Picking up the banjo?

[Dave Engel]

Hi All,

After a lifetime of guitar (and getting better at it all the time), I was at a Bluegrass Festival up here in Washington last weekend and this guy played his "outside" banjo for us, very routine right hand and easy left hand stuff but was just killer. The wife liked it and I left saying "I think I can do that". I'm an ex-classical guitar player and have got into steel string finger picking a little.

Have any of you successfully learned banjo after a long relationship with just a guitar?

Dave

[Dave Engel]

Hi All,

Thought I'd give you an update. I have had the new banjo for about 2 weeks now. Decided I'm not interested in trying to learn the banjo fretboard by standard notation and do quite well with tabs (I'll save the brain space for note reading on the guitar). The 3 finger picking bluegrass style proved to be easier than I thought, probably because of my classical playing time. Getting used to the finger picks was the real issue. Any way, I've got Cripple Creek memorized and can play it up to tempo (but still a stumble here and there).

The wife is impressed, but here's what I told her today. Banjo guys - don't be offended! The banjo is a neat, different instrument to be used in a band setting. On it's own... you gatta realy love this thing to play it all by it's lonesome! I'll learn a few of the banjo "standards", but the guitar will absolutley remain "my" instrument.

Dave

[WB4YAL]

I have been learning and playing banjo for a little over a year now.  After playing guitar for 4o years, it was different but not a foreign experience. I love my banjo too.