Ignore those Philistines who are unable to play the tenor banjo.
Gerry O'Connor has a video (Irish Tenor Banjo: Complete Techniques http://elderly.com/videos/items/224-DVD2.htm) out that gives the kinds of exercises you are looking for. Gerry has two DVDs out and I suggest you buy both of them and the MadFoTrad CD of his teachings too.
Mostly you want to learn scales until you can do them in your sleep and you want to learn to make a triplet without thinking so the music will flow. Ornaments and other ways of makeing the musiic more traditional will come out as you continue to listen to Irish music (and not always banjo, listen to all the music you can get your hands on. A good ratio of listening These and several other sources (including http://www.banjosessions.com) will help.
GO'C has several books, one with a CD, but the videos show a lot more.
Holding a low G chord with the left hand, and firmly grasping the tail-piece with your right, quickly bring up your right knee just where the neck meets the body.
I thought the bouzouki was what Irvine, Lunny, and Moynihan chose to play because the tenor banjo was too raucous.
Exercises; hold neck of banjo in RIGHT hand, behind back.
Hold Left hand forward, pointing towards skip.
Rotate right arm over head, letting go at appropriate point.
Oh, all right then, play the thing.
Barney McKenna was a virtuoso performer on it with The Dubliners in the 1960's - tenor banjo, I assume. Margaret Barry accompanied her songs on one (I don't know what kind) from some time before the '60's. Before these two, don't know.
Arppegios (1,3,5, and 8 note in the scale) in D and G major, they show up a lot in the music. Eventually you should work on other keys. Triplets and picking.
Margaret Barry also took her solos on dance tunes.
Once she offered to do a step dance (she was no longer of the optimum age and weight; luckily no one took her up on it.)
Her banjo was a five-string zither type, without the 5th string. I don't know how she tuned it. I believe her regular exercises consisted of continually hoisting large glasses of dark brown liquid. Seemed to work quite well.
Roger Landes has a plethora of exercises that he recommends for both Bouzouki and Tenor Banjo for both right and left hand. He has .doc files of the exercises, but he normally reserves those for his lesson and workshop students.
In general, I can tell you that the exercises are running different patterns with both the right and left hands. It's tedious work, but definitely useful. He also shows you some patterns to work on both front-side and back-side triplets in both reel and jig rhythms.
If you go to http://rogerlandes.com/instruction.html, you will see some of the stuff that he teaches, and you can contact him for more information. (While you're there, check out his instruments page... he has some cool stuff. Not all of his instruments are listed there, but there's some fun stuff shown there).
One of the Flanagan brothers (I think Michael) played banjo. That would certainly have been well before Barney McKenna. I read somewhere that he used the standard tenor tuning (as I believe Gerry O'Connor sometimes does).
The credit of recording the first Irish music on banjo goes to James Wheeler. With Edward Herborn accompanying him on the box, they made their first recordings in 1916 and 1917.
Excercises for Banjo
Excercises for Banjo
Anyone know any good technic excercises for the left/right hand for the tenor banjo?
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by tom_gee
Re: Excercises for Banjo
Go on, I dare someone.
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by curlew
Re: Excercises for Banjo
depends how much room you've got
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by llig leahcim
Re: Excercises for Banjo
Ignore those Philistines who are unable to play the tenor banjo.
Gerry O'Connor has a video (Irish Tenor Banjo: Complete Techniques http://elderly.com/videos/items/224-DVD2.htm) out that gives the kinds of exercises you are looking for. Gerry has two DVDs out and I suggest you buy both of them and the MadFoTrad CD of his teachings too.
Mostly you want to learn scales until you can do them in your sleep and you want to learn to make a triplet without thinking so the music will flow. Ornaments and other ways of makeing the musiic more traditional will come out as you continue to listen to Irish music (and not always banjo, listen to all the music you can get your hands on. A good ratio of listening These and several other sources (including http://www.banjosessions.com) will help.
GO'C has several books, one with a CD, but the videos show a lot more.
Mike Keyes
http://www.banjosessions.com
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by mikeyes
Re: Excercises for Banjo
I don't know what happened there, but my comment on listening to practice ratio is at least 3:1. And please excuse the spelling mistakes <G>
MIke Keyes
http://www.banjosessions.com
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by mikeyes
Re: Excercises for Banjo
This has worked well for me:
Holding a low G chord with the left hand, and firmly grasping the tail-piece with your right, quickly bring up your right knee just where the neck meets the body.
Repeat if necessary.
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by Steve Austin
Re: Excercises for Banjo
Thats a bit rich coming from the $6,000,000 man who could afford every clifford essex paragon on the planet
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: Excercises for Banjo
I guess thats what happened to you kido. Thats why they had to rebuild you!!
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by Newty
Re: Excercises for Banjo
tom_gee:
speaking as a Philistine who can play the tenor banjo I'd advise the following:
left hand: keep up your guard
right hand: poke in eye of next joker to use tenor banjo theme
Love and Peace
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by millionyears_bc
Re: Excercises for Banjo
I'm sorry. I was just SUCH a high lob at the net.
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by Steve Austin
Re: Excercises for Banjo
I thought the bouzouki was what Irvine, Lunny, and Moynihan chose to play because the tenor banjo was too raucous.
Exercises; hold neck of banjo in RIGHT hand, behind back.
Hold Left hand forward, pointing towards skip.
Rotate right arm over head, letting go at appropriate point.
Oh, all right then, play the thing.
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Excercises for Banjo
Seriously, does anyone know who was the first person to use the banjo in ITM ?
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Excercises for Banjo
Barney McKenna was a virtuoso performer on it with The Dubliners in the 1960's - tenor banjo, I assume. Margaret Barry accompanied her songs on one (I don't know what kind) from some time before the '60's. Before these two, don't know.
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by nicholas
Re: Excercises for Banjo
Arppegios (1,3,5, and 8 note in the scale) in D and G major, they show up a lot in the music. Eventually you should work on other keys. Triplets and picking.
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by Unseen122
Re: Excercises for Banjo
Margaret Barry also took her solos on dance tunes.
Once she offered to do a step dance (she was no longer of the optimum age and weight; luckily no one took her up on it.)
Her banjo was a five-string zither type, without the 5th string. I don't know how she tuned it. I believe her regular exercises consisted of continually hoisting large glasses of dark brown liquid. Seemed to work quite well.
# Posted on September 13th 2006 by oldstrings
Re: Excercises for Banjo
Did someone mention using a tenor banjo as an ICBM?
Perhaps I should have a lie down
# Posted on September 14th 2006 by millionyears_bc
Re: Excercises for Banjo
Roger Landes has a plethora of exercises that he recommends for both Bouzouki and Tenor Banjo for both right and left hand. He has .doc files of the exercises, but he normally reserves those for his lesson and workshop students.
In general, I can tell you that the exercises are running different patterns with both the right and left hands. It's tedious work, but definitely useful. He also shows you some patterns to work on both front-side and back-side triplets in both reel and jig rhythms.
If you go to http://rogerlandes.com/instruction.html, you will see some of the stuff that he teaches, and you can contact him for more information. (While you're there, check out his instruments page... he has some cool stuff. Not all of his instruments are listed there, but there's some fun stuff shown there).
Pete
# Posted on September 14th 2006 by Reverend
Re: Excercises for Banjo
One of the Flanagan brothers (I think Michael) played banjo. That would certainly have been well before Barney McKenna. I read somewhere that he used the standard tenor tuning (as I believe Gerry O'Connor sometimes does).
# Posted on September 15th 2006 by ampyjoe
Re: Excercises for Banjo
The credit of recording the first Irish music on banjo goes to James Wheeler. With Edward Herborn accompanying him on the box, they made their first recordings in 1916 and 1917.
John
# Posted on September 20th 2006 by thegreypicker