Welcome !

The novice workshop run by Bruce Sedawie last year was a great success and we are pleased to announce that the workshop will return this year under the care of Peter Somerville. The space in the loft area behind the Old Music Hall has been set aside once again and the workshop will run from 9:50am on Saturday morning. This page will contain some valuable tips and downloadable charts for you to bring along.

Chords

While there are far too many different chords and forms for each of them to include here, the illustration below contains several of the more common chords in the first position. As for all information in the novice pages, the banjo should be tuned to GDGBD.

You can download a printable version of the chart here and bring it along to the Jamboree.

Tablature

Bruce Sedawie from the Gospel Bluegrass group The Turnarounds has kindly provided the brief guide to reading tablature below.

The lines in the tablature example above represent the strings on your banjo, numbered from one to five from bottom to top as you hold the banjo with the headstock to your left (right handed player's position)

The numbers on the lines indicate which fret on which string you are to put your left hand fingers on, while the letters immediately below the numbers indicate which of your right hand fingers are to pluck the string: T = Thumb, I = Index and M = Middle.

Peter Somervill has provided copies of the exercises he will be focussing on during the workshop, and has included some songs employing the techniques taught.

Forward Roll Exercises

Tom Dooley

Bile em Cabbage Down

Left Hand Techniques: Slide, Pull off, & Hammer on

Alternating Thumb: Cripple Creek

You are my Sunshine

The Tabs have been written for GDGBD tuning.

Tips

Bruce offered the following tips for beginners:

• Dont Rush: Learn slowly and gradually build up speed. The slower you learn the better a player you will be in the long run.
• Learn one bar of music at a time. Don't move on to the next bar until you have mastered the current one.
• Practice: Don't overdo it. Half an hour at a time is ample for a beginner. Always start your practice session with something you play well and finish the same way.
• Practice picking rolls anytime, on your knee, the arm of your chair - you don't need the banjo to practice your picking rolls !

There will be further additions to this page, including material for the novice player to download and print out, as the Jamboree approaches. Please feel free to contact the organisers with your comments, suggestions or advice and we will endeavour to tailor the novice experience for all needs.