Homespun

“You’ll never be sorry you spent time learning the banjo.” - David Holt

Want to play clawhammer banjo? Here’s a nearly foolproof way to learn this popular old-time mountain style! David Holt’s easy-to-follow instructions, friendly approach and invaluable exercises will have you picking and singing in no time.

David gets you started in the simplest way, with an open G chord and the loping “bum-diddy” right hand rhythm that’s at the heart of this style. He then teaches the basic chord shapes and melody notes to six tunes, going through each of them in close-up detail: Bile Them Cabbage Down, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Coming Round the Mountain, Old Joe Clark, Liza Jane and Cluck Old Hen. 

Once you’ve learned how to play and sing the easy versions, David brings in the elements that give us that truly distinctive mountain sound: hammers, pull-offs, slides, double-thumbing and more. This lesson will be the gateway to playing hundreds of tunes, and will take you from being a total beginner to becoming a full-on intermediate player.