Banjo versus TV: Week 28

A weekly check-in on the Banjo versus TV project — J.R.'s resolution to spend more time in 2008 on his banjo than on TV.

Yup. Dave and I talked terms and he's my new banjo teacher. We kicked it off with a phone call in which we discussed my banjo past, present and future. I'll be starting my first lesson with Dave on the 22nd.

Here are some of the highlights from our discussion.

• Where do I want to be a year from now? Participate well in jams. Play comfortably solo.
• Books: Dave has read my blog (Hi, Dave!) and sees that I've got a lot of books. With Dave, I won't be using books. Maaaybe Tony Trischka's new book. And he does approve of Janet Davis' Splitting the Licks.
• Recordings: I'll be doing a lot of playing along with recordings.
• Guitar: Dave really likes my plan to learn a little guitar so I can follow along with the guitarist's chord changes during a jam.
• Homework between now and my first lesson:
  • Movable chord forms: Work on the three movable chord forms: bar, F and D. Find all of the G chords and all of the D chords.
  • Songs: Make a list of a half dozen songs I want to be able to play along with.