The Best Practice Drill (and why I suck at it)

[@davidfarmer657]

This is good info I wasn't sure how to ask these questions. Thanks I'm going to keep watching , I don't have an instructor so watching learning and asking questions has gotten me this far I suppose I'll keep doing this , I say this cause I thought these were unique problems to me , Hahahaha ohh how special I think I am , I'm not happy your having trouble but I'm glad I found others struggling in the same areas to bring me back around to what and where I should be focusing, truly thanks best wishes and hope the puzzle continues to come together

[@BanjoAddict]

great practice advice! thank you for this!

[@Boysenberr]

Mark, those notes exist in other (easier) locations of the fretboard. Try this pattern (string @ fret) : 4@7, 4@7, 2 open, 3@5, 1 open, 2@5, 5 open, 1 @ 7. This is derived from an A minor (but with the F shape at frets 5 thru 7: remove middle finger and barre with index). You'll cover much less fingerboard area and therefore will play it smoother and faster. I must tell you, a professional touring musician is not always the best possible teacher. I am available when you desire to progress. ~Julio

[@jimmccarley9609]

Yes, I do this on guitar too. Didn't know it was called looping. Getting in, and out of the loop is part of the process. Figuring out how to not smother is normal. If I'm not bouncing back and forth, it may not be necessary to hold down the previous note. Consider only fretting the current note, in some trouble spots. You already have the patience to give yourself time to hear results. What works for me, may not for you. It's ok to link loops together, separate, and rejoin them. This will drive the wife nuts, so, get out in the barn! Too much icing? Nah, you're getting reps in. Don't over think it, all normal. I am incorporating some of the same loops each session; 1 and 5 tags, and fills. Common vocabulary for bluegrass banjo. And chord changes all over the neck, vamping, and rolling. You are right about flipping the numbers, get it right. Do speed drills on stuff you can do correctly.

[@stvnnmnn]

Before I figured out that I had to "zoom in" and practice those parts I couldn't do very well, I played some songs a hundred times. Each time repeating the same bad part just as bad as the time before. I find just one or two measures are sufficient at a time. Any bigger than that and you fall back into that same play it badly habit and gloss over the errors..

[@2000HoursofBanjo]

This is exactly what I was doing before I learned to loop. I also had the habit of starting the song over the moment I made a mistake, which meant it was practicing the beginning of the song a lot more than it’s ending.

[@Soffball]

Great point Mark, I found out pretty quick that there was parts of, say, cripple creek (I'm only on day 22 of Eli's 30 days 🙂) that I could do easily and parts that I just couldn't get. So I would do 2 notes, over and over, then 3 notes, over and over, etc. And I think eventually my brain wired itself to that pattern. Sure, day 22 has taken my like 35-40 days but I'm good with that. Keep up the videos. I just found your series and it's very motivating.

[@kennethbarnes2297]

I’m 70 hours and so far so good. I’ve found if I play really really slow I remember where to pick and put my hands. Then just speed it up bit by bit

[@2000HoursofBanjo]

That’s the best approach, in my opinion. Keep it up.

[@dsclaud]

Hi, Mark! Thanks for yet another video. What do you reckon is an appropriate sized loop (if there are any)? 2 measures? 4? I'm making your same mistakes, too fast too long.

[@2000HoursofBanjo]

I’m still learning how to build effective targeted loops. Let me see if I can get my instructor, Mike, to chime in. He’s the one that introduced the concept to me.

[@2000HoursofBanjo]

In my experience a loop can easily be smaller than a measure. It could just be a few notes or a single chord change. The trickier it is the smaller the loop and the slower you play it. Or at least that’s the rule of thumb I try to follow.

[@mikeleatherman]

Mark said it well. In addition, it is important to include a note or two past the target loop phrase so when you move on to the next section you will already have the transition programmed mentally as well as physically. A simple example: Loop bar 1 plus two notes of bar 2. Then loop bar 2 plus two notes of bar 3. Repeat process for the whole song. When you go to play the whole song, all the bars should tie together and flow through to the end of the song. Of course there may be a few challenging areas that need polishing. Hope this helps 👍