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The Greg Madison Music Studio teaches students on banjo from 7 1/2-years old through adults of all ages and beginners through professional levels of learning. I have been fairly successful with students that haven't done well in the past as well as with learning disabled and slow learning students. Visit our testimonial page to see what our students and/or parents have to say.
The studio is located in Bergenfield, NJ and students have come from the entire Metropolitan Area. Our studio is one of the best equipped studios around. We have a selection of high end, top of the line, professional music software and also many types of audio, visual and electronic equipment. See our Studio page for more detailed information.
Private one on one instruction on the banjo is offered in the studio with home lessons also available. All aspects of music will be taught, including technique, theory, harmony, improvising, arranging, music transcription, reading, music writing, rhythm, ear training and more.... Wherever your musical interests lie, Greg Madison Music Studio can...
Whether you are a beginner or advanced banjo student, your lessons with the Greg Madison Music Studio will improve all aspects of your banjo playing from basics and fundamentals to advanced harmony, reading and improvisation. Whatever the student's musical needs are, our banjo lesson program will strengthen those needs. Come and be enriched by the power of music with banjo lessons at my studio.
The banjo is used in a lot of styles of music. It is used in rock, jazz, classical, Latin, pop, country, bluegrass, folk , etc. The styles mentioned depend on which of the two main or most popular types of banjos you decide to play. The two types of banjos, are very important to understand or you could buy the wrong one for the kind of music you want to play. The four and five string banjos are two totally difference instruments in the way they are played and taught. See below for the differences.
The musical styles listed below are music styles that I teach but are not all popular on all instruments.
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The five string banjo is used mostly used for bluegrass, country, rock, and folk styles of music. Some players have started to use it to play in rock, jazz and other types in recent years. The five string banjo can play a lead or back up style within a band. The five string banjo is played with bare thumb and fingers or with a plastic or metal thumb pick and one to three metal picks on the index, middle, and ring fingers of the right hand. The tuning for banjo differs depending on whether you are playing in the bluegrass or folk style.
This instrument is mostly taught by a system called tab, short for tablature ( I teach both tab and the standard music methods). It is a system that has five lines to represent the five strings on the banjo and then where the note head would be on standard music there will be a number for what fret/s the note/s should be played in. The rest of the note makeup can be notated like standard music. Other types of notation is written under the notes to illustrate the different other musical effects in tab. Numbers like 2 for index and T for thumb are also written under the notes to illustrate which right hand finger/s should be used to pluck the string/s. An alternate notation T for thumb, I for index and M for middle and R for ring can also be used depending on the person writing the music.
I teach the five string banjo using the tab and the standard music notation. I tell my students the tab is only going to help you play a few fretted string instruments and that it is not used for piano, or for playing any of the woodwind or brass instruments. When playing from tab you can't see the harmonic relationship between the notes and chords as you would in standard music. I have more on this subject in the interesting facts section of this web site..
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The four string banjo is also called the tenor banjo. It is used in orchestras, dance bands, and in the styles of classical, Latin, Brazilian, pop, show tunes, broadway, and music standards form the nineteen twenties though today's standards, etc. The tenor banjo is played with a flat pick like the guitar. This instrument is taught like any other musical instrument. It uses the standard music notation that is used for piano, woodwinds, brass etc. This instrument allows you to play single noted melodies, chord melodies, and chords for playing rhythms. This instrument can be used as a lead or rhythm instrument is a band.
Many bars and clubs have had happy hours with banjo bands playing popular standards with people singing along while having lunches and drinks.
The musical styles I teach for banjo have been stated under the two types of banjos above. Greg Madison Music Studio is a place where continual teaching improvement, expert music instruction and quality customer service are the highest priorities. I provide the very best instruction available through innovative teaching methods, fun learning concepts and an ongoing expansion of services, including student teacher jams and ensemble classes. I provide musical experiences that are versatile, fun and repeatedly elevate my students' passion and desire for playing music.
Group jam/theory sessions with 4 to 9 students are available in different styles of music with other students of same abilities two times a year The instruments in these sessions will depend on the student ability and availability. These sessions are for people who have played with me and demonstrated that they have the knowledge, ability, dexterity, and can play in time. Another prerequisite is that they have had the basic writing of music notation with us prior to the start of these jam/theory classes. The first level type class works with written music or riff type play in different styles. The more advanced classes are improvisation classes in bluegrass, country, rock, and folk styles of music for the five string and in the styles of Latin, Brazilian, pop, show tunes, broadway, and music standards form the nineteen twenties though today's standards for the tenor/4 string banjo.
Our FAQ page will hopefully answer many of the questions you may have.
It is my hope that you find a lot of useful ideas from the vast amount of informative information on my site. You may need to go through the site several times in order to benefit from all that's written here. This site will be expanding constantly, so come back from time to time
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I teach the Guitar | Bass | Piano | Violin | Trumpet | Flute | Clarinet | Saxophone | Viola | Cello |
Lessons Taught 7 Days By Appointment
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