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Ask Dr. Banjo:
Guitar player learning banjo
October 2006

<<Intermediate>>

Tom asks:

I am interested in playing banjo. First off i have been playing guitar for 12 years..will my background in guitar apply to the banjo any?

Pete Replies

Tom,

Lefthandwise, very much so. Guitar players' left hands are usually more developed than banjo players, thanks to more strings and the need for more agility to get around.

Righthandwise, guitar finger picking is almost a liability in some ways. The patterns that work well on guitar are just not the main ones that a banjo picker might use, and learning new ones when the old ones "sort of" work, tends to be hard for many people. They fall back on guitar habits and never really learn Scruggs style.

Pete

“Ask Dr. Banjo” was created to encourage banjo education. Please feel free to contact me (Pete@DrBanjo.com) with any questions, and I’ll try to answer it on the next “Ask Dr. Banjo”. Also, check out the additional instructional material available on the site.