Peter Somerville Banjo Academy

Darling Dance Studios
13 Glass Street Kew 3102, 31 Tyne Street Box Hill North

Banjo tuition in Thornbury and Blackburn. 35 years experience. Beginners to advanced welcome. I teach both 3 fingerstyle and clawhammer.

There’s heaps of great tunes and if you have a request , song or tune I’ll help you out, ie requests welcome. Peter is a highly regarded 5-string banjo player in Melbourne, Victoria. He has played and extensively recorded bluegrass, clawhammer and Celtic banjo in the bands , The Blue Mountain String Band, The Rank Strangers, The Somervilles and Uncle Bill, of which he was a founding member, and wh

ose collaborative Smoke album, with Paul Kelly, was released to wide acclaim in 1999. Peter has performed at major festivals both nationally and internationally, including Port Fairy, Tamworth, and the I.B.M.A in Kentucky; he has also done two extended tours playing in Japan. Peter currently plays in backwater bluegrass band and his own band, The Burning Bridges. At this point in his career he’s played on some forty to fifty recordings. Peter also plays dobro, guitar and fiddle but banjo remains his number one passion. In 2011 he compiled a book of his own arrangements, with CD: ‘Celtic and Australian tunes for Five String Banjo’. His current weapon of choice is his Stelling Sunflower . Peter teaches from his studios in Thornbury and Blackburn. Peter is an accomplished teacher with over 30 years of teaching experience. He has created his own teaching materials, including tablature arrangements for absolute beginners through to advanced levels and an accompanying CD, and is expert at tailoring the teaching to the needs and requirements of the individual student. He regularly runs popular workshops and group classes at banjo camps and bluegrass/ old-timey music festivals, and offers one-on-one lessons in bluegrass, clawhammer and Celtic style 5-string banjo at his studios 54 Collins st Thornbury and also on Wednesdays at 50A Junction Rd Blackburn, Melbourne. He charges $65an hour lesson and $35 for half an hour. Students come weekly, fortnightly or less often, depending what works best for the individual. Students need their own banjo for practicing. He has excellent new student banjos for sale and often second ones. He carries out some repairs and set ups to get the best out of every banjo and can offer advice about banjo brands. He also has strings, tuners and picks for sale.

21/05/2026

Im helping a friend sell his 1975 Stelling Starflower. Message me if interested.
Also a 1979 F5 Gilchrist mandolin

19/05/2026

https://youtube.com/shorts/eP-AePijBIo?si=4bV9_hgNF-EZn5Nw
Hard to find anyone playing O’Carolyn’s Concerto on the 5 string on YouTube, perhaps coz it’s hard!

O’Carolyn’s Concerto #banjo #folkmusic Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

19/05/2026

O’Carolyn’s Concerto.
Hard to find this on YouTube played on a five string- figured out why, it’s hard! But I think worth the effort.

22/04/2026

Jigs are a bit tricky clawhammer style but I like the sound. Here’s Lark in the Morning

05/03/2026

https://youtu.be/UDQCQg_SfBc?si=Y58oVXC3aczcXjFY
This is nice!

Old Train - Backwoods Bluegrass Backwoods Bluegrass covers Tony Rice and Seldom Scene song Old Train.We are heading to Marshall, TX March 1, 2025! Tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e...

Photos from Peter Somerville Banjo Academy's post

12/05/2025

Got a great banjo here for sale. $650 or $750 with the hard case. Sounds like an expensive banjo! Gibson copy. Upgraded tailpiece and bridge. 5th string spikes. Has a proper tonering. In new condition.
Hope someone will come round and try it out. A cracker bluegrass banjo. Message me or call 0439490716.

05/05/2025

https://youtu.be/0eE12Rqq5GM?si=RN41eQLkZXU1Bkvo
I had fun with this one playing my low tuned banjo, and as usual, Tom nails it on fiddle

Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss Here's a pretty common D tune. It goes by a lot of names, eg. Western Country, Suzanna Gal, Blue-Eyed Gal, etc. Some lovely banjo on this one too, shoutout t...

Clawhammer Banjo For Beginners: The First Tune

28/04/2025

https://youtu.be/Pbisu_CF5Z4?si=w2H8fZt88iK-fvCL
Another video to help get going on the old clawhammer

Clawhammer Banjo For Beginners: The First Tune Welcome to my second clawhammer video. It's designed to segue from the first one. A little discussion about the brush stroke and then Bile 'em Cabbage Down. ...

Clawhammer Banjo For Beginners: The Basic Technique

25/04/2025

https://youtu.be/T9iX9UOaRvo?si=qlpomFFGcSurYbk3

Hope this video will help beginners get going

Clawhammer Banjo For Beginners: The Basic Technique this video demonstrates the 'bum ditty' technique! Please comment, ask questions. Number one teaching video here. Hope you'll check out other videos on my ch...

22/03/2025

https://youtu.be/z3tuaz0xojk?si=mpOanTaaSI8PHc0z

Give the Fiddler a Dram Here's a nice tune from the playing of Jon Bekoff. I couldn't find any similar versions so if anybody knows of one please comment below :)Here’s a link to Jo...

21/02/2025

https://youtu.be/d3TgbX_gpyM?si=rRUJks1kp01yi1xI
Here’s another tune from Tom. I learnt it from Jody Stecher when he’s out here a few years ago

Sandy Boys Here's a fun Edden Hammons tune that my dad learned from Jody Stecher.Similarly to a lot of Hammons' playing, this tune has a definite Celtic-related feel to...

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Location

Melbourne

Telephone

+61439490716

Website

facebook.com

Address

54 Collins Street Thornbury
Melbourne, VIC
3071

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 9pm
Tuesday	10am - 9pm
Wednesday	10am - 9pm
Thursday	10am - 9pm
Friday	10am - 9pm