Arnie Naiman & Chris Coole held a banjo workshop this weekend for beginner & intermediate clawhammer banjoists. Beginners learned the basic frailing manoeuvre and intermediate students (thats me) worked on an instrumental fiddle tune which included some drop thumbing.
I was doing okay in the advanced class but I need to work on my drop thumb to get it up to speed. We learned the tune Western County/Susananna Gal/Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss or whatever you want to call it.
Arnie & Chris gave us some great tips on how to enhance the voice of your banjo through selecting the appropriate string gauge, action level, bridge and tailpiece.
Others arrived in the evening for a house concert where Arnie & Chris played tunes from their 1st & 2nd CDs 5 Strings Attached With No Backing & Volume 2.
Paul Odegarrd who attended the workshop opened up for Arnie & Chris with a few tunes from his wonderful new CD Banjo Suite which I highly recommend. Paul has the gift of creatively taking the banjo onto new musical horizons. I found his music very inspiring.
We finished the night off with a jam session.
Jeff M. generously offered his home for this event. His wife must be some lady to put up with so many banjo players twanging away in her home all day long!