This course will be geared toward students who have just started to play bluegrass banjo. If you’ve been dabbling with the “ol’ five”—maybe you’ve learned a few chords and rolls, or even whole tunes--but want to know how to put it all together, this course is for you. If you’ve never played the banjo, but have some experience on another stringed instrument (especially guitar), hey, go for it! If you’re a total beginner, with no string-playing experience at all, you’re certainly welcome, and you’ll probably get something out of the class, but please bear in mind that the pace will be designed to meet the needs of students who have already been begun picking. 

We’ll be using a few well-known tunes to work on essential Scruggs-style right- and left-hand techniques and authentic bluegrass licks that will add meaning, luster, glory, and a certain je ne sais quoi to your life. But tunes and licks are only part of it; after all, you could learn them from a book or video. The real point of this class will be to get you to understand, feel, and internalize the “grammar” of bluegrass banjo—how rolls function, how they flow into each other, and why we use the fingerings and licks that we do. We’ll also look at the bigger picture—the rhythms and structures of bluegrass music, and how the banjo fits in with the other instruments in a bluegrass band. With this knowledge, you’ll be able to continue learning on your own more effectively, and get ready for the next level: jamming, improvising, and creating your own arrangements. Along the way there’ll be a smattering of music theory (hey, it’s really nothing to be afraid of!), tips for more efficient practicing, banjo lore, and bluegrass history.

Ability to read tablature and/or standard notation is not required; our main focus will be on the actual playing and, especially, on listening. So I’d strongly suggest that you bring a cassette machine or some other recording device. The class will naturally make the most sense to students who already have the sounds of bluegrass in their heads, so if you haven’t listened to much of it, GET STARTED NOW! Flatt & Scruggs recordings from the late ’40s up through the Foggy Mountain Banjo album (1961) constitute the single most important source for bluegrass banjo players, but there’s lots of great stuff available nowadays; e-mail me if you want some suggestions. Although there’s no required reading list, at some point every serious banjophile will want a copy of Earl Scruggs and the Five-String Banjo (Peer International Corp.), and historically minded pickers might enjoy Bluegrass: A History by Neil V. Rosenberg (University of Illinois Press).

I guess that’s it for now. Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions. I look forward to meeting you all in August!

--Ira Gitlin

iragitlin3@aol.com