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Calloused Ears -Tips on how to play the banjo "by ear"
Introduction
You hear a lot of banjo players talking about playing by ear nowadays. The popular vision of what's involved in playing a tune off the cuff or on the fly at a jam session is kind of convoluted. People who don't know how it really works almost always describe it as something difficult to do.
It really isn't. I think a big part of the confusion stems from how people approach the idea. Most of the people I know who are totally tab-dependent (I like to call them "tab monkeys") are fixated on playing lead breaks or instrumental tunes. While playing lead is fun and, to some peoples eyes, a bit cooler than playing rhythm it's awful hard to make sense out of anything if you are only playing notes- even more so if you are reading tab and thinking of songs in terms of individual finger movements.
We rush things today. In this world of mass media and digital technology we are used to things coming to us at the snap of our fingers. I think that outlook bleeds into folk music sometimes and people start thinking that with the right formula playing at a professional level is as simple as writing a check or hoping naked on one foot in a circle by the light of a full moon in the backwoods of West Virginia.
For me, getting a grip on the skills and concepts involved in making music was and has been a combination of a journey and a growing process. I started out playing everything simply, picked up a lot of tricks and concepts from cool old dudes to get to the point where I could play really complex stuff and nowadays I'm back to playing things simply again. The things that seemed so important twenty years ago don't mean as much to me now as having a chance to sit on the front porch and sing folk songs with my dad.
Besides, one thing I have learned over the years is that the player who can play lead for a couple of songs really only fits into groups that play those specific songs - and those songs have to be played exactly the same way as the lead player is used to playing them.
A solid rhythm player can make music anywhere with anybody.
Think about that for a second. Making music anywhere with anybody. Is that cool or what?
Rooting yourself in rhythm not only gives you the flexibility to wander from old time music to punk rock at will, it also gives you a foundation for playing really effective lead breaks down the road. It's kind of like instead of learning one song you wind up learning thousands of songs.
Keep in mind that there isn't any specific road map to learning the banjo or any other folk instrument. Everybody is going to have to blaze their own trail and find the route that works best for them but the process or trip is a little bit easier if you don't rush things in the very beginning. Take the time to develop some basic skills.