A Book Of Five Strings - online tutorial

Strategies for mastering the art of old time banjo.

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By the time I wandered back to my room I knew what I was going to do with my life.
As I said earlier, we have discussed a lot of technical material in this book. I don't want you walking away from this thinking that technique is the only thing involved here.
We work in a heartbreakingly transient medium. When a song is over it's gone. We can play the same song over and over again but because of the variables involved we can never truly play a song exactly the same way twice.
With that in mind a "perfect" performance really doesn't mean much. Nobody is ever going to remember if you play every note in a banjo solo with lighting speed or accuracy. People will hear it, say, "That's nice" and immediately forget about it.
What people will remember is a feeling of connection with the musician. If all you can do is change a couple of chords and sing "Skip To My Lou" yo u can walk out your front door today and start singing for and with people. By the end of the week your hometown will be abuzz about how well you play.
A master banjo player isn't the person who can pick the most notes. It's the person who can touch the most hearts.
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