3 Exercises To Improve Your Timing With Playing The Banjo 🕰️🪕
Created By Ben Dorning
Banjo Teacher and Creator Of
www.banjoadventures.com
If you're new to the banjo, you might enjoy my Complete Beginner’s Guide to Learning Banjo, where I walk through everything you need to know to start your banjo adventure.
Introduction
One of the biggest differences between a beginner banjo player and an experienced banjo player isn’t speed…
It’s timing.
A player with solid timing can make even the simplest clawhammer rhythm sound confident, musical and enjoyable to listen to. On the other hand, poor timing can make good technique fall apart very quickly.
That’s why I created these Swiss Clocks play-along exercises.
The goal of each exercise is simple:
Build a stronger internal metronome.
Each video below uses a simple repeating clawhammer rhythm alongside a steady metronome. As you settle into the groove, sections of audio will disappear and it becomes your job to keep playing without letting your timing drift.
When the audio returns, your playing and my playing should still be perfectly in sync.
Think of it as timing training disguised as a game 😄
A quick tip before you begin:
Don’t focus on speed.
Focus on staying relaxed and keeping the groove steady all the way through each exercise.
Tier 1 — Easy 🟢
This first exercise is designed to help you settle into a steady clawhammer groove using a simple descending pattern from string 1 to string 4.
The rhythm itself is intentionally straightforward so you can place all of your attention on maintaining consistent timing.
As the audio disappears, resist the temptation to speed up or slow down.
Stay calm, trust the pulse, and see if you can stay perfectly in sync when the audio returns.
Tier 2 — Medium 🟡
Now we begin introducing chord changes using the D7 chord.
This is where timing often starts to wobble for many banjo players.
Why?
Because the left hand suddenly becomes involved.
A lot of timing problems actually happen during chord transitions, especially when players tense up or rush to reach the shape in time.
Keep your movements small and relaxed and try to maintain the exact same groove from beginning to end.
Tier 3 — Challenging 🔴
This final exercise introduces the Em chord which adds another layer of movement and coordination to the exercise.
At this stage the goal is no longer simply “keeping up.”
The goal is to stay completely relaxed while maintaining a dependable internal clock throughout the entire exercise.
If you notice your timing slipping during the muted sections, don’t worry — that’s exactly what these exercises are designed to reveal and improve.
Even experienced players benefit hugely from this kind of focused timing practice.
Final Thoughts 🪕
Timing is one of those skills that quietly affects everything you play on the banjo. This small selection of exercises are taken from the Banjo Adventures Membership lesson called SWISS CLOCKS which contains a total of EIGHT! of these play along timekeeping exercises. The improvement im already seeing in my students is wonderful.
The good news for you is that better banjo timing can absolutely be trained.
Just a few minutes of focused rhythm practice each day can dramatically improve your groove, confidence and overall musicality.
If you enjoyed these exercises and want to continue improving your clawhammer banjo playing, you might enjoy joining Banjo Adventures where I’ve created a full structured roadmap for beginner and intermediate banjo players.
Inside the Banjo Adventures membership you’ll find:
Structured step-by-step lessons
Play-along exercises
Song tutorials
Downloadable tabs
Direct feedback and support
A friendly community of banjo players all learning together
Because learning banjo should feel fun, relaxed and rewarding… not confusing and overwhelming 🪕
