While Peghead Nation’s Clawhammer Banjo instructor Evie Ladin was in the studio recently recording a Will Seeders Dobson Special banjo demo, she took a moment to play a few tunes on that instrument. In this video, she plays Forky Deer/Forked Deer, a mashup of a version that Sidna Myers recorded as “Forky Deer” and the more common version of “Forked Deer” as played at old-time gatherings the world over.
On May 14, Evie is teaching a clawhammer banjo workshop, called “Beyond the Bum Ditty II: Practicing Syncopations.” This live workshop will happen on Zoom on Saturday, May 14, from 10 AM – 11:30 AM Pacific / 1 – 2:30 PM Eastern.
About her plan for the workshop, Evie says: “Pete Seeger coined the onomatopoetic term bum-ditty to get to the unusual right-hand technique particular to clawhammer banjo (and other instruments with a short drone string). Once you’ve mastered that motion, there are myriad ways to open up your rhythmic playing to get more in sync with the more fluid rhythms of the fiddle bow: drop thumb, i-skip, triplets, and more. We’ll go through a number of these skills, and practice them in specific, common old-time tunes to increase fluidity without sacrificing steady rhythm.”
Register now for “Beyond the Bum Ditty II: Practicing Syncopations and join us on May 14 at 10 AM Pacific / 1 PM Eastern.
Learn to play Clawhammer Banjo with Evie Ladin on Peghead Nation! Get your first month free with code EvieLand at checkout.
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