Learning the banjo can be a bit challenging at times, especially if you’re just getting started. Some of the most common errors that people make when learning to play the banjo include choosing the wrong type of guitar, picking up incorrect techniques and playing songs incorrectly. The first thing that you should do when trying to learn the banjo is choose a suitable guitar – one that suits your level of learning and that you like to play. It’s important that you pick a good quality guitar so that it doesn’t become too uncomfortable as you progress with your learning.
If you’re just starting out in your learning process there’s no need to buy a very expensive guitar (although you may want to for a few basic beginner’s lesson), but you can purchase a cheap guitar which is of a similar construction and sound to a more expensive one and still be able to learn to play the banjo. Other things that you should consider when learning the banjo are choosing a suitable banjo bridge and tuning the guitar correctly. These things can be done at home or with the aid of a learning aid such as a DVD or video.
It’s important that you practice all the different types of techniques that you learn from your learning material, such as picking and strumming methods. The learning materials will teach you how to play each technique and these will provide you with a base to build on. It’s also a great idea to learn some tunes on the guitar before you start to try and learn the more difficult songs. When you’ve picked up a few songs that you love to play you’ll be able to try and play some of these songs with your own version and have learnt something new when it comes to your playing techniques!