I love to jam. Jamming is truly “bluegrass in its most natural habitat”… more than performing (in a circle you can really see and hear each other). Bluegrass Banjo Heaven-on-Earth is when you’re in a good bluegrass jam. The teamwork and spontaneity are fun — bluegrass at its essence.… Read More
The Deering folks and I have been allies over the years, and they recently asked if I’d review one of their recent Goodtime Banjo variants.… Read More
Almost every aspiring musician dreams of playing music with other people. And any way you slice it, bluegrass banjo is an element of bluegrass music, a group effort, a teaming of instruments and voices. Yet very little bluegrass teaching stresses interactive skills. But it could, and it should!… Read More
This month I host my 28th annual Winter Banjo Camps, three weeks of full banjo-immersion in Boulder, Colorado. These are about the only Banjo Camps I teach any more, mainly teaching Jam Camps instead. I was recently asked why. Simple: At every Banjo Camp, I kept finding that most students’ main need was to play more music with other people…. Yet many of them rarely if ever did that, and some had no clue how.… Read More
The following ideas have served my students well since I developed them in the 1960s and 70s. They have been presented in my “Bluegrass Banjo” book (1974), my ten Homespun instructional videos, and over 150 music camps I’ve hosted since 1980. The student evaluation forms I’ve used since the late 1980s give clear evidence that they work.… Read More
Just last weekend I really wanted to jam and there was a good one going in the campground at our local Bluegrass on the River festival. I watched and listened… and didn’t get out my banjo. Why? … Read More
Here we are again, beginning of summer. Are you ready to hit the festivals, do some fun listening, visiting, and jamming? If you’re one of those still stymied by the mysteries of jamming, no matter how well you can play lead arrangements by yourself, the checklist below might just cut through the confusing landscape.… Read More
I am proud to announce this month the launch of my Wernick Method Teacher Certified Jam Classes. As you dear readers may well know, I have for some time been championing learning to jam first as a fun and fundamental way to start playing any bluegrass instrument. Great things happen when people learn to jam, because it’s fun and so involving that they’re motivated—to play more and practice more.… Read More
Think “no one where I live is into bluegrass”? Maybe you’re wrong and don’t know it. There may be someone like you, just as interested, just as skilled, but like you, a closet player. … Read More
We’re in peak jamming season now, and I hope those of you who bring your banjos to festivals actually take them out and get into some real live jams. More players than most would imagine rarely if ever get to play music with other people. You know who you are!… Read More