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Ok, I don’t consider myself to be a beginner player, but I didn’t think would hurt to go over some basics. I’d like to get better at playing, but find myself constrained by demands being made on my time. I do try to set aside some practice time nearly every day, but often it’s at the end of the day when my brain is feeling fried. I know that I’ll begin to see improvement once I start to practice more, but is there anything that I should do to get the most out of the short time that I have to practice. A second thing is that I find myself to be tied too much to tablature. I have a terrible memory, and have always found it challenging to memorize things, but I thought that playing music is less about memorizing and more about being able to follow the music, which is another skill that I need to develop better. I figured I’d give this way of learning a shot, since Mike seems to be a good teacher. I have had a local teacher before, but he’s gotten busy and is less available then he used to be.
Thanks,
-Jim
Jim,
Thanks for your question.
I think it’s great you’re making time for any daily practice even if it’s a small amount. You can always increase your practice time later on. The most important thing is you keep your practice sessions fun as that’s the biggest predictor of what will keep you playing/improving.
As far as making use of practice time, I’d say the single best thing you could do is play along with the practice tracks I provide.
You could practice doing basic rolls or pinches, licks or backup as you improve. This will help you learn to feel the music and the timing which is important when breaking off of tablature. You could also practice “filling the space” of the spots in the tab you can’t remember. In real life jam sessions, I rarely try to play a tab from memory as that can be difficult. Playing along with the practice tracks is the best way to get comfortable just “jamming.
For me, I try and sing the words in my head which helps me remember the song when I’m playing without tab, but this takes too practice just like other skills.
If you have any other questions let me know!
Best,
Mike
I’m only seeing the “Basin Banjo Rolls” which is different than the video.
Where is the “Basic Banjo Roll”?You can check out the full lesson here:
https://mikeheddingmusic.com/lessons/basic-right-hand-workout-beginner-banjo/
The Basic Banjo Rolls video is just the first part of the larger lesson “Basic Right Hand Workout.”
If you have any other questions let me know.
Best,
Mike
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