Yes! Even if you’ve never played music before, I’m happy to teach you.

I teach out of my studio in Glendale, Salt Lake City.

I am a full-time gigging musician, run a music organization, and teach music; so while I love educating, my teaching availability is tight! I usually only schedule lessons two days a week, at very specific times. If there are no slots on the online calendar, I’m not free, I’m sorry! If you keep looking and struggle to find a time that works for you, feel free to contact me via my website’s contact form.

Not usually. I much prefer to meet in person. But you’re welcomed to contact me via the contact form on my website if you’d like online lessons.

Absolutely!

I’m now taking bookings entirely through my website on the Lessons Page. All lessons are held at my studio in Glendale, SLC. If you are a new student to me, find a time that works for you, and please use the ‘New Student’ lesson option. It will have you fill out a simple onboarding form for me. I will contact you before we solidify the booking, just to make sure that I offer what you need.

Yes! You can reschedule with no charge if you give up to 48 hours’ notice. You can reschedule on the website at your convenience.

Yes, you can cancel with no charge if you give up to 48 hours’ notice. But please be thoughtful if you cancel multiple times. I know people get busy and I will never begrudge someone or take it personally if a student must start and stop.

I teach up to intermediate 3-finger, and advanced clawhammer. I’ll teach anything from fretboard theory, general music theory, chords, rhythm, weird tunings, improvisation, improv in various keys/tunings, backup, singing with the banjo, jamming, etc.

If you are unsure what style you want to play, you are welcome to book a lesson to hear the different styles, test out banjos with me, and try each style.

I think it’s better to focus on one style at a time. The approach to each, especially with the right hand, is vastly different. I think of them as two different instruments.

Clawhammer is an older style of banjo playing, most like its African roots. You play without finger picks, with your right hand in a claw, and strike the strings with your pointer or middle fingernail. It’s rhythmic, groovy, and earthy. It’s more often found in old time music rather than bluegrass, and it’s recently become more popular in the mainstream. There are new players pushing it into progressive, melodic territory and incorporating it into other musical genres, like folk, singer-songwriter, bluegrass, Irish, and more. I think clawhammer is best for people who revel in texture and groove over showy playing, and for those who are drawn to the earthy sounds of folk music. Album examples with modern and trad clawhammer: Dirk Powell Hand Me Down; Adam Hurt Earth Tones; George Jackson & Brad Kolodner Shady Lane; Nora Brown Cinnamon Tree; Carolina Chocolate Drops Leaving Eden; the Freight Hoppers Mile Marker; Tommy Jarrell, Oscar Jenkins, and Fred Cockerham Down to the Cider Mill; and Highwoods String Band Fire on the Mountain.

3-finger is an umbrella term for banjo playing with picks (two metal picks for the pointer and middle finger, one thumb pick), first made popular by Earl Scruggs. The typical bluegrass style with syncopated rolls is called Scruggs style, but there are also melodic and single string styles of playing. In my opinion, everyone should start with Scruggs style and learn traditional bluegrass to understand the instrument’s roots and develop a deep sense of timing. 3-finger banjo has become modernized since the 60s, with melodic and single string players taking it into jazz, swing, rock, and more. I think it’s best for people who particularly love traditional bluegrass and/or like showy playing. Album examples with modern and trad 3-finger: Flatt & Scruggs Foggy Mountain Banjo; Ralph Stanley Shine On; Larry Sparks Silver Reflections; The Bluegrass Album Band The Bluegrass Album; the Seldom Scene Old Train; Crooked Still Shaken by a Low Sound; The Foreign Landers Made to Wonder; Bela Fleck My Bluegrass Heart; and Dan Tyminski Wheels.

If you want to learn more, I suggest watching this video with Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn. They provide examples of both styles. If you stick with one for a while, you can totally learn the other later! More banjo is more banjo, and that’s a good thing.

Ideally, yes! But I do not lend out instruments. And unfortunately, I do not know where to rent an instrument locally.

If you’re playing 3-finger, you’re going to want a resonator banjo to get that bluegrass sound and punch (a resonator is the convex wooden cover and flange around the banjo head. It amplifies and brightens the sound of the banjo). I personally think spending a little more is better and recommend the Gold Tone OB-100 if it doesn’t break the bank (~$1100). It’s an instrument you can have forever and sounds awesome for the price. Gold Tone also makes the CC-BG and CC-100R that are fine, too, and a little cheaper (~$700). In my opinion, Deering is better for their higher end resonator banjos ($1500+) rather than entry level.

If you’re playing clawhammer, you’ll want an open back banjo (no resonator. The open back gives it a warmer, quieter, earthier sound). Gold Tone also has some entry level options. The CC-100 and CC-OT are nice (~$600). I’d avoid the AC models, as they are made with plastic, but hey, do what you got to do! Deering makes some great entry level open back banjos, like the Goodtime (Goodtime Americana in both 11” and 12” pots ~$700; 12” pot Americana Artisan has updated hardware and dark stain, ~$1000). Acoustic Music in SLC carries Gold Tone and Deering, along with Ode and Pisgah banjos, which are handmade instruments. They start at around $1400 base and go up to $2600+. Getting a 12” or 11” pot size is up to the player. 12” are a little louder, warmer, muddier, while 11” are quieter, brighter, but can cut through better.

You can also start with what you have – your old boyfriend’s banjo, the banjo sitting in your grandpa’s attic, or something you found on KSL. If you’re not sure about restringing or setting up a banjo, I’d recommend bringing it into a local shop to make sure it’s in playable condition.

It’s up to you! If you buy online or on classifieds, the instrument’s condition can be a gamble, unless you know what you’re looking at. Ideally, go to a local shop and find something that feels and sounds good in your hands, even if you’re just strumming it open.

I get this question a lot. If you’ve always dreamed of playing and have the budget, find an instrument you love that inspires you. If you’re going to eat beans for a year to cover the dream instrument, maybe find a middle ground. If the instrument is in good condition--whether it’s old, new, kind of crappy, or super fancy--you can learn on it as long as it has strings and is set up well. But don’t feel like you do or don’t ‘deserve’ something beautiful.

I’d encourage all beginners to focus first on the playing than the instrument. Don’t let the decision be a barrier to learning and know that you can always get another instrument later.