Uke Banjo! ---- Help! I need somebody! Help! not just anybody!

Captain America

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Got a uke banjo. And I feel I need some advice on what to do----seems there's a whole World of Strumming I need to get a handle on.

Any tips? What really helped you out here?
 
Fingerpick, fingerpick, fingerpick! I like using it as a baby banjo. Mine's homemade, so the bridge slides a little. It stays in place better picking than strumming.
What do you have?
 
Got a uke banjo. And I feel I need some advice on what to do----seems there's a whole World of Strumming I need to get a handle on.

Any tips? What really helped you out here?

Google up some of those old George Formby film clips and study them closely, over and over. I say this because I think most of us need a good dose of humility now and then :D
 
Google up some of those old George Formby film clips and study them closely, over and over. I say this because I think most of us need a good dose of humility now and then :D

There are several Formby tutorials on YouTube. Not quick and easy. : )

I bought a set of nine Formby films from Amazon.uk. They're not in the American DVD format, so you have to use a region-free DVD player to watch them.
 
I have several banjo ukes - large and small. I generally bring one, along with a regular uke, to our club sessions. I play them just like a ukulele, but they sound better with some songs than with others. "I'll Fly Away" is perfect for it, as is almost any country song.
 
I find clawhammer or up pick frailing sounds good on banjolele or ukuleke. But only with reentrant tuning. Also standard tuning works but an open tuning like gceg is easier
https://youtu.be/4sI_foHE9Fo
 
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What will also help is to be abie to properly maintain the banjo-uke. Almost all banjo-ukes are more "banjo" than "uke" in construction. As such, the banjo tutorials on how to tune, clean, etc. are appropriate to getting the most out of a banjo-uke. Some of the better tutorials are provided by Deering Banjos at https://www.deeringbanjos.com/blogs/banjo-maintenance-tips.
 
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