Acoustic Instruments: Practice Tips and Techniques

Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 14:57:39 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Banjo Learning Questions

Hi,

Greetings Dan,

I've been studying banjo now for almost 3 months, and
love it!. I take one class a week with a teacher and
then practice by playing about 2 hours every single
day.

So far, I've learned 7 or 8 songs and I'm working on
bringing them all up to full "playing speed". Most
songs I can only play at about 140 bpm correctly right
now.

My question is; "What's the best way to use my
practice time"?.

A valid question...and one all of us musicians should focus on...

I believe that you should always have a road map in front of you...where you've been and where you're going...

A list of songs and exercises you already know should be gone over before diving into new projects...

Bracketing time is important...at least 1/2 to 1 full hour should be set aside with your total attention to progressing on your banjo...

You've probably already read our "Practice Tips" located in our free lessons section as follows:

Practice Tips As far as practice goes, it's most important to have a daily procedure to follow: 1. Always keep a road map in front of you...this can be in the form of books, videos and your own handwritten list of goals. This way you'll always have a reference point of where you've been and where you're heading. By assessing your accomplishments daily, you'll find even more inspiration in knowing that you have measurable progress in your efforts. By keeping a list of what you hope to accomplish in the future, you'll also always have something to aspire to...giving purpose to your studies. 2. Keep a list of exercises and songs to practice daily. This will reinforce what you've learned and will increase your dexterity to take on even more difficult pieces later. 3. Always bracket your time for practice...if you can only afford 1/2 hour daily, that's fine. Only make sure that you're at the very least practicing daily within set periods of time. 4. Take your time with your progress. Do not become frustrated when you find that you're not progressing. What may seem like slow progress is in reality the period of time necessary to absorb a solid foundation. 5. Always cross reference your previous lessons with your current lessons. For example, make sure that you're not finding yourself falling into poor posture and position habits. Go back to earlier points on proper positioning to ensure you're on the right track.

Is it ok for me to focus mainly on bringing the songs
I already know up to speed (always focusing on
maintaining clarity and timing), or should I be
practicing other skills as well?.

I believe you most certainly should focus on one thing at a time...when it comes to songs, you'll want to accomplish one before moving onto another...for exercises and studies, you might want to be pursuing three or four at a time...

Also, is it ok for me to be trying to constantly
improve my speed?

Yes, it's OK...only, speed would be useless without good meter...so focus on good timing first and let the speed build up on its own...

(like I said before, I always try to
maintain the clarity of the notes and even timing), or
should I focus on learning more songs and forget about
"speed"?.

Songs are not as important as foundation...build your foundation first through exercises and studies...follow this with learning basic songs and graduating then to highly embellished songs...

Check out our Banjo Lessons Section for further exercises at:
http://www.folkofthewood.com/page3.htm

I really enjoy your website and find it to be like a
Banjo Teacher that's available 24/7!.

Thanks so much for staying tuned with us...keep on pickin', Mickey

Thank you, Dan