28/10/2025
Offering one hour lessons, 50$/hour
WHAT IS CLAWHAMMER BANJO?
Clawhammer is a traditional American style of down-picking played on 5-string banjos. It descends from African down-picking styles used on fretless gourd instruments (such as the akonting) in which the strings are hit using the back of the fingernail. Clawhammer banjo is often found in combination with fiddles, guitars, mandolins, harmonicas and vocalists. It’s a wonderful soloist or accompaniment style of banjo that is adaptable to a wide-range of musical genres!
ABOUT
Mara is an American artist and musician based in Montreal with 20 years of banjo playing experience. She is a dedicated player and listener of early American roots music of the south including string band, country, cowboy, country blues, jugband, Cajun and minstrel era music. Mara teaches through modeling and repetition with the intent to preserve the oral tradition of country folk music. In class we explore different traditional tunings, learn tunes and how to improvise within the set structure of a melody.
16/05/2024
05/05/2024