Now that I am seriously concentrating on banjo fundamentals in my practice routine, I realize something: I skipped over that part when I was just starting. “Didn’t need them” I thought. I have gone through several growth spurts in the 50+ years I’ve been playing. In retrospect, most of them were because I buckled down and worked hard on the basics “for a while.” Every time I come back to the beginning, I realize these things; this time I’m trying to find some staying power.
Yes, I was one of the “lucky” ones who just picked up a banjo at the age of 12 and started playing. I had heard it all my life, thanks to my father, Myron Hinkle (1916-2001). He showed me C, F, and G7, and the rest came easy. Heck, I didn’t need any of that boring theory stuff! I realize that if he had tried to teach me the fundamentals, I may have quickly gotten bored (such is my attention span), and I would have quit.
So, how do you get past the inevitable limits of that “natural” ability level? Let me tell you, hard work is how. The first step is realizing that you need it. I don’t care what level of natural skill you have or don’t have, admitting that you need some good old-fashioned book learning is the real starting point. I’ve known and worked with many fine musicians who got there through sheer determination.
Steve Peterson got to spend some quality time last year in the presence of the great Ken Aoki in Japan (before I forget to say it, congratulations on his being chosen for the American Banjo Museum Hall of Fame! Long overdue!). To begin with, Ken practices 4 hours a day! But the way he practices is what really caught my attention: he is obviously a great player who you would think “doesn’t need” to work on fundamentals, but that’s what he does.
Steve tells me that he goes through all of his basic chord inversions as a warm-up, slowly and deliberately. He then spends a lot of time going through the “Hanon” piano exercises (let me tell you, those are not easy!), starting slowly/deliberately and working up to lightning speed. And of course, we realize from his videos that he has absolutely mastered the style of Harry Reser, on both tenor and plectrum banjos. “Came by it naturally?” Who knows, but I think I know the answer.
Perhaps he had the advantage of not having had a teacher when he was starting: he had to find the available resources on his own and take them seriously. Show of hands: how many of you own the Buddy Wachter Banjo Pathways videos? I do! Now, how many of you have actually watched them and worked on what Buddy shared? I have not! Those played heavily in Ken’s early development.
Heck, I took Buddy’s workshop 4 times back in the late 80s! Sure, I learned a few neat tricks that I still use today, but the bulk of his teaching material got the once over from me and then ended up on the shelf. Ken and I are about the same age; he took it seriously and I did not. A quick comparison of our playing abilities shows the result. I don’t know, maybe he was a “natural” as well, but natural or not, his hard work is the obvious reason for his phenomenal skill today.
Yes, I’m pissed off! Why didn’t I take it seriously? Why does the idea of hard work scare me away, even today? I think we can all learn a lot from Ken’s fine example. And again, congratulations! Well, time to stop venting and get back to my practice! I’ll be attending Banjo Fest and the HOF induction ceremony this October; I hope to be able to jam with Ken and not be too embarrassed.