Nora Brown: A Rising Star in the Banjo World 7 Nora Brown is someone to keep your eye on. Indeed, at a young age, she is already turning heads. Hailing out of Brooklyn, New York, Nora has played festivals all over the country. Don’t let Brooklyn throw you off (no offense Brooklyn-ites). While having urban origins, Nora plays old-time traditional music with a particular interest in eastern Kentucky and Tennessee banjo playing. In addition to the banjo, she’s interested in techniques of unaccompanied ballads from the Southeast region of the United States. She’s also a singer and songwriter an ..read more

We are pleased to announce the first Banjo Mountain Practice Competition. This is for Banjo Mountain students. It costs nothing to enter and you can do so once you have subscribed. The goal here is to encourage daily practice by submitting your video for your peers to see. Then our teacher John will choose a winner and give his feedback on all of the videos, thus helping everyone improve. Watch the video above for more details.  The post The 1st Banjo Mountain Practice Competition appeared first on Banjo Mountain ..read more

Video interview with Kendl Winter where she shares tips and advice for banjo players, talks about how she got into banjo, what projects she’s currently working on and her upcoming album “Banjo Mantras.” A Few Banjo Mountain Favorites of Kendl Winter Interview with Kendl Winter August 2023 Kendl Winter: Yeah, well, I grew up in Arkansas and both of my parents were musicians. My mother was a orchestra teacher, like sixth through 12th grade. And my father was a low brass professor. My mom’s main instrument was cello and my father’s main instrument was trombone. And I dabble ..read more

Tony Trischka: A Revolutionary Banjo Virtuoso 7 Tony Trischka has long been a luminary in the banjo world. With a musical career spanning over five decades, Trischka’s mark on the banjo’s legacy and its transformation in the music industry is nothing short of remarkable. Born in 1949, Tony Trischka was drawn towards music at an early age, finding inspiration in the folk and bluegrass sounds of the ’50s and ’60s. His fascination with the banjo began after hearing the Kingston Trio’s “Charlie and the MTA,” leading to his passion for this wonderful instrument. Over the years, Trischka develop ..read more

Practicing Banjo for 1 year 343 Hours in 2022 7 TOTAL PRACTICE FOR 2022: 343 HOURS So close. The goal was 365 hours of banjo practice for 2022. 343 hours isn’t bad right? Wrong. I’ll get there shortly. The purpose was to level up my playing, share my journey and perhaps most useful to you, share any practical insights to practicing banjo on a daily basis. Considering I shared my journey all of 3 times last year and all in the first quarter, I completely failed at sharing my journey. Having a full time job, a family, and the business of Banjo Mountain while trying to practice an hour of b ..read more

Practicing Banjo While Traveling Day 224 - 153hrs 14m of Banjo Practice 7 I’ve been traveling for the past six weeks (roughly): Four weeks driving up to Oregon, where I have family and dear friends, and then onto Vancouver, Canada, where my wife’s family lives. Then two weeks to the green, luscious island of Kaua’i. It was tricky getting daily banjo practice in while traveling and I gave it a lot of thought. The following are lessons I’ve learned. As is the case, with all of these 365 Hour entries, hopefully, you find some solutions for your own life. As we established in an earlier entry ..read more

how to play banjo in a bluegrass jam 7 In this post John lays out the key things you need to know to play banjo in a bluegrass jam. He covers things like “How to find the key of the song”, “the importance of chord inversions”, “using other players fretboards as a guide” and several other tips on how to play banjo in a bluegrass jam.  TAKE OUR FREE BANJO STARTER COURSE! LEARN ABOUT BEGINNER SKILLS, STYLES OF BANJO AND INITIAL BANJO LESSONS. IT'S FREE! START COURSE! You have Successfully Subscribed! Latest From Our Blog How to Play Banjo at a Bluegrass Jam May 28, 2022 | Banjo ..read more

365 hours of banjo practice DAY 19 - 18 HOURS AND 3 MINUTES ; It turns out practicing the banjo for an hour each day is hard. You already knew that? I did as well but still underestimated the task. Several times in the first week I found myself starting practice at 9 pm. Those nights sucked and I only completed an hour on one of them. It was a reminder of something I’d heard in the fitness world: plan your session the day before or it won’t happen. Hand in hand with that idea is the idea of finding a consistent time of day you are able to practice (my practice journal is at the bottom of ..read more

FOR YOUR BANJO INSPIRATION: ALLISON DE GROOT & TATIANA HARGREAVES Allison and Tatiana recorded Hurricane Clarice in 2021 in Portland, Oregon. It grabs you quickly, feeling both rooted in the past but somehow new. The duo creates a sound that feels full, live and bigger than two musicians. They won the Independent Music Awards “Best Bluegrass Album” in 2019 and continue to garner accolades across the country playing festivals throughout.  THE SONGS THAT CAUGHT OUR EAR: FROM THEIR WEBSITE: The repertoire on Hurricane Clarice comes from  field recordings, old hymns ..read more

Banjo Warmup: Calibrating the Picking Hand DAY 90 - 75 HOURS 2 MINUTES 7 Whether you are sitting down for a 15 minute or 1-hour banjo practice session, calibrating the picking hand as a warmup will make a big difference (video below)! What do I mean when I say “calibrating the picking hand”? I first heard that expression from a guitar flat-picker who was a teacher, professional musician, and classically trained guitarist, who can play like the wind (Tyler Grant playing on Fretboard Journal). In a nutshell, the idea is to focus the brain solely, for a few minutes on the picking hand (more s ..read more