Dear Friends,

I'm pleased we are going to spend a week together this August.  I am delighted to be able to share what I have learned about playing the banjo with others in my musical community.

A little background:  Originally from Missouri, I have played music most of my life.  I started on banjo in my early teens in order to accompany the songs my family always sang.  After a brief flirtation with rock and roll, I started playing back-up banjo at fiddle contests.  Banjo came next a few years later, and even after all this time, it is exciting and fun to play.  I am a member of the string band Big Medicine, and I also fill the banjo chair when Red Clay Ramblers founders Mike Craver, Bill Hicks, and Jim Watson get together to perform.

Our class will feature a mix of famous and not so famous (although they should be) tunes.  Both are important.  While I'm excited to show you some new tunes, I am equally as excited to use familiar tunes as a springboard for some techniques that have served me well.  Topics I will cover to that end include: "Putting Drive in Your Playing," "Rhythm Tips," "The Fifth String as a Melody Vehicle," and "The Under-used Second Fret."  I also will give you tips on how to match your playing with a fiddler's style, as well as playing in a string band setting.  If there is interest, I can also share some banjo songs.

Tape recorders are very handy when approaching a class such as this, as I will be teaching by ear and not from tablature.  Make sure to bring extra strings, because we'll be playing hard, and strings do break.  And, don't forget to bring an electronic tuner and a capo.

I look forward to meeting and playing with all of you.  If you have questions that I have not addressed, feel free to email me at js.newberry@gmail.com, or write me at 3316 Harden Road, Raleigh, NC, 27607.

Best,

Joe Newberry