2010: Memo to Self

or 'Oops I've Done it Again!'

New Year resolution - no more instruments!

I've gone an added another instrument to the growing collection and Mrs Banjoboy's eyes are rolling on a permanent basis at the moment. Yes, I've bought an acoustic guitar and once again it's love - she sounds so sweet.

But romance aside, I did have the feeling when I was playing with the lads, that I played banjo 'cos that was all I could play. And while the chaps where happy to swap bass, guitar, banjo or mandolin I was unable to be flexible.

The uke got me into playing another instrument, it's easy to pick up and you can frail, pick or strum, which made the transition easier. I could take a lot of what I'd learnt on the banjo straight over to the uke. I also found that music theory lessons meant I could pick up the fundamentals fairly easily, and while I've not pursued the uke quite as hard as the banjo, I can find a scale(eventually) and chord progressions make more sense.

The uke also made me realise that despite the potential of the banjo it's an instrument of its time and playing tunes from outside of the folk canon just sounds plain wrong - unless you are very, very good, which I'm not. The uke also let me get into playing more modern pop or rock tunes and it's quite liberating once in a while to come into the 20th century for a bit of light relief. The banjo is forever tied to 'G' tuning and the uke seemed to have a greater range and variety without constantly re-tuning.

So, why guitar? The last couple of times we've played together it's become more apparent that my limited skills on any instrument better serve a group situation by playing rhythm, and letting the more skilled musicians play lead. If I'm going to do this it seemed to me that I'd have to pick up the guitar. Also, I love the comparative depth of tones, and flexibility the instrument has, and lets face it, it's been the driving forces of modern music for the last 100 years. So I succumbed to the charms of a Yamaha F310, which at less than £100 is great value, so lets see what happens. I've found the open chord forms easier to pick up than I thought, and finger picking on the banjo and uke has helped get me going. So, before the next practice I'm going to drive everyone mad by hammering G, C and D7. Jesse James here we come!