Banjo- Week3

So week 3 of Banjo was a challenge, mainly because it was my fault. I had a hard time in class playing along with everyone. I was focused on trying to do three things, read the music, hit the right notes and strum clawhammer style...EEEK! I struggled, I struggled so bad. I was truly upset with myself and even though I know that Jonas is super supportive and positive about our attempts at this instrument I know that as an instructor he could tell who was playing and who wasn’t. Last week was just a super busy week for me and I really didn’t have the time to dedicate to practice as I normally do. I typically spend about an hour a day on the banjo and last week I gave it a whole hour and a half. It was awful. I know that normally we are our own worst critics, but man I felt really crappy in class and didn’t enjoy it as much as I normally do. So I have learned the lesson that in order for me to continue being so excited about class I really need to learn my material and practice! I have a third tune to learn this week in addition to "Groundhog"-the tune from last week. I have double the amount of work. I was very diligent and as soon as I got home I practiced my little heart out for more than two hours and I memorized the music to "Groundhog." I can play the melody pretty well, now I need to practice it clawhammer style. I also have to start working on “Boil them cabbage down”- the 3^rd song. This is one is a bit more challenging…but thankfully clawhammer style is over for us and we are moving onto a different style this Thursday. I have a couple of videos of me playing some of the songs I learned that I need to put up.

-A.