Overall Comments

Joel is one of a kind. He's understanding, encouraging, helpful, a wonderful listener... just an all around great guy. If you get a chance to meet him you'll never forget his playing or his smile.

Overall Rating

9

Overall Comments

Fantastic teacher! Really has a passion for bluegrass and it's contagious! Really can relate to individual students' needs. Dave takes a vested interest in his students' progress and success. I would highly recommend Dave Asti. Heck of a nice guy too!

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I have been getting lessons on bluegrass banjo from Jack Baker for 5 years now and have become a “decent” picker. Jack’s method is simple: the focus is on learning songs. Jack uses his enormous library of perfectly tabbed-out songs by all the greats to work meticulously on technique and accuracy. His accompaniment on guitar (or banjo) is a very enjoyable way to learn timing, which Jack also emphasizes as critically important. Sometimes, the best part of the lesson is just jamming with Jack. It’s a great way to perfect timing and it encourages memorization of the songs.

From the beginning, I practiced about 3 - 4 hours per week (and still do) plus a ½ hour lesson with Jack. Within 1 year I was making music and had a repertoire of over a dozen (easy) songs. Now, my repertoire has expanded to about 50 songs and I am playing some challenging pieces pretty much at speed. With Jack’s help, I also learned to use my “ear” (and some software) to transcribe from recorded music and to tab.

I am extremely satisfied with my “Jack Baker Experience”; he’s a great teacher, and I eagerly look forward to year 6. Most importantly, I love playing my banjo more than ever! I'm 63 years old and only wish I started playing 50 instead of just 5 years ago.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Janet is an excellent teacher. Once you meet her she seems like an old friend right away. I've only been taking lessons for a month with her, and she has already got me playing pretty darn good. I like her method of teaching, because she leads you into the important aspects of banjo like vamping, creating your own breaks, how to play good backup rolls, ways to advance beyond beginner arrangements, etc, and she does it in a way that gets you there befire you even realize it. I would recommend Janet to anyone looking for a Banjo Teacher in the San Diego area. the music store is on university ave and its called Old Time Music

Overall Rating

9

Overall Comments

I've been taking lessons with Bob for over 2 years now and I would absolutely recommend him to anyone interested in taking a beginner - advanced lesson. Bob has the patience of a saint and is never judgemental. Over the years I've taken lessons from others and have never once leared as much as I did the first time I sat down with Bob. Bob's knowledge of the banjo and musical theory combined with the patience and devotion detailed above make him an ideal teacher. He has a way of putting things into very simple terms without being condecending or arrogant.

In addition to the above, Bob teaches a course titled 'The Fretboard Roadmap' that is a must for anyone and will really help beginner/intermediate players develop their skills higher on the neck. If you have the opportunity, I strongly encourage you to take a lesson from Bob. In today's economy, it's one of the few investments out there that will actually yeild a return :-).

On a last note, if you aren't sure if you want to take a lesson with him, just sit in a jam with him sometime (that will surely convince you!). He's an absolutely great player to jam with as he will make sure that you know the chords (in a non-intimidating way) and will encourage you to play your best. He also is a treat to watch play and has a great sense of humor about things....

Feel free to PM me directly if you have any questions!

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Bob is one of the best teachers of any kind I've ever had. Unlike the typical professional banjo player who can't teach, he is a superb evangelist for the instrument, and advocate for the student.

His emphasis is always on how you want to play, and how you want a tune to sound. Tell Bob what you are shooting for -- in my case, improved jamming skills. His focus is on how to get you there. He will throw in some ideas of his own, out of an apparently infinite storehouse - not just a better John Hardy, but a better way to find the melody or add some interesting fills. His band's sound is mostly bluegrass but brings in many other musical styles, so if there is something else you want to play, he can help you. Case in point, he plays a wicked version of Ellington's 'Caravan'.

His approach is to start with the abilities the student has, build them up, work on the weak points, and work toward a goal that is a stretch but realistic. If there were more Bob A's in the world, there would be a lot more happy, good-sounding banjo players.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I've taken lessons from Bob for two years and he has helped my learning curve an amazing amount. First of all I commend him for his flexibility in meeting a student at their level. I find him to be patient and adept at giving meaningful feedback.

One of the best things about learning from Bob has been that he has tought me how to play the banjo, not how to play tab. He has me arranging songs on my own and learning core concepts that I can apply to songs regardless if I'm learning from ear or from some tab. This can't be emphasized enough. Lessons can be a very expensive way to build a collection of tab and that's not what you get from Bob unless I that's what you want. Basically he'll lead you where you want to go and how you want to get there.

One other plus in my book is that my lessons are once a month and typically a bit over an hour long. How much can a person learn in a 20 minute lesson as offered by most music stores? I never understood what you could accomplish in that short of time except not much. The once a month approach works much better for me.

You should also know that Bob teaches at Banjo Camp North and is published on a regular basis by Mel Bay at banjosessions.com. Anyone in the greater New York Capital District should definately consider Bob as a teacher. He's a great picker and sincerely generous with his teaching.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

It is without a second thought that I give Bob Altschuler (Delmar, NY) an overall rating of 10. I began banjo lessons at the ripe old age of 57. I had never played anything other than childhood piano. I found Bob on the internet through some great reviews that I read about him. Bob's experience with teaching is reflective through his ability to offer structruced and comprehensive lessons in combination with flexibility. At my age and experience level, it was important for me to me to find a teacher who would inspire me to continue when the going got rough. While Bob's knowledge and experience is evident, his ability to inspire and just have fun are what keeps me going back. He is a great teacher and a wonderful person. Read more entries about Bob on the "teacher of the year" blog on this site.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I don't know where i would be without Jack Baker. I have been taking a weekly lesson with him for 8 months now and he has me playing stuff i though it would take years to be able to do. He has been teaching for over 30 years professionally in NYC. You come in, he evaluates your playing and then starts giving you pieces that are appropriate to your level. He is subtle in his style, but he will catch any bad habit you are starting to get into before its too late. I have a degree in songwriting from one of the best music institutions in the world, so i have had a lot of various music teachers. Jack is among the best I've seen. Go take a lesson with him if you are in the NYC area and I promise you won't regret it.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I just completed my fourth lesson with Tom Collins via Skype and it has turned out surprisingly well. Tom is a great teacher and musician. He mainly concentrates on Round Peak but will go to other types of old-time as the student desires. Very observant of areas that need correction or improvement. There are no other instructors near me so this is great. Tom also provides MP3 and/or email follow-up on each lesson. I don't even have to put on shoes and drive to the lesson. Highly recommended.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I am totally new to music - in terms of playing an instrument and my desire is to be a musician with the 5 string Banjo as my 'weapon' of choice. If you want to be a musician then John is the guy to take instruction from - if you want to play a Banjo - you can teach yourself from books and tabs but you'll have a hard time playing in a band unless they happen to play one of the tabs you have learnt by heart! John teaches the fundamentals of the Banjo to get you to where you can play the instrument not just learn a tab and repeat the same thing over and over. The lessons over the internet are great value for money - convenient for me and hopefull JB and I know i will learn a lot more with John than i could ever teach myself. Is there a downside - yes a couple, SKYPE is not 100% reliable and i can't shake John by the hand to thank him for all he is doing for me. Top man, top marks and no complaints at all.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I was lucky to find Keith Baumann for a lesson less than 10 minutes from my office. He's toured with the Special Consensus Bluegrass Band and gives lessons in Elmhurst. He's a terrific banjo player and plays mandolin, guitar, dobro, national steel, and pedal steel.

The lesson was an eye-opener for me. Timingwise, I think I'm glad I waited until now, but truly, now it's back to the drawing board.

I had done a pretty good job of working cleanly through Janet Davis. I got a couple pages left on it. By the way, on the disc she has with the book, her "Two Little Boys" recording just sounds great. She smokes the strings on it. I've just started working on it. I can play steady and my right hand and left hand are pretty well coordinated, but …

– What I learned from Keith Baumann:

· I'm really lacking in the rolling speed and bluegrass feel department. I have to spend at least 5 to 10 minutes every day on just playing rolls, and primarily on the 1, 3, and 5 strings to get that "bluegrass sound." With all my work in books I've been so careful about only notching up the metronome when I'm clean where I'm at. – Problem is, I've often walked away from a 30- or 60-minute practice session without ever having really worked my right-hand into a speed and a sound. -- Like Dick Brown says you gotta warm up with rolls. Now I understand.

· My X-position needs to be much closer to the bridge than it had been. The difference in sound is night and day once my ring-finger is about even with the bridge. Plus, since the strings are tighter against the bridge there, there's more staccato attack and firmness in picking. Doing that really brought the sound from my Iida alive.

· Mr. Baumann told me to buy a new Scorpion or Snuffy Smith and get a geared 5th-string tuner. I'd've done that a while ago but was afraid the banjo needed a lot more than that: new neck, new head, tail piece. He thinks not. My set-up was pretty good on my banjo and I’m happy to hear him say that because my banjo set-up was a mess when I bought it and I did the set-up all myself -- slow and steady trial and error style. – Sounds great when he plays on it. I've not been able to find a wrench to mess with the head, but he thought the head tightness sounded good. Other than that, I've changed the action, loosened the tailpiece and moved the bridge, all goofy cock-eyed to get strings 1 through 4 in tune up and down the neck (5 goes flat up the neck, but he says that's the way it always is if 1 to 4 are good). Hey, it helps me a lot just knowing that my banjo is really in good shape.

So, my immediate plans are to get that new bridge and 5th-string tuner, work daily on my rolls, and concentrate on my sound a great deal more especially when my left hand is between frets one and five. I think I’ll also buy Janet’s back-up book, maybe the Pat Cloud book, and a song book from someone else – Trischka, Munde, Wernick. I think I need to start working out by ear something like “Bear Down Chicago Bears” or “Take me out to the Ball Game” to get my head in gear. When I’m digging my sound and my right hand has made some real progress I’ll definitely look Keith Baumann up again -- also Greg Cahill, Jones Family Music, and Brian Munday.

I don't recall the exact cost of the lesson but it was about $40 for an hour lesson. Mr. Baumann plays the banjo very well, and turned me onto some real improvements with my right-hand position and getting a good sound with my rollls. He did not actually assign a lesson.

Overall Rating

5

Overall Comments

Banjo Jazzer Dave Marty is 'Mr. Smooth'
Thursday, April 24, 2008 @2:42:08 PM

Banjo Jazzer Dave Marty is 'Mr. Smooth'
Posted by Rick Foster on April 3, 2008 at 10:43am




Whether entertaining on luxury cruise liners or appearing before convention audiences, California banjoman extraordinaire Dave Marty's nickname is "Mr. Smooth."

Marty, whose virtuosity as a performer and recording artist spans nearly a half century, will be the main headliner for this year’s Early Spring Banjo Fling April 3-6 at the Mansfield Holiday Inn. The event, which includes dozens of bands and solo performers playing everything from early 20th Century popular music to traditional and Dixieland jazz, is staged annually by the Stone Street Strummers Banjo Band.

Music captured the young Marty’s imagination almost from the start. From the age of 12, he had already begun teaching himself ukulele before eventually asking his father for something a little bigger. Marty actually had a guitar in mind, but for his 16th birthday, his dad surprised him with – of all things—a banjo.

He had trouble at first adjusting to the banjo’s long neck, and put the instrument aside for the next three years until he happened to hear a banjo player in a trio in a local pizza parlor. “After hearing a couple of tunes, I decided I was as good as or better than the banjo player, and he was making money doing that,” said Marty. “Then and there I knew what I wanted to do with my life.”
Before long, Marty had resurrected the banjo, joined the musician’s union and got his first professional job – also in a pizza parlor. He’s been playing ever since: 48 years in all.

Marty’s career began in beer halls and restaurants, but he soon branched out to night clubs in San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans and New York City, not to mention Florence, Italy and the New York World’s Fair.

Together with David Sturdevant on guitar and Abe van der Meulen on side banjo, Marty formed the San Francisco Medicine Ball Band in 1970, recording an LP “On a Slow Boat to China” in 1976. Marty went on to record several other albums and spent 17 years as a featured performer on major cruise lines.

Marty revels in a wide variety of musical forms, from classical to Dixieland and traditional jazz along with music from the big band era. But the uniqueness of the banjo lays the strongest claim to his heart. “Musically, the banjo tugs at the American heart because of the sound derived from the instrument; it is unlike any other American musical instrument and can be a happy one,” said Marty. “Culturally, the banjo is a big part of very early American popular music and dixieland jazz and country & western music. Furthermore, music played on the banjo stirs up many memories, particularly for senior citizens.”

Marty will perform several times throughout this year’s Spring Fling beginning with a guest appearance with the Stone Street Strummers Banjo Band 7: p.m. Thursday, April 3, in a celebration of the Tin Pan Alley era of American Music, and the annual Headliner concert 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 5 at the hotel.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I learned more in one month (Beginner'^s Banjo Course) than in the first three years by myself. As in Europe there are almost no teachers , Harold was the best choice I could have.
The arrangements are very demanding but the course guarantees banjo proficiency very quickly.
On the top, Harold is extremely friendly.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Harold Streeter has an extraordinary gift for teaching banjo, guitar and mandolin. He individualizes his instruction to suit each student in private lessons and group sessions. Harold eases the learner into the driver's seat and provides guidance toward the student's objectives. A gentle coach with a big heart and delightful humor, Harold recognizes and applauds his student's accomplishments. With his vast and varied collection of graduated tab arrangements, he helps his students to develop as independent learners. For students who live outside the North Idaho area, get in touch with Harold at www. lewalt.com.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

I've been taking lessons from Dave for over three months. First I took a group lesson in beginner banjo through the Palm Beach County community education program, which is a very good program if you are just starting out on banjo as your first instrument. I wanted to learn more, so I signed up for private lessons.

Dave is an excellent instructor in many ways. He's helping me break bad habits that I've developed by teaching myself on banjo (and guitar) such as issues with timing, technique and dynamics. Dave is great with telling what your weaknesses are so you know what to practice for the rest of the week. I have found that many instructors cannot, or will not, be critical in that way towards their students, and it does not help you to not have that criticism.

He has written instructional cd-roms but is also open to teaching songs you would like to learn. We're working on some JD Crowe right now.

Dave has real life experience as a banjo player as well, so he can help with the skills you need to play with other musicians. I am also taking another group lesson that he gives to do just that, as well as continuing with private instruction. Again, I have found that many other teachers are bedroom players and cannot help you with this.

Dave is hightly recommended by me for all Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast students. He's a bluegrass/acoustic music enthusiast in an area of the country where those values are in short supply. He has a cool dog too. ;)

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Harold Streeter is one of those rare musicians who can, at the highest level, both play AND teach. I have been fortunate to have taken banjo lessons from Harold. He has always been patient yet gently urging me to improve my playing abilities. He seems to know when to teach theory and when to show you technique. If you are in Northern Idaho/Eastern Washington, lessons with Harold would be time well spent. I have also taken, and recommend, Harold's Beginner Banjo Course ( http://www.lewalt.com/bluegrass_beg.html ).

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

For years I struggled, trying to teach myself how to play guitar based on lessons I took many years ago. I finally decided to take lessons again and I asked someone at a local music store if they could recommend someone. They highly recommended Harold. I don't know if it was luck or providence, but, Harold and I attend the same Church. So, I met him and was able to start lessons. From the first visit, he made learning so easy. All the tricks and techniques he taught me made me a better player in a very short time. His patience, encouragement, and skill made lessons very enjoyable. Harold has a wealth of musical knowledge and skill and can help anyone improve their playing, no matter what their level of talent, beginner or expert.

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

Just finished first lesson with John. I like his approach. He is very thorough. I would highly recomend him. Chris Prewitt

Overall Rating

10

Overall Comments

The other reviewers have about said it all, but as one who has been learning from Harold for about five years now I will say this: If you're within driving distance of Harold Streeter, and you want to take banjo, guitar, or mandolin lessons from someone who is not only a master at playing these instruments but who knows how to really and truly help others learn, too, then you can't do better than Harold Streeter. Period.

Overall Rating

10