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stefsend |
Playing Since: 1978
Experience Level: Expert/Professional
Interests:
[Teaching] [Jamming] [Socializing] [Helping]
Gender: Male
My Instruments:
"Fairbanks Electric #1" made by Mike Allison @ Providence Guitar and Banjo
Classified Rating: not rated
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Profile Info:
Visible to: Public
Created 8/26/2008
Last Visit 11/7/2019
Hi Everyone, This summer I’ve been at a number of festivals, and quite a few folks have approached me asking if I give banjo lessons. I do, but I live in Ithaca, NY, and that’s pretty far away from almost everywhere. To solve this little problem, I have started offering lessons by Skype. It’s a fairly simple process, and the technical requirements are minimal—students need broadband, a webcam, headphones, and a microphone, all of which can be had for cheap. If anyone is interested in taking lessons, drop me a line. I will be posting some videos and recordings shortly, but in the meantime, here’s a little about me. My name is Stefan Senders, and I’ve been playing clawhammer banjo for more than 30 years. I’ve been teaching for almost as long. I’ve played and learned from some great players: Mike Seeger taught me about seconding, and he introduced me to Tommy Jarrell, who taught me hundreds of tunes and as many jokes (I received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to learn from Tommy). The list goes on-- Fred Cockerham, Paul Brown, Mac Benford, Bertram Levy, the Canote Brothers-- and it's long. I played for many years with the Chicken Chokers—we were the first old time band on CD, and we released two records (yep, VINYL) on Rounder. We took a long break, but we’re back playing again. Our CD, “Chokers 07,” has gotten some really nice reviews < http://www.funkyside.com/store/inde...-07.cfm>, as has a recent release of live shows produced by Ray Alden of the Field Recorders' Collective http://www.fieldrecorder.com/docs/n...nchokers.htm. I also played in The Wildcats with Rafe Stefanini and Carol Elizabeth Jones (not to mention Jim Miller, Dirk Powell, and Jeb Puryear) and we put out a couple of tapes (one on Marimac, the other on Yodel-ay-Hee) and we toured throughout the US and Southeast Asia. I play mostly southern styles, but I know the banjo can do a lot more than that. I learned northern music from Sandy Davis, and from Ruthie Dornfeld, with whom I played for many years (If you don’t know her, look her up! http://www.ruthiedornfeld.com). I currently play with Long John and the Tights. That's John Hoffmann (check out John’s new CD with Mac Benford, “It’s About Time” on five-String http://www.5-string.com/5SP07003.html) Randi Beckman, Jim Reidy, and Jody Platt (You can hear Jody on her many recordings with the Cliffhangers, also on Five-String http://www.5-string.com/5SP05006.html), and we currently have a CD in the planning stages. I also play Finnish-Tex-Mex banjo with Toivo [http://toivo.honkingduck.com], and country music with Carol Elizabeth Jones (See her new CD, Cataloochee on Five-String http://www.5-string.com/5SP08001.html). I’ve taught and performed at major festivals and camps, including the Festival of American Fiddle Tunes, Ashokan, Fiddlehead, Pinewoods, and Augusta, and I give private lessons. I teach all levels of playing, from beginner to advanced. I teach traditional styles (Wade Ward, Tommy Jarrell, Fred Cockerham, etc.), advanced techniques, accompaniment and seconding styles, two-finger styles, and improvisation, but my overarching goal is to help students find their own sound. If you've been searching for your sound, or if you're just curious, drop me a line and we'll talk about it. Thanks! Stefan
