Andy Chase

I just spent about 45 minutes with my Gold Star banjo after at least a week or two of neglect. Not for want of practicing other instruments, though; there's guitar class to prepare for, and lately the SS-10 has been calling to me louder than the GF-85.

Most of that 45 minutes was spent working on exercises 1-6 in Pat Cloud's Key to 5-String Banjo. Last night's guitar class lit a bit of a fire under my ass to learn my instrument beyond memorizing how to play songs and move chord shapes around, so back to the book I went.

In the right mood, like tonight, repetetive practice of technical exercises feels good. It's neat to feel new patterns burning their way into your brain, and feeling like the muscle memory you're building up in your left and right hands will be useful in a more general way than when you focus on learning a single tune. I guess the trick is finding a way to get into this mood on a regular basis. Guitar class is winding down, and I hope to really refocus on banjo over the summer.

Tagged:

• banjo
• practice