After 510 hours of Banjo - How Long Is This Going to Take?

We broke 500 hours! We are a quarter of the way there. In today's video I do some housekeeping and go over the significance of this milestone. Oh, and I got "Wayfaring Stranger" down! I talk way more than I play in this episode.
Kill Bill "Wiggle Your Big Toe"
• Wiggle Your Big Toe
Mike Hedding- "Wayfaring Stranger"
• Wayfaring Stranger | I...
My instructor:
Mike Leatherman
www.morganhillmusiclessons.com/

[@archstanton3763]

That’s dedication your putting into your instrument , fantastic to see and hear.

[@mackplaysbanjo]

Congratulations on making it 500 hours!! That’s a massive accomplishment

[@2000HoursofBanjo]

Thanks, Mack. I appreciate all your support.

[@hellodomo8003]

Congrats on 500 hours! That's some dedication that a lot of folks don't have.
Figuring out the most efficient way to practice is such huge progress and a major step forward, so good for you! I too play so much better when I warm up with older songs first and then try to tackle the new song I'm learning. I've started getting a little bored with my practice sessions, playing the same old songs over and over again, so I just recently started practicing a little differently...one day I will play all the old songs but I'll focus mainly on increasing the speed. The next day, I'll play the same old songs, but I'll focus more on not accidentally muting the strings with my fretting hand. Some days I focus on increasing the volume (I play quietly). This technique keeps practicing a lot more interesting for me, and I get less frustrated because I'm trying to perfect ONE thing and not ten at once, lol.
Congrats again, I'm glad to be part of your journey and it's awesome watching you become an amazing banjo player.
By the way, that little extra half hour of practice each day makes a huge difference, wow!

[@2000HoursofBanjo]

@@hellodomo8003 thanks for the thoughtful comment. I think practice structure is a very underrated topic. I don’t see a lot of people talking about it. I would like to do a video on “how many times you need to learn a song” - sitting, standing, slow, fast, good lighting, poor lighting, in full sun, in the shade, hot, cold, you get the picture. The environment poses a big challenge even when you know the song. I hope you stick with the channel all the way to 2000 hours and beyond!!

[@brucesargeant6589]

Hey Mark, you are doing great. I've been on this road for 10 years! For me, the best thing was to start playing with other people. I realized that playing your break is only 10% of what you might do in jam. Backup is so important and once you learn all the parts of a bunch of songs you can mix and match to build up solos on the fly. Keep it up!

[@2000HoursofBanjo]

Thanks for the encouragement. I will work on my backup skills. I look forward to joining my first jam session. Trust me, you will all hear about it when that happens.

[@stvnnmnn]

If I played an hour and a half a day, my family would murder me in my sleep, haha! Grats on your progress so far!

[@2000HoursofBanjo]

@@stvnnmnn Thanks, Steven. And thanks for being part of the channel.

[@BedfordLevelExperiment]

Congrats! It's definitely good to practice on different instruments when possible. It helps your technique be more adaptable and flexible and less rigid.

[@dannyburke4155]

Thanks Mark for sharing these videos with us, always looking forward to the next video, your doing great, keep it up, I'm at 150 hours and loving it. Thanks again!

[@2000HoursofBanjo]

Thanks, Danny. I'm glad you like the videos. Are you learning banjo, too, or another instrument?

[@dannyburke4155]

@2000HoursofBanjo banjo, I practice at least an hour a day and take lessons once a week, I'm improving week by week with timing, tone and accuracy.

[@2000HoursofBanjo]

@@dannyburke4155 What you are doing has been working for me. too. We are on the right track to make progress.

[@klsecond5755]

is that a Claw hammer or bluegrass? been considering a Banjo as my first string instrument.

[@2000HoursofBanjo]

This is 3-finger style (aka, Scrugg's style) bluegrass. But I am doing it on an open back banjo, which is traditionally used for clawhammer. I picked an open back banjo because they are cheaper than resonator banjos. Check this video out for clawhammer...czcams.com/video/1vu9smEBh2c/video.html

[@stvnnmnn]

If you buy a resonator banjo for playing Scruggs style, you can remove the resonator (the back) and have an open back banjo for playing clawhammer style. That's what I do.

[@2000HoursofBanjo]

@@stvnnmnn great advice! I never thought of that. It’s basically two banjos in one.