Overall Comments

I've tried them all, and for the beginner, or advanced beginner, Geoff Hohwald is the BEST. He takes you by the hand and leads you through the lessons at your speed. As you advance, he takes you up a notch to the next level. It doesn't get much better than this. Even better, the price is right! Give Geoff a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Dr. Gerald Calvin

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I floundered with a few banjo teachers for about a year before I found Chuck. I've been taking lessons for 6 months from Chuck and during that time I"ve grown to love the banjo and Old Time clawhammer. I think I've found my niche and look forward to many more years to expore this great style and its history with Chuck's help.

I was ignorant to both Old Time and clawhammer. Chuck's knowledge and dedication to his craft is impressive and it's evident he loves teaching it also. He's very involved in the Old Time community and uses much of his energy to help keep it alive.

I've gone through bouts of insecurity and worry over my progress and Chuck is always encouraging. He's very patient and takes as long as necessary to help me feel comfortable with a song I'm learning. We even play together at times (Chuck on the fiddle). It's definitely helping me overcome my inability to concentrate and will help me play with others in the future.

I highly recommend Chuck as a teacher. He's a great guy and friend.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I have been taking lessons with Chuck for over 1/2 year now. Chuck is incredibly patient and truly does know how to teach. He takes pride in putting lots of effort into his teaching.

He adapts to each individual student, listens closely to what you play, and gives meaningful feedback. He encourages you to focus on the positives and any corrections are provided in a constructive manner.

Chuck will give you chunks of a song that you can handle. Then repeat, then circle back to previous measures so you don't forget the wider context. The end result is that I'm learning to play Clawhammer without Tab, and feel like I'm learning to play by ear.

On a more practical note I appreciate Chuck's flexibility in scheduling. You don't have to commit to weekly time slot, he will schedule lessons at mutually convenient times with no pressure to stick to rigid schedule.

He has gotten me off to a great start playing Clawhammer Banjo, couldn't have done it without him!

Beyond being a great teacher Chuck is a great guy who truly cares about his students. I'm proud to have him as a teacher and as a friend.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I met Chuck at the 2012 SWBC when at that time I could identify a banjo most of the time. There could not have been a more rank novice than I so my nervousness about instruction and guidance was high. How would I fit in with all the experienced players there? would I even want to continue learning and working on a new instrument? Chuck immediately put me at ease. Since that first meeting I have taken classes with Chuck and even slow jammed with him on banjo and fiddle and while I am a bit more advanced now I hope to take more classes from him. Chuck's relaxed method of teaching is rather subtle because at the end of the session I was comfortable but realized he had pushed me to stretch myself and continue to learn new techniques and not rest but grow. I hope to meet him again soon and I hope he doesn't get too busy !!!

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I and my 16-year-old daughter have been taking lessons from Chuck for about 18 months now. Over that time, Chuck has been not only an excellent teacher, but he has become a good friend as well. There are a few things that stand out about his style as an instructor. The first is that he is extraordinarily flexible when it comes to what he teachers. His method has been to instruct by teaching a tune (as our abilities have improved, lately it's been two tunes) in a session. What is impressive is that the tunes he teaches in any given session are very flexible -- he presents several possibilities, and, when my daughter invariably declares them lame, he casts around until he finds one she likes, and then we go with that. It is one thing to prepare in advance to teach a particular tune, but to recall an unprepared tune on the fly and then actually teach it is pretty inspiring. And we're not talking suggesting Old Molly Hare and Mississippi Sawyer and then settling on Spotted Pony; We're settling on the Virginia Reel, Pigtown Fling/Stony Point, Last Night's Fun, or Sonny's Return -- tunes that are more Celtic-y, and, by his own admission, on the edge of Chuck's comfort zone.

In reflecting on 18 months' worth of lessons, what also stands out is that Chuck has been doing far more than teaching isolated tunes; over the course of time, he has steadily introduced and taught a number of concepts and techniques -- ASPOs, galax licks, and other techniques whose difficulty and utility seem to periodically engender debate in the forums -- without making them seem particularly difficult to master. And, despite my daughter's declaration of various sample tunes being "lame," he has an excellent sense of our musical tastes and sensibilities.

Finally, he has been outstanding with my daughter, his demeanor and patience just perfect for encouraging a young player to grow as a player while recognizing the limits of her time and the state of her development, in addition to her somewhat different (compared to most clawhammer players) musical sensibilities. I feel fortunate to live in Gainesville, so that I can see him regularly. I highly recommend him.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I took my first clawhammer banjo lessons from Chuck and have taken several workshops with him since then, Not only is Chuck a very talented player but he really does KNOW HOW to teach. He has a definite grasp on how it is that people learn. In addition Chuck is very active in the promotion of Old Time Music and offers his valuable time and energy to that community. He's also a very easy guy to get along with. I highly recommend Chuck Levy as a teacher.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I took Advanced Banjo from Chuck Levy when he was attending Mars Hill Old Time Music Week. Located in Mars Hill NC. I found Chuck to be a patient instructor. with a great knowledge of Roots Music. That coupled with his very distinct style of Clawhammer playing makes you want to take more lessons from him. Unfortunately I live in Connecticut, so it is a haul to Florida. Perhaps some day our paths will cross again. When I was at Mars Hill I did purchase several CD's by Chuck which I listen to on a regular basis.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Although I had for years seen and heard of Chuck Levy through the internet, I first met him in person at banjo camp last year. Because he has been one of my banjo heroes I felt intimidated, but Chuck immediately set me at ease by being so human, down to earth and easy going. During the last year at various banjo camps, I have learned a remarkable amount of music through Chuck and I haven't even had a chance to take a formal lesson! Chucks teaching style is so easy to grasp, a large portion of my new repertoire over the last year has come from him. Between camps, he has been kind enough to take the time to occasionally correspond with me via the internet and is incredibly informative when I ask a question or seek further info on a particular tune. I consider myself to be very fortunate indeed to consider Chuck Levy a mentor and friend and I look forward to the day when I can take some actual lessons from him; imagine how much more I can learn then! Thanks, Chuck, for being there to share your banjo knowledge!

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I live 2 1/2 hours way from Chuck (ChuckJo), but I make these trips for lessons because he is such an amazing teacher. I take clawhammer lessons with Chuck, but he teaches so much more (minstrel, ekonting, etc). Chuck somehow just gets what I can handle in each lesson and gives me just a bit more to digest. I am learning clawhammer through songs and song history. I appreciate his minimal approach to music, never overpowering the melody, only highlighting it. I am inspired each time I leave a lesson. I would highly recommend Chuck if you are looking for a kind, patient, and knowledgeable teacher. http://www.banjourneys.com/

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I just spent a week in Mt. Airy, NC, taking daily lessons from John Boulding (2 hours each lesson). Then back to the hotel to practice. (I recorded it all.) This was a rather incredible experience! John is not only a fine and diversified banjo player, he is a musician's musician and a teacher of the first order. This experience was better than attending a top flight workshop (and I have attended many). John's presentation of concepts, techniques and approaches was exceptional. He plays complete banjo from Scruggs to Reno to JD to Stanley to wherever you want to go. He plays Clapton, The Beatles, you name it. We spent time on neck layout, backup patterns, pentatonic concepts, triplets, on and on. To top it off on Saturday I attended a "session" where he played a dobro overlay followed by a banjo overlay and then we went to his gig with two long sets. John is very personable, professional and estute. Emersion like this is something every picker should do.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Geoff's method is clear, well-planned, and gets results. He breaks down three-finger rolls and hand positioning into clear and uncomplicated sections, and gets you playing right away. Students of any level can apply their new skills by playing along with Bert Casey's excellent backing tracks.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I don't have the luxury of being geographically close to Jack, but if I were I don't think I would go anywhere else. This man is not only a musician and fine author of tablature, but a true dedicated professional. Fortunately I have become familiar with Jack through email communication and the study of his tabs in BHO. The real deal, as they say. I cannot imagine failing to climb the learning curve under his tutelage. And I know what treading water feels like even in the presence of so-called professional instruction.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I'm going to second OldTimeyTunes. I have not had the pleasure of having Janet close enough geographically so that I could take lessons from her, but I have attended almost all of her sessions at Midwest Banjo Camp since I began attending in 2011 (one month after I got a banjo!).

Janet is encouraging, warm and friendly in her approach. You feel comfortable right away! She is also very knowledgable and skillful -- she has great ideas and great teaching skills (just knowing how to do something doesn't mean one can teach that something!).

She encourages people to try something new, but without lots of pressure -- so when you are *ready*, you forge ahead.

If you have the chance to take lessons, or a workshop, from Janet -- do so! You won't regret it!

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I picked up a banjo for the very first time in April 2011. In June 2011, I attended my first Midwest Banjo Camp, and took one of the beginner sessions taught by Murphy Henry ("the Murphy Method"). After camp was over, what I found was that the tune she workshopped with us, and the techniques, stuck with me easily. Pretty much everything else, I had to go back to my notes and work through again. This amazed me!

I use Twitter, so I started to follow Murphy's daughter Casey. One night, on an out-of-the-blue whim, I sent a message to Casey -- 'would you take me on?' She said yes! Since I had done the message mostly tongue-in-cheek, I was a bit taken aback, but felt I surely had to go through with this. I have NO regrets.

Now, I live in northern Michigan -- Casey lives in northern VA. No way can I travel for a once-a-week lesson 4 states away! So we do our lessons via Skype. The technology limits us a bit -- we cannot play at the same time. But still, it has been an extremely worthwhile experience.

Like Murphy, Casey teaches by ear. I also have a local teacher who teaches by tab. Here is what I have found: learning with Casey has given me a much greater understanding, more quickly, than learning by tab. I have learned more songs, more thoroughly, in a few months with Casey than I did in a year of working from tab.

Here is how I think it works for me: when I learn from tab -- which isn't hard for me; I cannot remember *not* being able to read music, and reading tab is way easier -- there is a "middle phase" if you will. I have to recall how the tab looked on the page, translate that to rolls and left-hand technique, then play. When I learn through the Murphy Method, I simply learn how this goes on the banjo, period. This has given me a much greater understanding, and a much greater comfort level, of the banjo as an instrument. I feel so much more 'at home' on the banjo now!

Aside from the learning-by-ear technique, there are also lots of things which separate a good teacher from a poor one. Just knowing how to make excellent widgets does NOT make one a good widget-teacher, as an analogy. To be a good teacher, you must
--know how to break the skill down into small "learning chunks";
--recognize typical novice obstacles;
--devise ways for novices to overcome those obstacles;
--provide appropriate feedback (supportive, corrective, etc.) in an appropriate way and time;
--etc., etc. !

There is a LOT to being a good teacher -- Casey has it all. Since she can teach via Skype, you do not have to be geographically close. If you have the opportunity to take lessons remotely, or to participate in a workshop or camp with Casey, I would recommend her! You won't be sorry.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I have been playing for a long time and give a few lessons also but finding myself at a stalemate and not wanting to rest on my laurels I decided to give John a try after watching his lick of the week videos, he is a tremendous player and teacher and understands the way music works and how to apply it to the banjo, he has helped me a ton and I highly recommend him as a teacher and more importantly as a person, I think he's great. Tony

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I first met him in the beginner track (I was a novice) of Banjo Camp North in Sept 2011. He was fanatastic and well prepared with lots of handouts and just made it comfortable to be in his classes. Very approachable.
I now realize how good he really was. I wish I lived closer to Albany as I could really use his help. Banjo teachers are hard to find..good ones like Bob...almost impossible.
If you have a chance to get help from him....go for it - you will not be disappointed.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

This review is intended for people who are interested in attending a Dwight Diller banjo camp at his Brown’s Creek training facility and home in West Virginia. The observations and perspective derive from my attendance at a camp in 2012. I am an experienced musician and attended the camp to learn Diller’s style, a style I consider more soulful than most contemporary banjo players.

Diller’s property consists of two acres along Brown’s Creek near the tiny hamlet of Huntersville, WV. It sits between two hills and backs up to Seneca State Forest. The nearest town of any size is Marlinton. The training facility is about the size of a double-wide mobile home, with six bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a open kitchen-dining-living area. The bedrooms are small but comfortable. Each is about 6x9 feet, with a single bed, chair, closet and small dresser. There is no cell phone service, but internet Wi-Fi is available. Perspective students should consider their stay a monastic banjo experience, not a vacation.

Dwight Diller is not the primary teacher at a Diller banjo camp. Bob Sattler, a 10-year student of Dwight’s, comes in and handles the basic instruction. “Baldy Bob”, as he is known, is considerably more affable and even-tempered than Diller, and the students with whom I shared time highly valued their interactions with him. Diller’s role is slip in and out to give perspective, offer demonstrations, play tunes, and tell stories as he feels necessary.

Every morning students get their own breakfast from a raft of cereal choices. Baldy Bob is always up early making coffee. A group class usually follows at around 8:30 or 9:00 am. The group breaks for lunch around noon or whenever they feel the time is right. Lunch meats and bread are available along with potato salad and cole slaw. Afternoons generally consist of practice, either as individuals or in small groups. Full dinners are provided, and everyone sits family style around a large table. Volunteers pitch in to wash up afterwards.

Evenings are spent listening to Dwight. While I was there, one evening involved him playing fiddle. Another had him showing YouTube videos of blues players, like Son House and John Lee Hooker. Another involved showing videos he had produced of the Hammons family, from whom his music derives. Yet another involved showing a movie (“The Fifth String”) in which he starred and a friend produced. We discussed all manner of West Virginia traditions, from the importance of someone’s personal hat and knife to his time with the Hammons clan.

As far as banjo is concerned, the Diller method consists of four steps: 1) moving the body in a specific way to express rhythm; 2) using resultant arm and hand movements to strike the strings; 3) fingering the fret board to sound notes coordinated with those string strikes; and 4) playing organized notes in the form of tunes. There is no shortcutting this progression.

Step 1 consists of sitting in a metal folding chair and moving your body in a way that ultimately gets your arm oscillating when held in the playing position. It is fundamentally important to understand that the intent is not to move your body to the music the way you do when you dance. The situation here is exactly the opposite – you move your body to create the music. If you read the last phrase 100 times, you’ll still underestimate its importance in Diller’s mind. You can’t fake it.

Step 2 involves holding the banjo against your body and on your right thigh with the neck nearly horizontal. The right forearm crosses the banjo head nearly parallel to the strings. The playing motion consists of moving your body to generate an oscillating arm which forces the hand over the strings in a whipping motion. Diller believes that no muscles are involved, and that the movement of your body and the weight of your hand are all that are needed to strike the strings.

As time goes on, attention will progress to focusing on the movement of the thumb. In Diller’s mind the way the thumb strikes and rolls off the fifth string is the most important technical aspect of his playing. This thumb movement is so important that Diller’s banjos are specifically setup to accommodate it, with strings higher above the drumhead than normal.

These motions will be practiced extensively while holding the banjo on your thigh and muting the strings. Attention will be focused on the specific “BOOM-a-lack-a” rhythm he wants to result.

Step 3 involves fingering the fret board to sound notes in coordination with the right hand. Diller considers this a “dance”, with the left hand moving in a coordinated fashion with the right. Because he does not espouse drop-thumb technique, the left hand fingers a lot of often-complex hammer-ons and pull-offs to catch the notes otherwise played by drop thumb.

Step 4 involves playing a tune. In Diller’s mind, tunes are simply notes organized to emphasize the rhythm, and he feels that they are the least important aspect of learning the banjo. One never loses focus on the right hand, and the student is told to avoid distraction by never looking at the fret board.

From personal experience I can say that no amount of prior banjo experience prepares you for the ponderous pace thru the training steps. The body movements, in particular, are described and demonstrated over and over and over. But, correct body movement and thumb position are totally central to Diller’s understanding of how to play the banjo, and he will not allow you to progress without mastering them.

Personally, I feel that Diller’s insistence on specific body movement stalls an otherwise useful learning experience. Beginning students might expect to leave a five-day camp learning how to play one tune, though some leave learning none. I personally witnessed two students who never moved past Step 2. They played “BOOM-a-lack-a” rhythm over muted strings for five days.

For all of his desire to avoid working with experienced students, I don’t recommend this training for a beginner. While I think this is an interesting way of introducing the instrument, Diller’s aggressively laborious teaching method and often wrong-headed personal style short-change the benefits. He grinds the topic of rhythm into the ground to a point that I found disheartening and counter-productive. He also delves into topics like “playing cultural references” to which beginners couldn’t possibly relate.

Frankly, I think Diller’s best student not a beginner at all, but someone who has considerable clawhammer experience and is willing to enter the training with a beginner’s mindset. For such a player, this banjo camp could be transformative. Imagine that you know nothing. Forget your previous experience entirely and spend a week learning something new. Don’t try to incorporate it into your existing technique while you’re on site, or Diller will deliberately stall your progress. Just give into the training while you’re there and integrate it into your existing technique when you get back home.

Fortunately, sufficient material exists to continue learning after camp. His DVDs are quite good, and his tab book is clear and extensive. Diller’s tab is not particularly difficult; it’s easily accessible to an intermediate player. What is difficult is incorporating melody into Diller’s percussive style to create a pulsating rhythm. But, only someone familiar with his tunes could possibly appreciate the task. Since beginners rarely get to the point of playing tunes while at camp, they rarely get to a point where they can appreciate the rhythmic challenge.

I recommend that prospective students buy and study Diller’s “Just Rhythm DVD before attending camp. It is available for $20 by emailing ediller@gmail.com and can be paid for via PayPal.

Finally, there are aspects of Diller’s personal style that prospective students should know before signing up for one of his camps. My views on this topic can be obtained by emailing me at slick.salmon@gmail.com.

Overall Rating

6

Overall Comments

After buying my banjo I bought several self-learning books and DVD's. I found one that I liked more than the others, however, I just had a hard time following it. Everything of course was new to me but still I could not make progress and I thought I had no rhythm. I even started a thread "Gotta Have Rhythm" and a few members posted that either you have it or you don't, or something like that.
So, anyhow, I had Jody as a Skype teacher for a series of lessons and guess what, I had rhythm all the time but just needed a good banjo teacher to help me dig it out.
I've gone back to that self-learning book (Janet Davis) and now it is so easy to follow and my rhythm is NO problem. I'm now having more fun that ever.
I just needed a good teacher to help get me on the right track.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

So I had a hankering to get a couple clawhammer lessons. I went to one one the best and most well known clawhammer fella I out there, Dan Levenson. He is kind, courteous, well spoken and has an eye for nudging you in the right direction without making you feel like musical misfit. I learned more in one hour with Dan then I have in any other lesson. Or maybe I just had fun. Wow what a concept that a lesson could be fun. No pressure, no brow beating when I did something wrong. Just good natured encouragement and direction to get me back on track.

Then a couple days later i emailed him about clawhammer banjos. He replied right away to "call him". He spent 30 minutes on the phone with me. Walking me through choices and pros and cons while explaining his preferences and why. I was flabbergasted, who does that anymore. Just good natured help. I offered to pay him for his time he declined and said it was all part of teaching banjo!

That same night I was feeling a little frustration about my right hand stroke. I took some pictures and a small video to email expecting Dan to look at it and address it at my next lesson. About 30 minutes later Dan was video calling me with banjo in hand. I was completely unprepared sitting in my chair in my jammies because well I just don't know. Just because I didn't think I would hear back about it so quick. He walked me through the stroke again. Looked at my video and said it looked ok and gave me some suggestions and again encouragement.

Being musically challenged and lacking the skills to play anything more than a kazoo most of my life. Being a banjo collector and not a player. I'm astonished to be making chords and perfecting my right hand technique within a week. Heck I'm even transitioning between chords without looking at the neck. What the hell has happened here?!? Have I've been blessed. Have I been cursed?!? I don't know and I don't care, cause I'm playing me some clawhammer banjo dangit!

Thank you Dan!

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

This is a review of Bill's banjo web seminar on the BHO Chat. This was an advanced look at Earl Scruggs' banjo techniques, especially the left hand fingering. Obviously, Bill is a master player but he's also been banjo teaching for years and knows how to teach. He sent out tabs of several of Earl's tunes but I think the good part was that he would tab out students requests. (I made a couple myself) This seminar lasted two hours & went by fast. The only thing wrong with it was that the banjo was somewhat distorted but Bill wasn't so everything was easy to follow. Good job, Bill!

Overall Rating

10