I recently wrote an article for the Banjo Newsletter on arranging Castle Kelly for the Clawhammer Banjo. It appeared in the June issue. While Castle Kelly is normally played in irish music circles I thought the rhythm might work out well for clawhammer. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Steve Baughman – Clawhammer Banjo DVD
My friend Steve Baughman recently released a new DVD entitled Zen Banjo, Music and Mindfulness. It is a clawhammer banjo instructional DVD aimed at beginners with plenty of material for more advanced folks as well. Steve walks the viewer through all the techniques needed for clawhammer banjo like the bum ditty, drop thumbing, and double thumbing. Throughout the DVD Steve …
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New Brooks Masten Banjo
I recently got a new open back banjo and wanted to post a few pictures of it. Its made by Brooks Masten, has an 11″ cherry rim, fiberskin head, walnut neck, ebony fingerboard, and brass tone ring. Its basically a stock Spartan model except for his custom tailpiece. Brooks was great to work with and lives about fifteen minutes from …