Ask Dr. Banjo

This collection of questions and answers comes from a variety of sources — Pete’s Banjo Newsletter column, the BANJO-L, AcuTab, and BgnrBanjo online discussion boards, Pete’s own online forum (now defunct), and questions sent directly to Pete via email.

Enjoy perusing this information!

All Questions

Question #	Topic	Category
#001	Practice Habits	Banjo - General
#002	Playing in Different Keys	Intermediate Banjo
#003	Sound Checks at Gigs	Band Questions
#004	Tonal Evenness	Intermediate Banjo
#005	Jamming Questions	Jamming
#006	Phase Shifted Banjo	Banjo - General
#007	Electric Banjo	Intermediate Banjo
#008	Easy Solos and Tabs	Basic Banjo
#009	Thumbpick Hits Head	Banjo - General
#010	Getting Started, and Playing Non-Bluegrass Music on Banjo	Basic Banjo
#011	Reading Tabs	Basic Banjo
#012	Planting One or Two Fingers on Head	For Teachers
#013	Picking Smoothly at Fast Speed	Intermediate Banjo
#014	Ruthie	Intermediate Banjo
#015	Hot Rize	Banjo - General
#016	Beginning Videos	Basic Banjo
#017	Teaching Beginners	Basic Banjo
#018	Playing with Picks, and Playing with Your Spouse	Banjo - General
#019	On Banjo Sound	Banjo - General
#020	Playing While Singing	Banjo - General
#021	Chord Theory for Beginners	Basic Banjo
#022	Novice Questions	Basic Banjo
#023	Learning Licks	Banjo - General
#024	Playing Not-Typically Bluegrass Music	Banjo - General
#025	What Makes It Bluegrass?	Banjo - General
#026	Flying with Your Banjo	Banjo - General
#027	Physical Limitations and Playing Speed	Banjo - General
#028	5th String Capo vs. Spike	Banjo - General
#029	Finding and Using a Phase Shifter	Intermediate Banjo
#030	Beginner’s Video, or Bluegrass Banjo Book?	Basic Banjo
#031	Banjo Contests	Intermediate Banjo
#032	Anchoring 1 or 2 Fingers	For Teachers
#033	Hand Cramping	Banjo - General
#034	When to Change Strings	Banjo - General
#035	Better Soloing and Playing Up the Neck	Intermediate Banjo
#036	More about Contests	Intermediate Banjo
#037	Radiused Fingerboards	Banjo - General
#038	Jam Etiquette re Percussion/Loud Players	Jamming
#039	Finding Chords and Melodies	Banjo - General
#040	Practice and “Noodling”	Banjo - General
#041	Crowd Control at the Jam	Jamming
#042	Middle Finger Control	Banjo - General
#043	Should Lefties Pick Righty?	Banjo - General
#044	Playing When Sick	Banjo - General
#045	What Next after “Get Rolling”?	Basic Banjo
#046	Feedback When Playing with Loud Bands	Band Questions
#047	Getting Crisper Tone	Banjo - General
#048	Hearing Chord Changes	For Teachers
#049	Playing in F	Banjo - General
#050	Basic D Chord	Basic Banjo
#051	Crisper Tone	Banjo - General
#052	Playing While Singing	Banjo - General
#053	Haywagon Gig	Intermediate Banjo
#054	Bending Picks	Banjo - General
#055	Bounce or Machine-Gun Spacing of Notes	Banjo - General
#056	Beginning Advice	Basic Banjo
#057	How to Get in a Good Band	Intermediate Banjo
#058	Pick Noise	Intermediate Banjo
#059	Thumbpick Material	Banjo - General
#060	Teaching Basic Timing	For Teachers
#061	Not Learning from Memorization	Basic Banjo
#062	Picking Harder	Banjo - General
#063	Banjo Jammer Critique	Jamming
#064	Words of Wisdom from Past Jam Campers	Jamming
#065	When to Avoid the 5th String	Banjo - General
#066	Mutes	Banjo - General
#067	Making and Sharing Amateur Recordings	Other
#068	NO Bluegrass Near Me	Jamming
#069	Dealing with Too-Advanced Jams	Basic Banjo
#070	Pick Noise	Banjo - General
#071	The 2-3 Slide	For Teachers
#072	The Key to Learning Backup	For Teachers
#073	The Banjo was Too #$&#* Loud	Jamming
#074	I Can’t Sing	Jamming
#075	Memorized Songs vs. “Real Playing”	For Teachers
#076	Remembering New Chord Progressions While Jamming	Jamming
#077	Banjo Angst	Intermediate Banjo
#078	Motivating Beginning Banjo Students	Basic Banjo
#079	Restringing	Banjo - General
#080	Practice Direction and Focus for Intermediate and Advanced Players	For Teachers
#081	Jimmy Martin CDs	Other
#082	Hearing Your Banjo in a Crowd	Banjo - General
#083	Hand Position Question	Banjo - General
#084	Is Fingerpicking Guitar OK to Use in Bluegrass	Jamming
#085	Electronic Tuner Product Review: the New Korg AW-1	Banjo - General
#086	Mics for Banjos	Intermediate Banjo
#087	Listening Ear Skills	For Teachers
#088	Playing in D Using G Tuning	Intermediate Banjo
#089	Banjo in Non-Bluegrass Contexts	Banjo - General
#090	Band Arrangements: Predictable vs. Unplanned	Intermediate Banjo
#091	Vamping	Basic Banjo
#092	Armadillo Breakdown – the REAL STORY	Other
#093	Starting a Festival	Other
#094	Starting Banjo with a Big Head Start on Guitar	Basic Banjo
#095	Thumbpick Catches	Banjo - General
#096	Banjo Picker Taking Up Dixieland Banjo	Banjo - General
#097	Rules of Jamming	Jamming
#098	Teenage Bluegrass Band Plans	Band Questions
#099	Improvising Movable Licks	Advanced Banjo
#100	Clip-On Mic and Amp for Stage	Advanced Banjo
#101	Career as a Banjo Player	Advanced Banjo
#102	Memorization Tips	Banjo - General
#103	A 6 String Banjo	Banjo - General
#104	Frailing and Bluegrass	Basic Banjo
#105	Changing Chords More Quickly	For Teachers
#106	Compensated Bridges	Banjo - General
#107	Best Use of Practice Time	For Teachers
#108	Banjo Pickups?	Advanced Banjo
#109	Day Jobs Tangential to Music	Other
#110	Multi-Instrumentalism vs. Mastery	Banjo - General
#111	Choices in Banjo Backup	Banjo - General
#112	Recording to a Click Track	Advanced Banjo
#113	Playing Along with a Jamming Video	Jamming
#114	Waldo Otto	Other
#115	Asking for Tablature	Basic Banjo
#116	How Important is It to Know Songs	Basic Banjo
#117	Why the Emphasis on the Key of G?	Banjo - General
#118	Thumbpick Hits Wrong String	Banjo - General
#119	Tightening the Banjo Head	Banjo - General
#120	Advanced Camp Assignment	Advanced Banjo
#121	Music Reading in Bluegrass	Banjo - General
#122	Rolling with the Slow Jamming Video	Basic Banjo
#123	Blending Melody Notes into Rolls	For Teachers
#124	Tuning on Colleen Malone and Nellie Kane	Intermediate Banjo
#125	Harmonica in Bluegrass	Intermediate Banjo
#126	Best Mic for a Banjo	Advanced Banjo
#127	Tab for Breaks on Videos	Basic Banjo
#128	Which Jamming Video Should I get?	For Teachers
#129	Tricky Roll Choice	Advanced Banjo
#130	String Buzz	Banjo - General
#131	Wedding Gigs	Advanced Banjo
#132	Acquiring Syncopation	Advanced Banjo
#133	Controlling Flying Finger	Intermediate Banjo
#134	Hearing Chord Changes	Intermediate Banjo
#135	Tailpieces	Intermediate Banjo
#136	Is the Banjo Hard To Learn?	Basic Banjo
#137	Guitar Player Learning Banjo	For Teachers
#138	Amount Of Practice Time	Basic Banjo
#139	Best Tone Ring and the Prewar Sound	Banjo - General
#140	Direction for a 9 Year Old Mando Player	Intermediate Banjo
#141	Learning Banjo Without Lessons	Basic Banjo
#142	Finger Disability Problems	Banjo - General
#143	Is Masters of the 5-String Banjo Worth $60?	Banjo - General
#144	Reorienting a Teacher	Banjo - General
#145	Better Band Rhythm	Band Questions
#146	Paying for Song Use	Other
#147	Masters of the Five String #2	Banjo - General
#148	Right Hand Control	Banjo - General
#149	Grace in Choosing Band Members	Band Questions
#150	How to Let Go	Jamming
#151	More on the Elban, and Playing Electric Banjo	Advanced Banjo
#152	Which Version of Stoney Creek?	Jamming
#153	Developing the Groove	Banjo - General
#154	Learning from Records without Tablature	Banjo - General
#155	Clearer Bar Chords	Banjo - General
#156	Breaking Out of the Intermediate Rut, and Learning to Play in D	Advanced Banjo
#157	Finding and Working In Melody Notes	Basic Banjo
#158	Start with Banjo Camp or Jam Camp?	Basic Banjo
#159	Can’t Use Right Arm	Other
#160	Portable Banjo Amp	Intermediate Banjo
#161	Bluegrass Vocal Harmony	Jamming
#162	Banjo Choice	Banjo - General
#163	Faking Solos on Guitar	Jamming
#164	Choices in Recording Banjo	Intermediate Banjo
#165	Learning to Improvise Breaks	Jamming
#166	Getting in a Good Band	Band Questions
#167	The Year of Good Tone	Banjo - General
#168	String Gauge Choice	Banjo - General
#169	Jam Etiquette re Breaks	Jamming
#170	Best Jamming Keys	Jamming
#171	Guitar-Banjo and Left-Handed Issues	Banjo - General
#172	Songs for First Gigs	Intermediate Banjo
#173	Best Basic D Chord	Basic Banjo
#174	Ambitious Players Preparation Strategy	Advanced Banjo
#175	Singing While Playing Banjo	Banjo - General
#176	How to Start Banjo	Basic Banjo
#177	Metronome for Beginners?	Banjo - General
#178	Not Clutching at Jams	Jamming
#179	Tuning Problem with D Tuning	Banjo - General
#180	Hot Rize Voting System	Band Questions
#181	Flight Cases and Packing a Banjo for Air Travel	Banjo - General
#182	Favorite Moments from Hot Rize Tour	Other

Ask Dr. Banjo

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