My banjo teacher has been very patient with me and guided my learning. I’ve also gotten tips from people I know who play other instruments. As it turns out, you can get plenty of advice when you talk to people about your goals. Below are the most useful tips I’ve been given so far.
General Tips
- Buy a stand so your instrument is easy to get to and pick up when you have free time.
- Learning to read music is important.
- When learning a new song, break it up into small chunks and play that perfectly before moving onto the next part.
- A drum beat is a lot more fun for staying in rhythm than a metronome.
- Practice, practice, practice…
Banjo Tips
- Buy a strap so you can walk around and practice your rolls while doing other things.
- You can slide your polishing rag under the strings to muffle the sound to be less annoying to the family.
- Remove the resonator to be quieter when practicing.
- It’s easier to learn songs you’re familiar with so I started a Banjo playlist on Spotify.
- Playing the banjo is fun! Try not to take it so seriously or get nervous when people ask you to play for them.
These tips have helped me a lot through this process. It takes a lot of patience to learn an instrument, but there are few things as satisfying as playing a new song all the way through for the first time.
Please share any tips you think should be added to the list in the comments below!
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