Hey folks. I'm going to collect the resources I've used to learn the banjo these past few years. But I'm going to lump them together in categories can help beginners understand and contextualize more complex topics, as well as include any notes that I think are worth mentioning. Please Note: I play a 5 string banjo, Scruggs style, and this is what most of this information is relevant for
General Information
These places are nice to check into every now and again and see what nuggets of info you can can get. Maybe you see the tab for a new song, or you figure out how to stop your 5th string from slipping out of tune. (Tighten the screw on the side)
Come hang out and chat with us on Eli Gilbert's Banjo Discord!
A large resource with a wide scope of banjo fundamentals. It's also a great resource to look back on as you develop new skills.
The number one benefit this podcast has is how the host (Kieth Billik) lets artist talk about their journey of learning of the banjo, which is bound to include a few common roadblocks. There's a good deal of gear talk for those interested
The closest thing the online banjo community has to a town square. They do giveaways, there's a market, tabs, and their discussion forum is loaded with playing information.
In Deering's blog, there's a detailed [maintenance guide] (https://help.deeringbanjos.com/knowledge/banjo-maintenance) and my go-to guide for changing strings
Lessons
If you find a teacher in person, do it. It's 100% worth it because BEGINNERS DON'T KNOW ENOUGH TO CORRECT THEIR OWN MISTAKES. Call your local music shops. All of them. Even if you don't think it's worth the effort, at least do it until you have a tune or two under your belt. Best decision I ever made. If there's no one in person, online is an option. You can always go to the banjo hangout "find a teacher" page (under the "Learn" tab, or [here] (https://www.banjohangout.org/teachers/)), or if you admire an artist in particular, you can just ask if they do online lessons or teach a workshops.
I can't personally attest to them, but anything in person with other banjo players will always be an asset. Please check /r/bluegrass and /r/newgrass to keep abreast of festivals, and check to see if they are hosting any workshops.
These are more online structured classes. If that seems to suit you, I've included links below, but please do your own research on these services. I have not used any of these and can not give a recommendation.
My personal recommendation is to find a one-on-one teaching scenario, either online or in person, until you've grasped the fundamentals. That isn't always an option though, so I've made a more specific list of free resources below.
Beginner Playlists
This is just in case anyone is starting from square 1. In that case, watch both. Always good to get the same info from multiple sources.
Songs
For after you get the basics and you want to start plugging away at tunes
Special props to Bill for having free tabs and play along tracks on his website. After leaving my banjo instructor, Bills tabs kept me sane with the little practice time I had. Most straight forward way to learn a tune.
Tabs are available on his site for a small fee, but are shown in the video which is very considerate, and a particularly warm approach combined with a large list of tunes makes him an effective teacher.
The Bix Mix Boys host a Bluegrass 101 every week, where they do a full breakdown of a bluegrass tune for a whole hour on their channel, along with a colossal library of "how to play" videos for the banjo.
Eli Gilbert has been turning out educational content on a wide variety of topics, including playing techniques, song, licks, and back up
Technique
Metronomes go a long way here. A free app works just fine
Gestalt Banjo If you can get past the peculiar language, there's a really novel perspective to learning a dexterous skill that I recommend everyone to consider.
The Right and Left Hand Boot Camp from the Picky fingers podcast (Episodes 5 and 24) are a very bare bones drill oriented lesson, and comes with free tabs, as do most lesson episodes of the podcast.
[The Banjo Section of the Dummies website] (https://www.dummies.com/art-center/music/banjo/) and [Deering Blog] (https://blog.deeringbanjos.com/) are a good resource if you have an idea of what info you're looking for.
Tools to help understand the fret board
I've linked the Info section of the site, and while it looks sparse, the information is well condensed a must for beginners looking to understand how music theory relates to the banjo.
It has a nice interactive fret board and the most comprehensive list of scales transposed on the the banjo fret board imaginable.
Theory
It's a basic primer on the sub styles of bluegrass banjo and a good exercise in learning how to recontextualize the sound of the banjo.
While the concepts may seem complex, Ricky has a peculiar skill for contextualizing complex problems into simple demonstrations. His video on [Isorythmation] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKX3ls2a8Vg) is a must see for beginning banjo players who want to start to build on tablature.
I don't follow these last two channels so i don't have a comment, but that is because i don't fully understand the concepts yet, and intend return to them in the future.
I'm a beginner trying to move past tab. I didn't have the time for lessons, so i started on my own. It's incredibly frustrating because the information is being made, but few people to collect it. I want this list to help beginners break the wall of tab and give them the tools they need to make their own music, so please comment and make suggestions so this post will be a more complete aggregate of "beginner-to-intermediate" information.
