27 September 2011

A bluegrass banjo teacher in Kerry or Limerick?

Martina Daly sends this appeal from Listowel, Co. Kerry:

I wonder if you might be able to help a damsel in distress (that's me!). My dad gave me his banjo several months ago and I decided that I'd like to learn to play - bluegrass and old-time/folk in particular. As I'm based in Kerry, it was difficult to find anybody who would teach me these styles. Or even teach me any kind of banjo that wasn't four-string... I love bluegrass; it's the happiest sound that a banjo can make, I think.

Anyway, I found a teacher eventually, but after three months of lessons I'm still not learning any bluegrass. I know that I'm not going to be playing 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown' any time soon... but there ARE simple bluegrass tunes that I could be learning which would incorporate the same elements as the more traditional pieces I'm learning at the moment. I saw the Water Tower Bucket Boys in Kilworth recently and almost cried at the thought that I may never be able to play that kind of music.

Would you know of any bluegrass banjo players in Kerry/Limerick that might consider teaching a neophyte like myself? I really don't expect miracles - I would just like to start (well, almost start) as I mean to go on.

Any banjo teacher in the south-west would need a heart of stone to ignore such an appeal. If you're a teacher yourself, or know of one, and can help Martina, please contact her by e-mail.

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2 Comments:

At 5:31 pm, Blogger murph said...

all you need is murphy henry begining the banjo vol 1 dvd.trust me youll never look back

 
At 11:26 pm, Blogger Unknown said...

I would recommend Bluegrass Banjo by Peter Wernick. I learned entirely from this book as I had no teachers near me. As you know these days the internet can be quite helpful in picking up technique and tunes, but start with Pete & put in the time & it will come.

 

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