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juliawise comments on What are you working on? August 2012 - Less Wrong Discussion

7 Post author: RobertLumley 03 August 2012 03:10PM

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Comment author: juliawise 06 August 2012 01:24:54PM *  1 point [-]

Learning banjo chords. My hands can physically hold down the strings better than they could in May, and I can do more chords without looking. The goal is to practice at least five times a week for at least five minutes. I've been meeting that most but not all weeks.

I picked the goal of messing around for at least five minutes rather than a stricter goal because I know someone who's gotten good at a lot of instruments this way, and he says his motivation is best if practicing is just goofing around rather than drilling.

Comment author: arundelo 08 August 2012 05:28:27AM *  4 points [-]

I agree with the "anti-hardcore" approach of keeping the time commitment and mental energy commitment manageable. You can do it more than five five-minute periods per week, though, with the following techniques:

  • Leave the banjo out of its case and easily accessible at all times, reducing the activation cost of playing it. You can just walk by and, on a whim, pick it up and play it for half a minute. (This may not be practical if you live with a toddler or if your living space is extremely small.)
  • If you don't already have one, get a strap, so you can play while you stand or walk.
  • If you watch TV or do other stuff that doesn't occupy your hands, noodle around on the banjo at the same time.

How much you can do these depends on your husband's tolerance for noise, but it may help to play quietly, or mute the strings with the side of your hand, or play only with your fretting hand.

Bonus tips:

  • Chords are the thing you're most interested in now, but don't be afraid to mix it up with single-note stuff.
  • Play along with things, be they random bits of music you hear on the TV, radio, or internet, or your favorite recordings. This is hard at first but gets easier the more you do it. Don't worry too much at first about playing exactly the same thing you're listening to; just try to approximate it or, failing that, find something that sounds good with whatever you're listening to.
  • Noodle. Play random stuff. If you find something that you like the sound of, play it over and over, and come up with variations.

What style of banjo do you play? My brother Mason plays clawhammer on a five-string open-back banjo. On most of his YouTube stuff he's playing guitar or viol, but he plays banjo in this video of "Rove Riley Rove" (which also includes yours truly [mandolin], and our sister Katari [voice] & my friend Curt [guitar]).

Comment author: juliawise 09 August 2012 12:52:23PM 1 point [-]

Thanks! I'm doing some of this stuff, but most of it is new advice. I guess I'm learning frailing on a five-string? I'm getting Pete Seeger's book "How to play the 5-string banjo", since the Seegers are what made me fall in love with the instrument.

Jeff already plays the banjo (albeit by tuning it like a mandolin), and he's currently learning trumpet, so me making additional noise is not a problem.

I liked the recording!

Comment author: arundelo 09 August 2012 03:19:39PM 0 points [-]

I guess I'm learning frailing on a five-string?

Yup, or at least that's what the Seeger book teaches. That's also what Mason's doing in the video. (Some people distinguish between "clawhammer" and "frailing", but they're basically the same thing. I'd have to listen again to see if Mason's doing any drop-thumbing in the vid, but he does do it a lot.)

A thing to try -- Mason gets a less ringy, more plunky sound that he likes better by using a folded-up sock or washcloth as a mute. He lightly wedges it between the (drum) head and the wooden bar inside the body, underneath the bridge.

Thanks for the compliment and happy frailing!

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