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This will be my last post because this is the last week of my genius hour project. For my last lesson during my project my dad and I reviewed and fine tuned everything I have learned so far. Since it's the last week of my project, I have been thinking about my presentation a lot. I asked my dad if he would be interested in coming into class to play Dueling Banjos with me. He said he would think about it. I think I'll be able to convince him to come and play with me. After my dad and I reviewed, we started to figure out an easy ending to Dueling Banjos. After we play everything I have learned twice, my dad and I will start to play at the same time but different things. I will strum while he plays cords behind me. My part goes like this: strum a C cord for two four counts, strum a G for two four counts, strum a D for two four counts, strum a G for two four counts, do all of this four times, then strum a G for one four count, a D for one four count, and end with one open G. Over the next couple of weeks I will be practicing a lot in preparation for my performance in front of the class for my final presentation. Over the last twelve weeks I have learned a lot. I didn't know what all my dad would teach me when we started this process but I feel I have made a lot of progress. I definitely didn't think I would be playing Dueling Banjos by the end of the project and when my dad said we were going to start learning that song I thought he was crazy. My dad did a really good job teaching me and being patient with me while going through this project and teaching me how to play the banjo. I've really enjoyed learning how to play from my dad and learning to play the banjo is something that I would like to continue to do. I might not be able to do a lesson every week but I would enjoy having a lesson every now and then to continue learning how to play the banjo.
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This weeks' lesson was very laid back and easy. At the beginning of the lesson I practiced Dueling Banjos A LOT. I'm still trying to get my timing down on the song so it sounds right for my presentation. Since I only have one more lesson left, I have been thinking about what I am going to do for my presentation a lot lately. I thought at the beginning of the project I would put a bunch of videos on a slideshow to show my progress. After thinking about this for a while I decided that would be boring. For my presentation I think I am going to try to get my dad to come into class and play Dueling Banjos with me since the song sounds better with two people playing back and forth instead of playing by myself. I am still trying to talk my dad into coming into class but I think I can get him to. After I practiced Dueling Banjos my dad made me go back to Cripple Creek to see if I remembered all of it. After I started playing, I remembered most of it and when I messed up I was quick to recognize what I did wrong and what I forgot to do. After I was done practicing my dad taught me Shaving A Haircut Two Bits. I know that sounds a little weird but once you hear it I'm sure you'll know what it is. Shaving A Haircut Two Bits is an ending that is very common in many songs and is very easy to do. This is how it goes: note the fourth string in the fifth fret, play the fourth string open twice, note the fourth string in the second fret, play the fourth string open once, note the fourth string in the fourth fret, and then note the fourth string in the fifth fret. My dad and I continued to work on the song Dueling Banjos this week but it was more difficult this week than it has been over the last couple weeks. The way my dad plays this part of the song and was trying to teach me how to play it is by fretting a cord. Fretting is where you hold down all the strings of one fret. We found out very quickly that I wasn't going to be able to do that because I couldn't stretch my fingers as far as I needed to be able to play this part of the song. My dad had to play around with the strings and found a few different ways I could play the new part of the song. He finally found a way that I could play this part of the song easier and it still sound right. The new part of the song that I learned goes with the same beat as the part before it but you play it with different strings to make the pitch different. The first part that I learned goes like this: note the second string in the fifth fret three times with a beat, slide to the seventh fret and note the second string there, move down to the third string in the fifth fret and note the third string, slide to the sixth fret and note the third string, slide to the eighth fret and note the third string, slide back to the sixth fret and note the third string, and go back to the fifth fret and note the third string. The next part of the song goes in the same beat but a higher pitch. For the next part you start in the seventh fret and note the second string three times in the same beat, move up to ninth fret and note the second string, move down to the third string in the seventh fret and note the third string, note the third string in the eighth fret, note the third string in the tenth fret, move back to the eighth fret and note the third string, and then note the third string in the seventh fret. Once I figured out the order of everything and how many frets to move up it was a lot simpler than I thought it would be at the beginning of my lesson. Here is what the two new parts that I learned this week sound like together. The second video is of my dad and me playing everything I have learned so far together. This week I continued on working to learn the song Dueling Banjos. We're still in the process of learning the slow part of the song at the beginning. I learned a big chunk of the song this week and the lesson was a lot easier because my dad and I cooperated a lot better and were more patient with each other this week. The first part of the song I learned this week goes like this: pluck the first string open, pluck the second string open two times, note the second string in the second fret, pluck the third string open, pluck the second string open, pluck the third string open, and then note the second string in the second fret. I practiced this part for a while and then my dad and I played everything I had learned so far together. Then he taught me another part. The next part went like this: pluck the second string open three times but you have to pluck them to a certain beat, note the second string, pluck the third string open, note the third string in the first fret, note the third string in the third fret, note the third string in the first fret again, and then pluck the third string open. This is what the two parts I learned this week sound like together. Just like last week, my dad and I played the song together and recorded it. Since I have learned many parts to this song I was afraid I would get them mixed up and kept overthinking when we were playing the song together from the beginning. I finally got all of the parts figured out and I surprised myself that I could remember all of the parts I had learned. Here's the video of me and my dad putting everything I have learned so far together and playing it. You can tell near the end of the video that I froze up and forgot what came next for a second but I quickly remembered. This week my dad started teaching how to play the song Dueling Banjos. The first part, the part I learned how to play this week, is slow so it wasn't too bad to learn. Just like when I was learning how to play Cripple Creek a few weeks ago my dad broke the song up into parts. The first half of the first part of the song I was learning that week was really easy. All I had to do was strum all of the strings with my thumb, come back up the strings, go back down again and then play a C cord while strumming down once and then strum down one more time with my left hand was open. You do this part two times. The last half of the part of the song I learned this week was more complicated. My dad was really confusing me and we were both kind of tired which made this week's lesson 10x harder because neither one of us had a lot of patience. My dad finally figured out how to teach it to me and we had to take it slow. This half of the song goes like this: you pluck the third string open, put your pointer finger on the third string in the first fret and pluck the third string (this is called noting), pluck the fourth string open, pluck the third string open, note the third string again, then you note the second string by putting your middle finger on the second string in the second fret while plucking the second string, pluck the third string open, pluck the second string open, and then note the second string again. Once both parts of the first part of the song are put together it sounds like this. Dueling Banjos can be played by yourself or it can be played with another person like it was originally meant to be played. This week me and my dad played Dueling Banjos together and recorded it so I could put it on my blog. In the video you can definitely hear the difference between how long each of us have been playing. Also, sorry about the video quality, my brother was recording it. This week I didn't learn anything new. My dad wanted me to practice Cripple Creek and to work on my timing. Last week was the first week I had learned all of the parts and put the two parts together so this week my dad wanted me to take my time to make sure I had gotten the timing down. My dad also said that if he was going to teach me another song that I had to practice a lot on my timing because it is a very vital part of being able to play the banjo. As the lesson got started my dad just wanted me to practice playing Cripple Creek a couple of times to make sure I could recall all of the parts and which order everything goes in. After I had practiced the song a couple of times dad stopped me. He said that as I started to play the song again he didn't want me to look at my right hand, the hand that plucks all of the strings, to try and make my timing faster. He said I could look at my left hand, the hand that plays the cords and presses down the strings, all I wanted, I just could not look at what my right hand was doing. I started to freak out. I felt like I was already struggling enough. How did he expect me to get all the way through this song without looking at what my right hand was doing? I asked if I could look at my right hand while I was doing the slide with the reverse roll because I struggle the most with that part and he said yes. I started to play Cripple Creek without looking at my right hand, for the most part, and it went a lot smoother than I thought it would. I surprised myself with how much muscle memory I had taught my right hand when playing the banjo. I still didn't trust myself with the reverse roll because it is still a little challenging. I kept playing the song over and over and it started to sound good without me looking at my right hand. I could also definitely tell that my speed had increased a good amount since first putting the song together for the first time last week. I have shaved my time for playing Cripple Creek almost ten seconds. This week I learned the rest of Cripple Creek and played it all together for the first time. The second half of Cripple Creek is a lot shorter but it was harder to learn and practice. The first part of the second half of Cripple Creek you do a slide with a reverse roll three times. To do this specific slide you put your pointer or middle finger of the second string in the second fret and move it to the third fret on the same string while doing your reverse roll. This was the hardest part for me because doing the reverse roll by itself was challenging for me but having to add in the slide I was worried about two things. My dad gave me a few tips about how to make the slides sound better. I thought I had to drag the slide out through the reverse roll but my dad told me that I didn't have to do that. I also wasn't starting the slide in time. My dad told me that once I started the reverse roll to start the slide and that the slide doesn't have to be through the whole roll, it just has be during the beginning. Once I learned that part I started practicing the second part of the second half. That part was really easy. All I had to do was put my pointer finger on the first string in the second fret while plucking the first string, open all the cords and pluck the first string again, put my pointer finger on the first string in the fourth fret while plucking the first string, and then open all the cords while plucking the second string. Once I had learned the second half of Cripple Creek and had practiced it for a little while my dad said for me to start playing the whole song together. To play Cripple Creek correctly you have to play the first half two times in a row and then play the second half two times in a row. The first half is a lot smoother because I have had more time practicing it but the second half sounds a lot better than when I had started this lesson. During this week's lesson my dad taught me the first part of the song I am learning to play, Cripple Creek. This song uses all of the skills I have learned so far plus a couple of new ones. Before I could learn the first part of the song my dad had to teach my how to slide on a banjo. Sliding is one of the easiest things I have learned so far. All I had to do was put my pointer finger on my left hand on the fourth string in the second fret and move it to the fifth fret while I plucked the fourth string with my middle finger and the fifth string with my thumb (vamp). Once I practiced sliding a little bit my dad went on to teach me the rest of the first part of Cripple Creek. My dad broke the first part of the song into two parts for me. The first half of the first part of the song was fairly easy to learn. First I did the slide that I had just learned. Then while my finger is still on the fourth string in the fifth fret I had to do a vamp and then take all my fingers off the strings and pluck the third, fourth, and fifth strings all at the same time. Once I did that I had to pluck the third string without holding down any strings. I then go into a forward roll while playing a C cord. Lastly I pluck the fourth string and then the third string without holding down any strings. It sounds really confusing but it ends up sounding like this. In the video I replay the same part three times but in the actaual song I will only play it once. The last half of the first part of Cripple Creek was a lot more confusing than the first half. For the start of the second half I had to do a slide on the first string in the second fret and go to the third fret while doing a reverse roll. Then I put my pointer finger on the first string in the second fret and hold that down while I pick the first string once, then I pick the first string once again while not holding down any strings, I put my pointer finger on the first string in the fourth fret while picking the first string once, and lastly I pick the second string once without holding down any strings. This part was hard because it was difficult for me to go fast during all of the transitions. I finally got all of the cords down and in the right order and strung everything together. The video below is what each half of the first part of Cripple Creek sounds like together. I'm still a little slow on all of the transitions but I can hear myself making progress every time I play. This week was a little different because I performed in front of people for the first time. Before this week the only people I had played live in front of was my parents, my brother, my grandpa and his girlfriend. On Saturday I had my 16th Birthday party and a lot of people that were there knew about this project and me learning how to play the banjo. A lot of people kept asking me to play the banjo. I didn't want to at first but the same people kept asking me so I finally said I would play. I played Mary Had A Little Lamb with the forward roll that I learned last week since it was the only thing I knew how to play. I was a little nervous since I was playing in front of all my friends but I finished the song and it went a lot better than I thought it would. When me and my dad started this week's lesson he said he was going to start teaching me how to play another song. Before I could learn the new song I had to learn a new roll. The new roll was harder then the forward roll that I had learned last week. This roll is called a reverse roll. To do a reverse roll you put your thumb on the second string, your pointer finger on the third string, and your middle finger on the fourth string. You also use your thumb for the fifth and first string. Then you strum the second string with your thumb, the third string with your pointer finger, the fourth string with your middle finger, the fifth string with your thumb, and the first string with your thumb. Once I started practicing that my dad said we were going to add a vamp to the reverse roll. All you have to do for a vamp is put your thumb on the fifth string, your middle finger on the fourth string, and pluck them at the same time. I practiced that for a little while but my eyes started getting tired and my fingers weren't hitting the right strings. I started getting really frustrated so I put the banjo down and started to work on other homework. Later after I had rested a bit I came back and started practicing again. The break really helped and I was playing the reverse roll with the vamp a lot better. Then I started playing the reverse roll with cords. I tried playing Mary Had A Little Lamb but my transitions weren't going very well so I took another break. When I started practicing again after the second break I played Mary Had A Little Lamb and it sounded a lot better. I practiced that a bit and then I got my dad to record it. During the first ten minutes of this week's lesson me and my dad reviewed the three cords I had learned, open G, C, and D. Then I played Mary Had A Little Lamb a couple times to get warmed up and ready for what he was going to teach me that day. When I played Mary Had A Little Lamb this week it went a lot smoother than last week. My transitions were a little better and I was hitting the cords cleaner. Then my dad told me what he was going to teach me this week. My dad said this week I was going to learn how to do a roll on a banjo. Rolling is a different way to play cords on a banjo than just regular strumming. I learned how to do a forward roll this week. A forward roll is the easiest roll you can do on a banjo. To do a forward roll you put your ring finger and your pinky finger on the surface of the banjo. Then you put your index finger on the third string, your middle finger on the fourth string, and your thumb on the fifth string. Then you strum the third string first, the fourth string second, and the fifth string last. Since I have little hands I couldn't put my ring finger and my pinky finger on the surface so they're picked up a little so I could reach all of the strings. Once I learned how to roll I had to play Mary Had A Little Lamb with the roll. This was really challenging because my mind had to focus on multiple things. I had to press down hard on the right strings, make sure I was picking at the right strings in order so the roll sounded good, and keep up with how many times I had played the cord so I would know when to change to the next cord. When I switched to the next cord I would forget about the roll and my thumb would pick the fifth string before my middle finger had picked the fourth string. I started to get really frustrated that I kept making the same mistake over and over and that I couldn't get past the first set of C cords in Mary Had A Little Lamb. My dad said to just keep practicing and playing it and eventually I would get it. After I practiced it for a little while I finally finished playing Mary Had A Little Lamb with the roll! I practiced some more and every time I played it started to sound better and better. The last video I have is what me playing Mary Had A Little Lamb sounded like once I had practiced more and it was starting to sound better. It's still not perfect but with more practice it will sound better. |
AuthorCarley Green Archives
December 2017
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