The Best Way to Learn Banjo Fast!
Don’t Waste Your Time Trying To Learn Like This!
Cast your mind back to last year.
At the time of writing this it was 2025 and We had some excellent TV shows and movies that year.
One of my personal favourites was the grand finale of Stranger Things.
What about you?
Perhaps you watched a brilliant film or read a book that has stuck with you.
Either way, there’s a good chance you can still recall:
Character names
Filming locations
Plot lines
Unexpected twists
Character arcs
Actors’ names And much more!
Now cast your mind back to yesterday...
Can you remember three pieces of short form content you watched while scrolling?
...
Nothing?
...
Me neither!
But why is that?
Short Form Content Rarely Sticks
It might show you a quick trick, introduce you to a new musician or give you a little burst of inspiration.
But I don’t believe it’s the best way to learn something as complex as a musical instrument.
You watch one tip.
Then another.
Then another.
Before you know it, you’ve watched 30 videos from 20 different people...And you haven’t actually picked up your banjo!
Learning to play requires more than collecting random bits of information.
You need enough time to listen, understand, practise and play along.
You need to give an idea enough room to sink in before moving on to the next one.
That might take 10 minutes.It might take longer.
The important thing is that you’re focused on learning one thing instead of constantly swiping towards the next.
So, What Is the Best Way to Learn Banjo?
The best way to learn banjo is to find a teacher whose playing you enjoy, whose explanations make sense and whose personality you connect with.
Then slow down, pay attention and actually play along with them.
Not for 30 seconds.
Not while simultaneously scrolling through something else.
Long enough for the lesson to stick.
Because real human connection plays a huge part in how we absorb and remember information.
The human connection matters
Didn’t you just love it at school when a typically boring teacher would be stood at front sending the class to sleep.
Then out of nowhere would randomly start going off on a tangent!
For one fleeting moment, they would have the undivided attention of the entire class as they share stories about a crazy festival experience in their younger days and then….
Reality check!
They’d snap back into the actual lesson...
And everyone would sigh:
“Awww!”
Those little unscripted moments made the teacher feel human and interesting.
And quite often, they became the classes that you remembered the most.
There Is No Finish Line
Here’s a harsh truth about learning the banjo that I wish someone had told me when I started:
There is no finish line.
Being “good” at the banjo is completely subjective.
There will always be another song to learn, another technique to explore or another way of approaching the instrument.
That isn’t a bad thing.That’s what makes playing music so rewarding!
The goal isn’t to consume as many lessons as possible or race towards some imaginary final destination.
The goal is to enjoy the journey and keep making a little progress.
One proper lesson.
One new technique.
One new song at a time.
Sometimes You Have to Leave the Wasp In
I keep those little human moments in my own banjo lessons.
In fact, during the opening 20 seconds of my lesson for I’ll Fly Away, I nearly get stung on the nose by a wasp.
It completely puts me off playing for a second.
Did I edit it out and start again?
Nope!
That’s what happened...So that’s what stayed in the lesson.
If you want to learn I’ll Fly Away, grab your banjo and join me for the full 10 minute lesson.
You can laugh at me as I bat away wasps...And by the end, you’ll be playing this wonderful tune for yourself.
Wasps and all.
Ben Dorning
Creator of Banjo Adventures
