The Simple Way To Learn Banjo That NOBODY Wants To Talk About
Your Banjo Time Is Right Now
If you're waiting for a big stretch of “perfect time” to sit down and practice your banjo… you’re going to be waiting forever.
Most people wildly underestimate how long it actually takes to get good at the banjo. And I don’t mean “can fumble through Cripple Creek” good—I mean confident, musical, wow-your-mates-at-the-pub good.
Here’s the truth: It’s not about how many months you’ve owned a banjo. It’s about how many hours your hands have actually spent on it.
Banjo Air time
Let’s borrow an analogy from the world of aviation. Pilots don’t become pilots by reading about planes. They log air time—actual hours in the cockpit, navigating real weather, making real decisions, flying real planes. It’s called “flight hours,” and it’s everything.
Your banjo is no different.
You don’t need a fancy setup or a sacred hour alone in the study room with a cup of herbal tea and a mood candle. You need play time. And lots of it - (Read That Sentence Again).
Most people are doing it wrong
Too many new players treat banjo practice like a weekly gym session. “Right, Saturday morning, banjo time! Let me just clear a full hour... maybe two... set up the laptop... find the right YouTube lesson...”
By the time you’re actually playing, your brain’s already halfway out the window. And 20 minutes in? You're scrolling Instagram and wondering what’s in the fridge. Be honest.
That kind of formal, rigid structure feels productive, but it’s a trap. It turns banjo playing into a chore—and no one sticks with chores.
You need to be cunning. Like a fox.
Real progress doesn’t come from grand plans. It comes from stolen minutes.
Be sneaky. Be scrappy. Play like your banjo is a getaway car and you're running out of time.
10 minutes while the kids are eating lunch
5 minutes while your partner’s on the phone
15 minutes on your lunch break in the car (YES! TAKE YOUR BANJO TO WORK)
20 minutes in Sainsbury’s car park while someone else runs in for “just a few bits”
10 minutes in the car waiting for school pickup
Literally the 2-minute ad break during Love Island (Did I say that out loud?)
These micro-moments count. In fact, they count more than you think.
Stop babying your banjo
Here’s the part that might sting a bit:
Stop treating your banjo like it’s some fragile, sacred object.
It’s made of wood and steel. It can handle a bit of life. Your phone probably cost three times more, and that thing gets dropped, bounced, stuffed in your gym bag, and left on the kitchen counter next to a cup of coffee and a toddler with mushy banana fingers.
Treat your banjo like you treat your phone. Take it everywhere. Lean it in the hallway. Leave it in your car. Keep it out of its case and ready to grab at a moment’s notice. It’s not a violin from 1763—it’s a tool for making noise and getting better.
Long sessions are ok, but shorts stacked sessions are where the magic happens!
This is the part nobody wants to hear, but it’s the truth:
Banjo confidence comes from volume.
Not volume as in “loud”—volume as in time. Playtime. Repetition. Movement.
Short, frequent bursts are better than long, infrequent ones. Every 5-minute session is another drop in the bucket. And when that bucket fills up—when your hands have racked up hundreds of hours of actual contact with strings, rhythms, and muscle memory—you’ll feel it.
You’ll know your way around the instrument. You’ll trust your fingers. You won’t freeze up every time someone says “Play something!”
So what now?
Don’t wait for a perfect 90-minute block to sit down with your books and videos and tea and candle.
Snatch minutes. Rack up hours. Treat your banjo like a cheap gym towel and keep it within reach at all times.
That’s how you become a banjo player.
That’s the simple truth.
Ben Dorning
Leader and Creator of Banjo Adventures
Finally learn how to play the banjo!
Stop telling yourself it’s too late!
Your time is now — and with just 30 minutes of practice a day, you can become a great banjo player.
Banjo Adventures gives you a clear, proven roadmap from complete beginner to confident player — no musical background needed. No guesswork. Just follow the step-by-step modules and build real skills at the right pace, in the right order.
This isn’t just a collection of lessons. Banjo Adventures is your personal guide to achieving your banjo goals — and so much more.
Banjo Adventures gives you everything you need to go from total beginner to confident banjo player — all in just 30 minutes a day. With structured lessons, personal support, and a welcoming community, you’ll stop guessing and start playing real music, faster than you thought possible.
