It's Amazing How Fast Calluses Go Away: 2021 First Quarter Report

Last month I ended my 500-day streak of playing banjo and fiddle. I followed that with two and a half weeks of not playing banjo or fiddle. It seems during my break that my fingers have lost almost all of their calluses. They haven't been this tender in a long time.

During the past week, I've been getting myself back in the habit of playing music on a semi-daily basis. I've been focusing on playing for longer stretches, rather just a few minutes to keep a streak alive like I'd gotten used to doing.

It feels good to be out of that rut.

The biggest thing I want to get back to is learning new stuff. I'm continuing to work on Michael Ismerio's online fiddle course, and I've been revisiting Ken Perlman's Clawhammer Style Banjo, the book that helped get my started on old-time more than a decade ago. I'm also thinking of digging out Mike Seeger's Southern Banjo Styles videos.

I've been trying to approach my instruments with a beginner's mind. I'm hoping that will help me avoid getting into another rut while I anxiously await the time when I can play with others again.

I can't believe it's already the middle of April. This year is going by fast. I guess this is a belated quarterly report. So, let's get to the breakdown.

General Highlights

The biggest highlight was my daily playing streak reaching 500. While I started to feel that my streak had become a burden, it helped me form a strong practice and break the stigma of worrying I wasn't playing long enough. Even five minutes is enough time to make progress. The sense of it becoming a burden was more attributable to the pandemic. In a way, I felt trapped by the "obligation" I felt for keeping the streak going.

Like everyone else, I've been streaming a lot of content over the last year. One show that I've highlighted on the Glory-Beaming Banjo Facebook page is Carry On, an educational program about folk music on YouTube, hosted by Hal Walker and produced by the Northeast Ohio Heritage Music Association. In the last couple months, the show has featured two great old-time musicians in Elizabeth LaPrelle and Bob Smakula. I highly recommend you check them out.

Fiddle Highlights

I began learning "Daddy Shot a Field Lark," from the playing of Arville "Sandy" Sandusky of Liberty, Kentucky, whom Bruce Greene collected in the late 1980s. It's a fun little melody in cross-tuning.

Unfortunately, I feel like I'm neglecting the other tunes in my repertoire. I need dedicate some tune to review those before I lose what I've learned.

Banjo Highlights

The last song I was working on was "Little Sadie," which I feel pretty comfortable with now. I started reviewing Perlman's book and have been working on playing and singing "Jesse James." I keep meaning to get a copy of the lyrics, because right now I only really know the first verse and chorus.

Blog Highlights

As I wrote about a few weeks ago, my blog celebrated its 10th anniversary last month. Before COVID-19, I had planned to do something bigger to mark the occasion, but those ideas have gone by the wayside.

Here are my Top 5 most popular posts this quarter:

As always, thank you for reading. In these pandemic times, it's even more humbling that my little blog cuts through all the media seeking to grab your attention. I truly appreciate it.

The Ultimate Banjo Joke Compendium

This post is dedicated to my friend Joel Specht. Ever since the Olitsky & Moskovitz concert last month, my son has been obsessed with banjo jokes. During one of the MANY tuning breaks, they asked the crowd to fill the time by telling their favorite quips about the old five-string. Joel told many that night. I've been trying to remember them, along with best ones I've heard over the years for when my son asks again, so I thought I'd make this list. Question: What's the difference between a banjo and an onion? Answer: Nobody cries when you cut up a banjo. Question: How do you know if the floor is level? Answer: The banjo player is drooling out of both sides of his mouth. Question: What's the difference between a banjo and trampoline? Answer: You take your shoes off to jump on a trampoline. Question: What's the definition of perfect pitch? Answer: When you can throw a banjo into a dumpster without hitting the sides. Question: How do yo

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Clawhammer Picks and You: A Review

Clawhammer picks are a useful tool for increasing volume or to overcome fingernail challenges, such as broken, too short or weak nails. There are all sorts of commercial and homemade solutions available for banjo players, but it can be difficult to decide which options to choose. Thankfully, I've already done some of the work for you. Just to be clear, I prefer my natural fingernail for frailing. However, there was a time when I experimented with regularly using a pick, and there are instances now where I find that a pick is necessary. Today, I'll take you through the five options I've tried. These are all available online at prices ranging from about $1 to $13. Reversed/Reshaped Dunlop Pick ($0.75) This was the most common suggestion before other companies started addressing the gap in the clawhammer pick market. Take a bluegrass pick, flatten it out and wear it backwards. The problem is that it's hard to get the fit right. While Dunlop picks are cheap and r

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Summer Blockbusters: Top 10 Banjo Movies

We’re nearing the end of the summer movie season, which this year has included blockbusters like Avengers: Infinity War , Solo: A Star Wars Story , Incredibles 2 and other movies, including some that weren’t produced by Disney. However, none of these films showcases a banjo in any way. It's not like the banjo hasn't been featured on the silver screen throughout film history. The five-string has starred in numerous movies, sometimes in its proper context as a musical instrument and other times as a comedic prop. Whether making a cameo or starring in the hands of the main character, it's well past time to present my Top 10 Banjo Blockbusters: O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000) Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, this movie sucked me into the realm of old-time , bluegrass and country music in general. The banjo is featured in a number of songs on the soundtrack and shows up on screen a few times throughout the movie. Top Banjo Moment: Delmar picks the banjo b

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The Glory-Beaming Banjo

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