So I've been playing bass for roughy 4 years or so. I recently went to the music store to get some strings and while i was there i saw some banjos and just thought it would be amusing to pick up a 2nd stringed instrument and i am really thinking about buying one. Plus lately I've been listening to a lot of bluegrass and i really enjoy it. So does anybody happen to know if banjo is easy to pick up on from a bass? or would another instrument be better suited? (preferably a folk instrument) I dont know a whole lot about chords, just a little bit, but i do know stuff about intervals and other music theory. So does anybody have advice about banjo in general such as technique differences compared to bass?
IMO it's bad TB form to bump a thread more than once every 24 hours.
That said, I bought a cheap($60)5-string banjo several years ago & after a fairly good effort on my part concluded that the banjo is a very strange instrument. The tuning, coupled w/that weird shorter-scale C-string where a B or E would be on a bass is just confusing. I did transfer the one little exercise I learned from the Scruggs book over to bass-plucking: T-I-M-T-I-M-T-M-T-I-M-T-I-M-T-M(T=thumb, I=index finger, M=middle)in a steady, rolling/circular motion. Another huge stumbling block for me is the string spacing, which also makes guitar tricky for me. I have even glued up a couple of neck blanks for a large-handed redneck friend who also can't put his stubbly sausage-like fingers where they need to be on these things; we want to build or own, w/nice wide spacing.
I play bass and banjo, bass for about 10 years and banjo just since last year.
Once you get used to the neck being very small (as said above), I wouldn't say its hard, as long as you don't start off too far ahead of yourself by trying to learn fast stuff. I use mine in G tuning and the chords a quite easy.
Strictly my experience: It did NOT come easily to me, which is not to say it ever did come to me at all. OTOH, it is a soothing, wind-chimes type of sound that is quite relaxing to play & hear. My kids loved it.
so another thing i forgot to mention in my 1st post.. Is it very complicated to teach yourself banjo? because i highly doubt i could find a teacher.
Yes, I taught myself...I'm not very good but I did it myself! I started off with chords, which I would recommend, then find something you would like to play
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OTOH, it is a soothing, wind-chimes type of sound that is quite relaxing to play & hear. My kids loved it.
