Why Learn The Five String Banjo?

 

●    It’s Easy & Fun to Learn
●    No Music Reading Required
●    Fast Progress
●    Obtain a Real Sense of Achievement
●    Meet & Pick With Fellow Banjo Pickers

●    It is not un common to have the absolute beginner picking

       a tune within a 2-3 Lessons.

 

Lesson Info
 
I teach 5 string banjo from a book called “You can teach yourself Banjo” by Janet Davis and From my own teaching materials.
There is absolutely no requirement to read music at this or indeed any stage of your personal banjo Playing experience.
If you are learning 5 string banjo you will need a good quality set of finger picks 
of which I have a very wide selection available at the same discount as the book and I’m only to happy to advise upon re size and fit. 

Here are a couple of things you need to ask a potential Banjo teacher.
How long have they been playing?
As a basic rule of thumb no one who has been playing banjo less than 5 years should be taking payment for banjo lessons.

Very few people can obtain the level of proficiency or manual dexterity required to teach banjo within such a time scale. 
Very often people start teaching banjo before they have nailed it themselves. 
The fact is you could be paying to good money only to be picking up someone else’s bad habits! If in doubt, get them to play a tune at full speed and let your ears be the judge!
How long have they been teaching?
Learning to teach is as much a journey of discovery as learning to play.
A very bare minimum of 1 year is the benchmark. Any less and you are probably little more than target practice for your “rookie” teacher. If a Banjo teacher only advertises lessons for absolute beginners, its a fair assumption that they are usually only a few pages ahead of their pupils! Oral lessons are OK but working from a book with your teacher gives you a real goals and a tangible record of your progress.

constantly practicing what I have learned without it feeling like hard work (well not too much).  

 

Here are some Genuine testimonials from Just a few of my former banjo pupils.

 

Simon Turner.
"Having never picked up an instrument before my friends and family were amazed at how quickly I progressed, within weeks I could play simple tunes cleanly.  Twelve months on and Tim's lessons are just as fresh, fun and productive, his passion and enthusiasm along with his great teaching skills make every lesson special.  

As for progress, well when I started I didn't like to play in front of anyone, even the wife, but last month I played through a PA system in front of over 20 people and it didn't sound half bad - Simon"

 

David Beaumont
I would recommend Tim as a musician who is a good teacher. 
In my opinion good musicians don’t always make good teachers and I certainly wouldn’t be improving or enjoying playing without the help and encouragement of a teacher.
One final thought though is that it wouldn’t work if I wasn’t prepared to put the time in between lessons to practice. 
Not even Tim can make you a good player if you don’t practice.

 

Steve Arabskys
Can I say a big thank you (to Tim) for what you have done for me. 
I now have the confidence to go and learn new songs.

John Ward
I started playing the banjo early in 2010 on a “bottle cap” banjo, learning traditional banjo tunes with a different teacher.

I had never played an instrument before and I can’t read music.

This year I upgraded my banjo and decided that I wanted to switch to Bluegrass music playing “Scruggs” or “three finger” style.

I’d seen Tim play as a member of The Howard Brothers and after finding out about the Wakefield Banjo Club went along to meet him to talk about lessons.
Two months and 8 lessons on and I feel like my playing has improved greatly. 
Tim is helping me to understand how to play better, what to do with which finger and why. 
Each lesson builds on previous lessons meaning that I am constantly practicing what I have learned without it feeling like hard work (well not too much).  
His style is relaxed making lessons feel like going to see a friend rather than going to see a teacher.

He makes a half decent cup of tea as well.