The Banjo Style of J. D. Crowe
With Bill Evans and special guests Ron Stewart and Ron Block
Live Zoom Workshop Series
Starting Wednesday, January 18, 2023
8 sessions | Every-Other Wednesday
5 PM Pacific | 8 PM Eastern
Peghead Nation is excited to announce an eight-part live Zoom workshop series taught by Peghead Nation banjo instructor Bill Evans called The Banjo Style of J. D. Crowe. This series is designed for intermediate to advanced players and consists of eight one-hour live Zoom workshops + handouts where you can ask questions of Bill in each session. Each live workshop will be recorded in high quality video and audio and edited for viewing and study both during the course and after its conclusion. Detailed tabs and handouts, in PDF format, will be emailed to students in advance of each workshop session.
This course has been approved and endorsed by the Crowe family. J. D. had agreed to take part in this series that was originally planned for early 2022 but his health concerns made it impossible for him to participate. J. D. encouraged Bill to present the series on his own at a future date.
Next to Earl Scruggs, J. D. Crowe is the most influential five-string bluegrass banjo player in the history of this instrument and The Banjo Style of J. D. Crowe will provide a career overview, teaching tunes and techniques from J. D.’s earliest days with Jimmy Martin through the Kentucky Mountain Boys, his classic 70’s and 80’s recordings with The New South and his remarkable work with Tony Rice in the Bluegrass Album Band. Special guests Ron Block, from Alison Krauss and Union Station and Ron Stewart, the Seldom Scene banjo player who played fiddle with J. D. Crowe for over 8 years, will provide their special insight into J. D.’s approach by demonstrating solos, licks and techniques.
Among the tunes we’ll cover in this course are:
You Don’t Know My Mind (two solos) / Sunny Side of the Mountain / Blue Ridge Cabin Home (two solos) / Free Born Man / Black Jack / Molly and Tenbrooks / Bear Tracks / Hold Watcha Got / The Old Home Place / Dark Hollow / Come Back Darling
We’ll also take a deep dive into his right- and left-hand techniques (pick angles, wrist arch, note separation, muting techniques, pull-offs and much more), his rhythmic approach and accenting, back up and much more. In addition, we’ll explore J. D.’s approach to country-style tunes and slow song back up and cover the many blues-influenced licks which expanded the vocabulary of bluegrass banjo playing to influence generations of banjo players.
While we’re tracing J. D.’s evolution as a player through his forty-year career, we’ll also be learning about his life by reading together Marty Godbey’s Crowe on the Banjo: The Music Life of J. D. Crowe. In addition to working on solos from J. D.’s recordings, we’ll also access selected YouTube performances to focus in on J. D.’s right hand technique, left-hand fingering, banjo tone and much more.
Bill also welcomes your requests as to what tunes and techniques you would like to see covered in the course. The fee for the eight-week workshop is $200. In addition to each live Wednesday evening session, workshop recordings will be available to students a few days after each class, in case you miss a class or want to review what you’ve learned. These recordings will also be available to you on the Peghead Nation website after the conclusion of the course.
About Bill Evans
Bill Evans is a 2022 recipient of the Steve Martin Banjo Award and is one of the world’s most respected and beloved players and teachers. Bill hosts four online courses for Peghead Nation, including Earl Scruggs: A Player’s Guide, Melodic & Single-String Banjo and Bluegrass Banjo (www.pegheadnation.com). His instruction is practical, down-to-earth and designed for the adult learner with accurate and detailed tablature provided for all examples included in this course.
Bill has spent fifty years studying the intricacies of J. D.’s banjo style and has hosted many workshops and banjo weekends with him, in addition to co-authoring the only authorized book of transcriptions for AcuTab Publications. He has produced four instructional projects for Homespun Tapes and is the author of Banjo For Dummies, Bluegrass Banjo For Dummies, Absolute Beginners – Banjo, and is the co-author of Parking Lot Picker’s Songbook: Banjo Edition. He has taught thousands of students from all over the world and he currently performs with his solo concert The Banjo in America; with guitar legend Dan Crary and with the California Bluegrass Reunion, featuring Darol Anger. Bill also hosts banjo camps in New Mexico in addition to teaching at camps in the United States and England. Learn more at www.billevansbanjo.com and to view performances and workshops, visit his YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/BillEvansBanjo.
For more info and to register, link here.
I have registered- looking forward to this!
Thank you Bill!
Thanks for joining us Dean! It's going to be a resource that I hope that players can use for years to come! All the best, Bill
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