Workshops and Classes
In normal times, Ken offers classes and workshops in banjo and guitar throughout the year. For details, see Ken’s Itinerary page. But for the moment, one-on-one lessons continue digitally and group classes are being held via Zoom.
Join Ken on Zoom for his live clawhammer banjo workshop series
$25 for each 90 minute Zoom workshop. Click a topic title below to learn more and sign up
- Monday Feb. 27, 2023, 7:30-9:00 PM Eastern. Those Happy-Go-Lucky Canadian Jigs, Clawhammer Style
- Monday, March 27, 7:30-9:00 PM Eastern. Adapting Syncopated Rhythms to Clawhammer
Clawhammer Clinic Encore Collection
In case you missed one, we are offering unlimited GoogleDrive access to videos of Ken’s past Clawhammer Clinic workshops, complete with printable tab documentation for all featured tunes, exercises and musical illustrations.
New!!: Special Deal.
Order any three topics through this website, and get a fourth title free. Simply email Ken with the name of your fourth topic, and he’ll send you all four at once.
~~ TOPICS ~~
Syncopation in Clawhammer
Playing Up the Neck
Pull-Offs & Alternate-String Pull-Offs
Playing Jigs (& other 6/8 Time Tunes) in Clawhammer
Playing Waltzes (& other 3/4 Time Tunes) in Clawhammer
Drop-Thumbing & Double-Thumbing in Clawhammer: a Complete Guide
Creating Variations & Breaks in Clawhammer
Celtic & Canadian Reels, Clawhammer Style
Canadian Jigs (from Cape Breton & Prince Edward Island), Clawhammer Style
Strathspeys and Marches, Clawhammer Style
Playing “Cross-Tuning” in Clawhammer: Playing In One Key When the Banjo Is in a Tuning Designed for a Different Key
Beyond the “Galax Lick”: the Arpeggio Technique in Clawhammer
Some Great Modal Tunes from West Virginia Fiddler Henry Reed
Classic Bluegrass Fiddle Tunes, Played Note-for Note in Clawhammer Style.
Triplets & Grace Notes in Clawhammer: How to Obtain Them & Use Them in Tunes
The Clawhammer “Roll” Technique in the “The Cuckoo” & Beyond
Syncopated Double-Thumbing Patterns (& How to Use Them)
Melodic Fingering Shapes in Open G-Tuning (Frets 1 thru 9)
Techniques of the Great 20th Century Roots Clawhammer Banjoists
Melodic Fingering Shapes in Double C and G-Modal Tunings (Frets 1 thru 10)
The Real Round Peak: Learn Tune Versions by Kyle Creed, Fred Cockerham & Others
Harmonized Scales: Using 3rds & 6ths to Spice Up Your Clawhammer Arrangements
Playing Celtic Reels with Taste & Authority, Clawhammer Style
Playing in the Key of D from Open G Tuning (gDGBD)
Arranging a Song or Simple Melody for Performance, Clawhammer Style
Up-the-Neck “Melodic” Fingering Forms That Feature 5th-String Fretting
“Keith”-Picking: Adapting the Principles of Melodic Bluegrass to Clawhammer
Movable Major & Minor Chord Shapes in Double-C / Double-D Tuning
Playing Hornpipes in “Hornpipe Style” on Clawhammer Banjo
Modes & Pentatonics in Old-Time Music
Creating Variations via Scale Formulas on Clawhammer Banjo
Demystifying “Crooked” Tunes in Old-Time Music
Private Banjo and Guitar Lessons in person or via Skype or Zoom
Ken has been teaching private students to play clawhammer banjo and fingerstyle guitar since the mid-1970s (when he started, Gerald Ford was president!!). He offers a highly systematic approach, which he can instantly modify to adapt to the needs of each individual student. Click for contact information.
Over the Internet
Until we’re out of the pandemic woods, Ken will be teaching entirely over the internet, and has grown increasingly impressed at how well suited video conferencing “apps” such as Skype and Zoom are for teaching fretted-instrument skills.
In-Person Teaching
When things return to “normal,” Ken will also teach in person lessons from his home in West Roxbury, Mass. Contact Ken by phone or email about scheduling and other arrangements. “West Rox” is in the southwestern corner of Boston, Massachusetts. For the dedicated student, it’s also within practical driving range of much of southern and eastern New England.
Ken now teaches frequently over the internet via the Skype program. To set up a lesson, simply contact him via phone or email.