Yesterday, I came across an online community of people who enjoy singing traditional songs and accompanying themselves on banjo with a simple pattern they had learned from an online source and a few self-published books. An hour later, trying to track down the materials they had used to get started,…
Every banjo is worth more in many ways than what it will probably sell for if you put it on the market. It may help you remember a cherished family member long gone. It may give a youngster a chance to learn skills and musical principles that will last a…
Mitchell “Mickey” Cochran loved traditional acoustic music. So much so that when he left a successful career as a graphic artist and web programmer, he started his own online music store, complete with free online lessons for many instruments, including 5-string banjo, mandolin, and Appalachian dulcimer. Years ago, I archived…
What’s in a Name? Sometimes shaming and resentment. This includes the name “banjitar,” which certain musicians have used to stress that 6-string banjo players aren’t real banjo players, but rather guitar players who want to play banjo without learning anything. The name needs to be retired. For one thing, the…
This is an account of two well-used student tenor banjos I recently adopted for a demonstration, plus an account of how I put them to use in a workshop at a local festival. It’s provided here as a background to anyone considering a similar experiment with 4-strings, and for your…
If you’ve visited my Folk- and Acoustic-focused web page CreekDontRise.com, you probably know that I have a lot of resources for helping people choose the most appropriate banjo for them. On August 13, I’m scheduled to do a short workshop on that topic at a local Folk, Acoustic, and Indie…
I don’t need a travel guitar to sit around campfires or to take white water rafting, only to keep in practice when I’m away from home. I have recently adopted a reworked cheap 6-string banjo as my current “travel guitar,” because – in spite of drawbacks that include a Harmony-style…
I now have more banjos that I can possibly justify, except by selling off a couple. The most recent addition is a Goodtime Artisan, chosen for all the wonderful playability and quality it shares with my bass-line Goodtime, and also because of upgrades, including a more traditional finish, planetary tuners,…
Just listed a barely-used Martin Backpacker with case & strap for $185 on Craig’s list. Almost immediately I got a response demanding I sell him my guitar for $100 because “that’s what they cost on eBay,” complete with a link to a listing that had an “initial bid” amount of…
The banjo is the iconic American instrument, critical to the early development of most forms of American popular music, including “Tin Pan Alley,” Jazz, and Bluegrass. Yet, cultural shifts starting in the late 1960s somehow caused banjo to be, not only neglected by most popular musicians, but derided (especially by…
