb.  I can play exponentially better without the picks, and the banjo responds in an eerie, backwoods, deep hollow voice.  Picks drown the aural tones.  But, in so doing, replace them with outstanding outstanding musical emanations.
Today (April 17, 2021) was my best practice session ever. I started at 160 bpm, then 180, then 200, and, finally 210. Very important that I use this progression. I had two sessions today. The first, with the same bpm progression, was nothing great. Early morning. But, the second: I fucking wore it out.

-