Clawhammer Basics
Rhythm, Basic Chords and Melody in Double C Tuning Clawhammer Style
Clawhammer Basics is a beginner banjo course that takes you through 6 lessons. The lessons can be watched and reviewed at your leisure, to learn as well as practice initial techniques. These lessons guide you on finger positioning, basic chords, tips and mistakes as well as a walkthrough of banjo styles. By the end of this course, you'll have an understanding of banjo to decide what you would like to study further to specialize in the technique and style of music of your choice.
Your Instructor
Born and raised in Hampshire County, West Virginia, multi-instrumentalist Ben Townsend has studied and performed traditional Appalachian music extensively. With banjo mentors such as Riley Baugus and Ron Mullennex, and fiddle mentors such as Dave Bing, Joe Herrmann and Earl White, Townsend has studied a variety of old-time traditions ranging from the archaic, haunting fiddle of his home region to the round peak music of North Carolina and Virginia to the bluegrass of East Kentucky and Ohio. Townsend’s most recent project, 2 Guys Named Ben, is a video series based on footage collected from a cycle tour that he and longtime friend Ben Guzman took from Romney, West Virginia to Los Angeles, California.The series features interviews with traditional musicians and folk artists throughout Appalachia and across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and is complimented by a Grammy-nominated album, Deep End Sessions, Vol 3: Ben Townsend and Friends.