BRT Presents: Ken Perlman: 5-string banjo workshops
March 7 @ 1:00 pm
$30
Ken Perlman is a pioneer of the 5-string banjo style known as melodic clawhammer; he is considered one of today’s top clawhammer players, known in particular for his skillful adaptations of Celtic, Appalachian, & Canadian fiddle tunes. An acclaimed teacher of folk-music instrumental skills, Ken has written such widely used banjo instruction books as Clawhammer Style Banjo, Melodic Clawhammer Banjo and Everything You Wanted to Know About Clawhammer Banjo.
Workshop #1:
1:00 – 2:15 p.m.
An Intro to the Melodic Style of Clawhammer Banjo
The techniques of “Melodic” Clawhammer give you the power to make fiddle tunes from Southern, Northern, & Celtic traditions – and virtually any other kind of music – sound great on banjo. In this workshop we’ll refine and perfect your right hand mechanics so you can use drop and double thumbing on virtually every string and in every possible permutation. Then we’ll explore other important areas such as improving the efficiency and power of your hammer-ons and pull-offs; mastering alternate-string pull-offs; and using fingering shapes and other specialized fretting hand approaches to facilitate playing melodies around the neck. (Skill level is projected as advanced- beginner & intermediate, but will be adapted to the playing abilities of those who attend.)
Workshop #2:
Playing Jigs (6/8 Time Tunes) in Clawhammer Style
2:30 – 3:45 p.m.
A lot of people say you can’t play 6/8-time tunes in clawhammer style, but – having mastered that art decades ago – Ken will share with you the system he developed. He’ll break down 6/8 time and show how basic clawhammer techniques can be quite easily adapted to play it; he’ll teach a very simple, familiar jig and then explore two or three increasingly more challenging ones. By the end of the session you’ll wonder what all the fuss was about! (Skill level: Intermediate & up. Prerequisite: you should be pretty good at drop-thumbing, hammer-ons, & pull-offs.)
