Banjo Progress

I’ve been playing banjo off and on now for about 3 weeks and thought I’d share my progress here. This is a very slow version of cripple creek which, if you know the song should be played much faster. What do you expect for 3 weeks??!! I added a little guitar accompaniment along with egg shaker percussion to emphasize the beat/tempo.
For those interested, this was recorded using an MBox2 and ProTools LE with a Shure SM57 mic. I didn’t add any effects to the tracks at all, and had quite a bit of ambient noise in the room caused by computer, ceiling fan, and my dog chewing on a toy.

Excuse the size of this file – it’s about 3M and is 2 min long.

Let me know what you think so far.
I’ve got a couple other tunes I’ve been working on, and will post them later.

btw – that image is of Cripple Creek, Colorado circa 1890.

Goin’ down to Cripple Creek

Yes, I know it has been a while since I last posted here. Recently I’ve actually found Twitter to be a more convenient way to comment on my life online. Requires less time, and fits into my daily routines.
But I’ve recently embarked on a new musical journey that I thought I would share with you all. I’ve been playing music most of my life, starting with woodwinds like the clarinet and saxophone, and moving on to guitar. I’ve played everything from classical to jazz, funk, fusion, rock, and even a little folk. But I’ve never ventured into country or other American genres such as bluegrass, until now. I’m not exactly sure what inspired me, but I’ve had a desire to learn how to play banjo and last weekend I went out and acquired one to start learning. I love the casual nature of the music you play on it – you almost always associate the instrument with celebration and having a good time, and almost never with formality or pretentiousness. It’s an instrument that requires skill but relies on repetition of patterns and a keen sense of rhythm, both of which I felt were my musical strong suits.
So after a couple of days, what are my first impressions? I really love it. I love the sound and feeling of the instrument, and have already learned a couple of songs and am pouring through all the various styles to determine which direction to go in: bluegrass, Irish, etc? If you’re a guitar player it takes getting used to as the tuning is different and that 5th high G string can really throw you off. But so far I’m enjoying the challenge and will be taking some lessons at the local Blue Ridge Pickin’ Parlor soon.
So what did I buy? After extensive research and trying various models I settled on the Deering Goodtime 2 banjo. Not the bottom of the line, but you can spend a whole lot more. I don’t know anything about banjos, but so far I love the tone, response, and feel. I highly recommend for a beginner.

Don’t worry. I’ll be posting a recording or two of my learning to play soon.
Here’s pic of the banjo I bought.

And oh, by the way – apparently playing the banjo is like one of the most un-cool things a dad can do to his tween aged daughters. My oldest has no so subtly posted a sign on her bedroom door “NO Banjo Zone.”

Daughter Testing USB controller

Here is a short clip of my daughter testing the USB controller at home.

Audio Post Test

This is my first audio test post and is a short little lick intended to be something like an intro for a podcast. This was created using Reason.

As I record and create I’ll try to post files here, so please leave comments and let me know what you think.

Hannah Montana – Guitar Chords

Okay – quick disclaimer here. I, in fact, am not a fan of Hannah Montana, but rather my kids are. And as they are learning to play the guitar I am helping them learn how to play songs they like. The following are some chords of my own interpretation of one of Hannah’s (Mylie Cyrus) songs that my kids like.

Hannah Montana – If We Were a Movie

Hook, and Intro
E C#m A B G#m C#m A B

C#m B
Uh oh
A
There you go again talking cinematic
C#m B
Yeah you!
A
You’re charming, got everybody star struck.
C#m B
I know
A
How you always seem to go
F#m
For the obvious instead of me
B
But get a ticket and you’ll see

[Chorus:]
E C#m
If we were a movie
A B
You’d be the right guy
G#m C#m A B
And I’d be the best friend that you fall in love with
E C#m
In the end we’d be laughing
A B
Watching the sunset
G#m
Fade to black
C#m
Show the names
A
Play the happy song

C#m B
(Yeah)
C#m B
Yeah, yeah
A
When you call me
I can hear it in your voice
C#m B
Oh sure!
A
Wanna see me
And tell me all about her
C#m B
La la
A
I’ll be acting through my tears
Guess you’ll never know
F#m
That I should win
B
An Oscar for the scene I’m in

[Chorus]

B A
Wish I could tell you there’s a twist
E
Some kind of hero in disguise

And we’re together
B
It’s for real

Now playing
A C#m
Wish I could tell you there’s a kiss
F#m
Like something more than in my mind

I see it
B
Could be amazing (could be amazing)

[Chorus x3]