May 2026 Content
Content
Hey all, Jordan here on behalf of the team to bring you an update for the new tunes and lessons being added for May. I hope you all enjoy it and I hope it helps.
There's a heap of new tunes, tabs and video lessons to check out this month. Check out the overview video to get a rundown of all the new tunes. If you want some extra musicianship and practice tips to help you boost your speed and control, then give that video a watch as well.
Grand Overview
General Musicianship & Practice Tips
1. Picking for Speed
Something that can help you gain more speed on banjo, guitar or mandolin is picking closer to the bridge. The string vibrations aren't as wide as you get closer to the bridge. This makes it easier to get consistent strikes with a plectrum or finger picks. You're not swinging at a moving target. Watch the video for more details and a demo.
2. Metronome Tips
Just listen to the metronome. Listen for a minute before playing a single note. Also, thinking in time can exercise your perception of steady timing. I often sit and think trough a melody or imagine playing a banjo arrangement that I've memorized before actually playing it. I am literally trying to think or imagine in time with the metronome. This is something that just helps reinforce accurate timing and awareness.
3. Minimize Excess Motion
This is the lynchpin of learning an instrument. The more you build control and efficiency, the smoother and faster you will be. Keep fingers low and over the fingerboard when not in use. Don't use a wider range of motion in your pick hand than is needed. There will be exceptions for this when trying to achieve a certain effect, sound or feel. In general efficiency will breed speed and smoothness. Aim for control & efficiency first, then speed.
4. Work with What You Have
One of my friends is learning clawhammer banjo. They got very discouraged when they couldn't execute drop thumb and also struggled with hammer-ons and pull-offs. That discouragement led them to not pickup the banjo for weeks. My advice was simple. You don't have to learn drop thumb. At least not now. Just spend time with your instrument. Play what you can and try to enjoy that. Instead of learning a new technique every week, just try a new song. Work with what you have. There's a world of wonderful music that doesn't require fancy techniques to play it.
5. Make Exercises Less Boring
One of my private students did something cool. They took the basic String Crossing Exercises and practiced those along with chords they new and some they struggled with. This gave those open string picking exercises brand new life!
5. Make Melodies Less Boring
Another one of my private students who is just learning banjo was dreaming about playing the amazing things he sees on facebook. Right now he's just working on some basic melodies, chord shapes, and roll patterns. I showed him how we could take a simple melody like Old Joe Clark and add the 5th string as a drone between melody notes to bring it to life. He lit up! It's another example of how something simple can be powerful and fun. It's also a good excuse to check out some two finger banjo. There's a couple two finger arrangements to check out this month for Take this Hammer. Dive in and have fun. Two finger is a great style for beginners and experienced players!