Beginning to Learn to Play the Banjo

It is critical that the aspiring banjo player strongly wants to learn to play. This has been true for almost 200 years. Few read music and the few who do did not use that skill to learn how to play. The majority of learning occurred “by ear” in person-to-person encounters, usually a family member, friend, or acquaintance. Most have good musical “ears.” All listened to other banjo players and tried to “pick up” something. A small number also had formal lessons for a time.