Bad, bad habits will drag you down! They’ll keep your banjo picking at a sub-par level. You need to define the problems and drop them immediately.
I can tell you that I’m as guilty as anyone, but if we really want to improve and move to the next level then we should take a good honest look at what’s holding us back.
Constantly expand your repetoire.
Regardless of your skill level on the banjo you should constantly learn new material. If you,re a beginner this will come more naturally than if you’re an old pro.
Learning new songs will keep your playing interesting. Every song you learn will add a new bit of texture to your playing.
Change those rusty strings!
A large amount of banjo pickers have a bad habit of not changing strings often enough. If you’re playing a minimum of 2 or 3 times a week then you should change your strings once a month. If you think that’s too frequent then try changing them after every song.
A lot of pros change strings after every song while in a recording session and most change after every set at a festival. Changing your banjo strings will add new life to your picking and make it much more enjoyable.
Adjust your volume.
Watch closely and you’ll notice that banjo pickers playing volume will match their personality. If their shy or reserved you’ll notice that they tend to play more quietly. If the picker is a loud obnoxious individual then they probably only have one volume level on they’re banjo and that’s entirely too loud.
As a beginner this will be more prevelant and obvious than with a seasoned player. The issue is lack of conscience control in regards to dynamics (picking volume). With every song you play as a beginner you should be thinking of volume control.
In short, come into your banjo break with higher volume then bring it back down to a moderate level. Through out your break insert your fancy licks with a higher volume and keep it interesting. When backing up vocals keep the volume lower than normal. You certainly don’t want to steal the show from the one in the spotlight. Be conscience of who’s in the solo spot and adjust accordingly.
Breaking your bad banjo habits will boost you to a whole new realm of playing. It’s simply inserting some discipline and self control into your picking.
Click here to get Ryan’s video version of this post coming up this week as our weekly video lesson. See you on the member’s page.
