Andy P
C.O.G. 
Posts: 5,055 
My main instrument is: Furch Vintage, Taylor 312ce, Deering 5string banjo
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Post by Andy P on Apr 6, 2018 15:33:00 GMT
It's established fact that learning to play a musical instrument increases blood flow to the brain, strengthens its executive function and improves multi-processing skills. My brain needs all the help it can get, so I recently decided to take up a new instru, two new instru, THREE new instruments, namely 5 string banjo, resonator guitar and the fiddle. There are countless tutorials on YouTube so I'm relying on an assortment of them, plus joining forums such as the excellent Reso Hangout. The banjo is coming along well and I want to thank Martin for lending me one of his fine instruments to get me started, plus Pete Seeger's instruction book. I will be making a suitable purchase very soon. I'm also making reasonable progress with the resonator, a B-stock square-neck Epiphone Dobro which I picked up for a good price. It's all about left-hand technique and I'm starting to get there. Jerry Douglas reckons that beginners on the dobro can make sounds so ear-manglingly discordant that they're comparable to a novice's screeches on the violin. He might revise that opinion if he were to hear my fiddle-playing, which I reckon I can thank for the fact that the neighbourhood cat has stopped crapping in our flower-bed. I thought it would be wise to have a few violin lessons to ensure I get the basics right. I've had one so far. It's tough. But I shall perservere. One thing I need more of is patience! |
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Post by littlemart on Apr 6, 2018 19:15:47 GMT
Yep - take a look at this guy: playing more than one instrument does all those things and more!!!   |
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Andy P
C.O.G.
Posts: 5,055
My main instrument is: Furch Vintage, Taylor 312ce, Deering 5string banjo
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Post by Andy P on Apr 6, 2018 19:29:53 GMT
Yep - take a look at this guy: playing more than one instrument does all those things and more!!! Smug git |
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ocarolan
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CURMUDGEONLY OLD GIT (leader - to join, just ask!)
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Post by ocarolan on Apr 6, 2018 21:31:14 GMT
I'm looking forward to hearing a multi-tracked banjo/reso/fiddle choon from you Andy!  Keith |
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Andy P
C.O.G.
Posts: 5,055
My main instrument is: Furch Vintage, Taylor 312ce, Deering 5string banjo
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Post by Andy P on Apr 7, 2018 8:38:55 GMT
Be careful what you wish for Keith  |
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Akquarius
Cheerfully Optimistic 
Posts: 2,543
My main instrument is: ... a guitar.
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Post by Akquarius on Apr 24, 2018 6:23:18 GMT
Andy, I have signed up to the OAIM for my new project. They also offer fiddle courses. Maybe this could be interesting for you. |
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Wild Violet
Artist / Performer
Posts: 3,642 
My main instrument is: Symonds OM-14
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Post by Wild Violet on Apr 24, 2018 9:04:33 GMT
I talked to a reso player this summer who said the picking patterns were pretty much the same as the rolls on a banjo so I reckon learning them both at the same time makes sense, learning skills on one will help the other. Or maybe that's a dobro rather than a reso. Maybe you need one of those, too  I'll be very interested to hear how you get on with the fiddle. It's something I have wanted to learn for a long time now but memories of screeching violins in the primary school orchestra have put me off a bit. I also have a fear of instruments without frets/fret markers. Will you be playing bluegrass music? |
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Post by littlemart on Apr 25, 2018 9:23:37 GMT
Andy, I have signed up to the OAIM for my new project. They also offer fiddle courses. Maybe this could be interesting for you. Hmm - I've come across them. Can you let us know how you get on - I was thinking about their Irish Bouzouki course. |
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Akquarius
Cheerfully Optimistic
Posts: 2,543
My main instrument is: ... a guitar.
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Post by Akquarius on Apr 25, 2018 17:52:09 GMT
Andy, I have signed up to the OAIM for my new project. They also offer fiddle courses. Maybe this could be interesting for you. Hmm - I've come across them. Can you let us know how you get on - I was thinking about their Irish Bouzouki course. maybe I should do a blog  |
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Andy P
C.O.G.
Posts: 5,055
My main instrument is: Furch Vintage, Taylor 312ce, Deering 5string banjo
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Post by Andy P on May 1, 2018 11:25:42 GMT
Andy, I have signed up to the OAIM for my new project. They also offer fiddle courses. Maybe this could be interesting for you. Thanks Bernd! OAIM is a great venture. I worked through Niamh Dunne's basic fiddle tutorials a while ago and they helped me get started. I've also had a couple of lessons with a local violin teacher, just to make sure I'm doing the basics right. I know what to do, I now just need to spend hours practising. I'm heavily involved in wildlife and we're now entering my busy time of year, so I'm not expecting to make much progress over the next few months! |
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Andy P
C.O.G.
Posts: 5,055
My main instrument is: Furch Vintage, Taylor 312ce, Deering 5string banjo
Mini-Profile Background: {"image":"","color":"8e2be1"}
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Post by Andy P on May 1, 2018 11:36:52 GMT
I talked to a reso player this summer who said the picking patterns were pretty much the same as the rolls on a banjo so I reckon learning them both at the same time makes sense, learning skills on one will help the other. Or maybe that's a dobro rather than a reso. Maybe you need one of those, too I'll be very interested to hear how you get on with the fiddle. It's something I have wanted to learn for a long time now but memories of screeching violins in the primary school orchestra have put me off a bit. I also have a fear of instruments without frets/fret markers. Will you be playing bluegrass music? I reckon your reso player is right there, Lynn. I don't think there's a difference between a reso and a dobro. The latter is just a brand. It's interesting that, being a guitarist, the hard part of learning a 5-string banjo is the right hand. I find the timing of plucking the G-string with the thumb counter-intuitive. With the dobro (having it resting on your lap and playing it with a steel as I am), the tricky bit is achieving a nice clean sound with the left hand, i.e. using the steel without clashing the strings. The violin is just really difficult for both hands! Country/bluegrass music is my chosen field if I ever get the hang of it, although if I could knock out a few Scottish and Irish jigs, reels, strathspeys, or whatever, I'd be well pleased. |
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Wild Violet
Artist / Performer
Posts: 3,642
My main instrument is: Symonds OM-14
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Post by Wild Violet on May 1, 2018 18:12:59 GMT
The 5th string on the banjo was awkward for me too, especially when I was looking at my left hand chord shapes but not really registering that the 5th string didn't start until much further up the neck.
Now I have a hankering to learn the fiddle. I wonder which model is similar to a Tanglewood guitar - cheap but decent quality/set-up...?
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Andy P
C.O.G.
Posts: 5,055
My main instrument is: Furch Vintage, Taylor 312ce, Deering 5string banjo
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Mini-Profile Name Color: 060607
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Post by Andy P on May 1, 2018 20:18:37 GMT
I really don't know anything about fiddles. Luckily mine has been in the family all my life. I spent £70 on having it set up, a new tailpiece and new strings and it's probably worth about £300-£500. It's also been recommended that I spend at the very least £150 on a new bow, but that will have to wait!
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Wild Violet
Artist / Performer
Posts: 3,642
My main instrument is: Symonds OM-14
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Post by Wild Violet on May 1, 2018 21:52:44 GMT
The fiddler in the band told me the other night that she paid £17 to buy one new string, which made my complaint about the price of guitar strings seem a bit petty.
It sounds like quite a piece of luck that you already had a good fiddle in the family! My nephew is a first-class fiddler in Canada, it just occurred to me that I could have him look out for a decent but cheap fiddle over there and bring it back with me in July.
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Akquarius
Cheerfully Optimistic
Posts: 2,543
My main instrument is: ... a guitar.
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Post by Akquarius on May 2, 2018 17:19:22 GMT
so glad my new one won't have strings  |
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Jo whoever he is.
