Why Banjo Players Give Up
Hello and welcome to Banjo Adventures. My name is Ben Dorning i have been playing banjo since 2006 and recently I have been buying and selling quality used banjos on my website. I’ve quite literally been hoovering up barely used banjos from eBay, Gumtree, and Facebook Marketplace, and they all seem to have the same uninspiring descriptions. Either it's a single sentence that reads something like, "Banjo for sale, as pictured," or it’s the classic, "I realised banjo wasn’t for me, so I’m selling."
Now, let’s pause for a moment. How does a person go from wanting to learn the banjo so badly that they purchase one brand new, to selling it online with little more than a single sentence to say goodbye to their beloved impulse purchase?
I know from personal experience a handful of reasons why this may be the case, one of the primary reasons i believe can be attributed to something ive known about for a long time but only just recently learned that it actually has its own name. It is called the Dunning-Kruger Effect.
I knew about this in theory when I started working at my first REAL job, It was a management job working in the railway maintenance industry, and I quickly realised in my first week that I had absolutely no idea what i was doing, I didn’t know what i was supposed to do and worse still, i didnt know what i didnt know so i didnt know what questions i needed to be asking.
When i spoke to my old manager about this he explained the learning process happens like this:
You dont know what you dont know (In other words you know nothing)
You know what you dont know (Now you know what you need to be learning to get better)
You know what you know (You have learned everything you need to but there is still may be more to learn)
You don’t know what you know (You’ve stopped keeping tabs on what you’ve learned, You have pretty much peaked, you are a master in your field, you forget more things than other people know)
The Dunning-Kruger Effect and The Banjo Journey
For those who haven’t come across it before, the Dunning-Kruger Effect is a psychological principle that explains why beginners often overestimate their abilities while experts tend to underestimate them. It follows a predictable curve (see the graph below), and I’d wager that most people who quit the banjo do so in the dreaded "Valley of Despair."
Here’s how it plays out in the world of banjo:
Peak of "Mount Stupid" – This is the moment a new player gets inspired. They watch a few YouTube videos, see someone effortlessly frailing away on a banjo, and think, “That looks easy! I could do that!” Enthusiasm is at an all-time high. Confidence is through the roof. The banjo is purchased.
The Valley of Despair – Reality sets in. They’ve spent hours trying to get a clean sound but keep hitting the wrong strings. The banjo suddenly feels like an unplayable hunk of wood and metal. Frustration takes over, and progress feels impossible. This is where most people give up.
The Slope of Enlightenment – If they persist through the valley, they slowly start to improve. Timing gets better. Muscle memory kicks in. The right hand starts to do what it’s supposed to without conscious thought.
The Plateau of Sustainability – After consistent effort, playing the banjo becomes second nature. They can jam with others, pick up new tunes with ease, and feel truly at home with the instrument.
Unfortunately, many aspiring players never make it past Step 2. They hit the Valley of Despair, decide they "just don’t have the talent," and post their banjo online with a half-hearted listing.
But here’s the truth: The Valley of Despair is not a sign that you lack talent. It’s a sign that you’re learning. And the only way to break through is to keep going.
There are alot of great philosophys in Patrick Costellos book The How and the Tao of Old Time Banjo, This is one of my favourite and cannot be ignored - “The 5-string banjo is a great deal of fun to play and learn but please remember that the mastery of any instrument is a life long process. Take your time and get the basics down solid. Relax and enjoy the small successes that are the result of practice and hard work. Trust me, there is no easy way. You cannot substitute anything else for “time behind the pot.”
So, if you find yourself stuck in the Valley of Despair, staring at your banjo and wondering why it hates you, don’t struggle alone. Come and join my Banjo Adventures Discord, where you’ll find a bunch of equally frustrated but determined frailers who will help you push through. Give it six months—seriously, just six months of strumming, struggling, and celebrating small wins. If, after that time, you’re still trapped in the Valley, well… you know what to do. Sell me your banjo for cheap.
I promise to give it a good home (and then flip it for a profit).
