After 646 Hours of Banjo - When to Start Learning a New Song (and many other topics)

Lots of catching up for lost time in this video. Easily one of my longest videos. We cover - when to move onto another song, right hand position, vamping, how to handle tricky techniques, and finish with commenting on your comments.
Thanks for tuning in!
My instructor:
Mike Leatherman
www.morganhill...
Mike Hedding backup "Wagon Wheel"
• 10 Ways To Play Backup...
Eli Gilbert "30 Days of Banjo"
/ @eligilbertbanjo
Eddie Collins "Eastbound and Down"
• Eastbound and Down-Ban...

[@nicksteffa5584]

What a gem of a channel to find

[@independentmind1977]

You’re sounding really good! Keep it up. I learned from Eli Gilbert as well with the 30 day program.

[@Dphoto45]

Your'e sounding so nice. It's clean. How many songs are in your repertoire?

[@markburry9989]

Thanks! I have about 9 songs in my rotation at this point. Boil them cabbage down, Cripple creek, Cumberland gap, Will the circle be unbroken, Wagon wheel, Man of constant sorrow, Foggy mountain breakdown, Wayfaring stranger, Eastbound and down, and Gentle on my mind.

[@Dphoto45]

@@markburry9989 Gentle on my mind, seems like it'd be fun. different. Actually Wayfaring stranger also seems like a good one.

[@Archie3D]

Great progress! I was not able to ingest Eli's arrangement of Will the circle be unbroken - just could not hear the melody behind, even when he plays it fast, so I learned it mechanically and moved on, but at least it has a good set of useful licks. BTW, you are doing 3-2 pull-offs with your ring and middle fingers, is this how your instructor advises you to do? I tend to use my middle and index fingers for those. Perhaps, it does not really matter after all if it sounds right :)

[@2000HoursofBanjo]

@@Archie3D Good catch. Yes, I use different fingers for the 3-2 pull off. According to my instructor, albeit harder to learn, it will build dexterity of the ring finger and it will increase economy of movement making faster playing easier (since I don’t have to shift my hand up the neck to use the index and middle fingers).

[@independentmind1977]

@@2000HoursofBanjogotta try that!

[@Archie3D]

@@markburry9989 Thanks, did not know about Strum Machine (I use iReal Pro for backing), may give it a try. The problem I had is that accentuated melody notes in Eli's arrangement seem to be in "wrong places". It sounds alright since they follow the right chords, but I find other arrangements make more sense to me (perhaps I've internalized the tune in a certain way that it's hard for me to hear it differently).