This quick intro video will get you oriented and ready to roll through the course...let's get started!

Picking up right where the Beginner Clawhammer Course left off, the Clawhammer 101 Course starts by reviewing and expanding upon a few important musical fundamentals.

The ‘Musical Fundamentals’ lessons will make up the first three steps of are 101 studies.

After you’ve successfully assimilated the information presented in steps one through three, you’ll graduate from beginner to intermediate status, at which point we will dive deep into the clawhammer-specific aspects of the training.

This section covers a few important, foundational ideas:

On top of all that excitement, you’ll also be learning to chord along with two more songs: one in waltz time and one in common time.

Keep on practicin’ and don’t hesitate to ask questions if you have ’em. 

Also, don’t forget to have a little fun along the way!

Step Two is a big one for us because this is when we leave the key of G for the first time and learn to play in the key of C.

To do this, we will need to learn one more chord and we’ll need to get re-oriented to our new key using the number system and the musical alphabet as our guides.

The videos in this section will walk you through each step of the process.

*Note: Remember that this is not a race! 

Take as much time as you need with this lesson and be sure you have a good grasp on the concepts and the new chord before attempting to move on to the next lesson.

Patience and persistence are your best friends.

Give yourself a pat on the back for taking these first few steps toward banjo happiness.

There really is nothing quite as satisfying as being able to make music for yourself, your friends and your loved ones.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this banjo journey thus far and that you’re committed to continuing on to greater musical achievements in the days and weeks to come!

In Step Three you’ll learn one more very crucial banjo skill:

Once you’ve got the capo figured out, we’ll play a couple songs in a couple of new keys and then we’ll move on to our intermediate clawhammer studies.

Walk Ups & Connectors are a simple and effective way to add a great amount of interest and authority to basic clawhammer playing.

Lesson Flow

Remember to spend as much time as you need with each lesson. Don’t move on to the next section of the course until you can do a decent job playing along with the third video.

 Tablature Link:

Walk Ups & Connector Licks – Exercises

In this section, you'll learn, in a step-by-step manner, how to play the basic melody for Old Joe Clark while also familiarizing yourself with the use of tablature.

Tablature Link:

Old Joe Clark - Basic Melody

Once the basic melody has been learned, you’re ready for an introduction to the art & science of integrating the boom chick a strum.

We start by simply using the boom chick a as a filler that occupies any “blank space” in a particular melody.

This critical next step (the Knockdown Technique) is also commonly known as 'Double Thumbing.

This simple twist to your clawhammer approach can yield some disproportionately exciting results so let's jump into it!

Now that you have a feel for the Knockdown technique it's time to put it into context...

Implementing left hand slurs is an exciting and essential technique that players often use as a means of generating more than one note from a single striking of a string.

This section of the course introduces two different ways to execute slurs with your left hand: hammer ons and pull offs.

Now it’s time to work on “refining the strum” by focusing on precision and accuracy in the right hand attack.

*Reminder: This is a progressive course and that each section builds on the skill and knowledge acquired in previous lessons.

 I can’t stress enough the importance of having the patience to stick with each lesson until you feel comfortable in it’s execution. 

It’s tempting to just jump ahead in the course, even if you’re not completely ready to do so but, trust me, your overall progress will be faster if you dwell on each individual lesson as long as necessary.