Dr. Banjo’s Jam Tip #5: “It’s Not About Reciting”

“By keeping it slow and simple, ANYONE can be jamming within days of getting their first stringed instrument!” – Pete (Dr. Banjo) Wernick

Welcome to Dr. Banjo’s Jam Tips here on Prescription Bluegrass.


DR. BANJO’S JAM TIP #5. Jamming is not about reciting!

MORE of Dr. Banjo’s Jamming Tips

Dr. Banjo, Pete Wernick, is passionate about helping people with their music, and has used his forty years of playing and teaching banjo experience to develop great tips and materials.

Prescription Bluegrass  now has the Doc on board with weekly “Jamming Tips” and once each month, a full in-depth article.

DR. BANJO’S JAM TIP #4. It's not about learning to solo!

Dr. Banjo’s Jam Tip #3. Bluegrass Is A Team Sport!

Dr. Banjo’s Jam Tips are offered each week to help people learn and/or improve their instrument, bluegrass and musical skills.

Whether you are new to your instrument or bluegrass music or at the highest level of professional playing there will be something for you.

Click READ MORE for  Jam Tip #3 and links to previous tips and articles.

Dr. Banjo’s Jam Tip #2

Dr. Banjo – Pete Wernick of HOT RIZE continues this week with his series on “Jam Tips” with an in-depth article. Pete is a prominent teacher of bluegrass, having hosted music camps since 1980 and now conducting ten or more each year focusing mostly on bluegrass jamming for all bluegrass instruments.

Each month as part of his weekly “shorter tips” here on Prescription Bluegrass we’ll have Pete give us all a more comprehensive view of what jamming is about, why jamming is not only fun but very important to the overall learning and growth of the picker’s ability.

Regardless of your own musical knowledge or ability we hope to provide you with something of interest – something you can pick up and move yourself and your jamming partners a little closer to where you want to be. Please feel free to share these links with other pickers via email or your social media outlets.

This week Dr. Banjo’s Jam Tip is right below….just click on READ MORE and you’re there. Have fun!

Prescription Bluegrass Launches “Jamming Tips from Dr. Banjo”

Here we are in a brand new year and Prescription Bluegrass is proud to present a brand new feature to help kick of the new year!  “Dr. Banjo’s Jamming Tips” will be a regular feature here on the Prescription Bluegrass Blog.
"Dr. Banjo", Pete Wernick, is the originator of Banjo Camps and Bluegrass Jam Camps, and creator of many bestselling bluegrass books and videos. Along with performing worldwide with Hot Rize and others, he is dedicated to helping people learn the joys of playing bluegrass.
Look for his “Tips” each week and then also once each month we’ll have a special in-depth report on “Jamming” from the Doctor.
 So, beginning this week Prescription Bluegrass is proud to have Pete Wernick present his “Jam Tips” every Tuesday right here.  Read them! Share them! Enjoy! And have FUN!   OK, are you ready?   Just click READ MORE below for Tip #1.

Scholarships Available to Pete Wernick’s Advanced Banjo Camp

Pete Wernick has sent us a reminder that he has two scholarships to his 2013 Advanced Banjo Camp available.  

The camp will be January 21-26 in Boulder, Colorado and is geared to players in performing bands and focuses on tone, timing, “believability”, creativity, band dynamics, and performance.

Dr. Banjo’s 29th Winter Banjo Camps set for January 2013

Since offering the original “banjo camp” in 1984, Pete “Dr. Banjo” Wernick has conducted nearly a hundred of them, hosting over 1,500 students from around the world.

In January 2013 he will host his 29th annual winter camps at the Boulder Inn in Boulder, Colorado.

The camp consists of three “full-immersion” weeks: Basic Skills, Intermediate, and Advanced. Complete information is found on www.DrBanjo.com.

Dr. Banjo 2012 Jam Classes to Follow a Strong Start in 2011

Pete (“Dr Banjo”) Wernick's latest project, Wernick Method Jam Classes, got off to a strong start in 2011. By year’s end, the 500th student registration was received, with 38 classes completed. Emailed student evaluations for all classes showed highly positive ratings for "fun", "learning" and "worth the money" -- all Wernick Method goals.

"This year we established the method and our procedures, creating the structure as we went along," says Pete. "A lot is in place now, with classes in over 20 states, and we're ready to grow another step by involving more teachers."

Banjo Scholarship Winners Announced For Dr. Banjo Camp

Pete Wernick Announces Banjo Camp Scholarship Winners

Pete (“Dr. Banjo”) Wernick will host two scholarship winners at his January 2012 Advanced Banjo Camp. Jim Gabehart of Hinton, West Virginia, will attend thanks to the generosity of Stelling Banjo Works, and Jordan Alleman of Portland, Oregon is the recipient of donations received at last January’s annual Banjo Camp concert. Jim and his wife lead a band that plays throughout the east, and Jordan, 18, will start studies at Berklee College of Music in the fall.

December 5th Scholarship Application Deadline for Pete Wernick’s 2012 Advanced Banjo Camp

Two scholarships for Pete Wernick’s January 2012 Advanced Banjo Camp are still available, with an approaching December 5th application deadline.

One $1,000 scholarship covers almost all expenses for an out-of-state attendee and is being offered through the generosity of Stelling Banjos. The Advanced Camp runs January 16-21 in Boulder, Colorado.

Making Music Magazine Features Bluegrass in July Issue

For anyone seeing an authentic bluegrass band for the first time, the unique instrumentation, driving tempos, soulful harmonies, and fierce, piercing tenor singing can be a lot to take. The sharp suits and masterfully virtuosic musicianship defy any “hillbilly” stereotype of its southern Appalachian roots, and it’s hard to disagree that ace bluegrass musicians are among the best of any genre.
Making Music staff writer, Jason Borisoff, also a member of the Salt City Ramblers of Syracuse, NY. has a feature article in the July issue of Making Music Magazine called “The Lonesome Language – A Helpful Guide to Bluegrass Music.

JAM CLASS INSIGHTS!

We heard from Mark Miracle in Phoenix who is a fully certified Pete Wernick (Dr. Banjo) Bluegrass Jam Instructor, about his thoughts on Jam Classes.  Mark's next class begins this Saturday and we'll be hearing from him here from week to week as the class progresses and get and inside look from both the perspective of the instructor as well as some of the students.

The Art of Jamming!

Pete Wernick Jam Classes are now being held all over the country and even in Australia! Pete's renowned and innovative method of teaching the art of jamming - known appropriately as "The Wernick Method" - has gone from the festival to the classroom. In doing so, we as teachers, can give more information and person guidance to those wishing to learn to play music with other folks. The curriculum is geared towards the novice player as well as the intermediate-level musicians, as you will be learning how to maintain tempo, learning to "see & hear" the chord changes and of course the oh-so-important "jam etiquette"...and much more.

Mark Miracle

Students will soon discover the enjoyment and comradery that music can provide. Check back as I discuss the challenges and accomplishments that are a result of the Jam Class!

Remember folks, music is just art for the ears!
 

Mark Miracle

Wernick-Method Bluegrass Jam Classes and Camps Stepping It Up!

Pete Wernick (“Dr. Banjo”) has a goal to introduce as many people as possible to the pleasures of playing bluegrass music with friends, family, and even strangers. Since 1999 he has taught over 1,000 at full-immersion 3- and 4-day Bluegrass Jam Camps across the country. Last year he stepped up his efforts by launching the Wernick Method Bluegrass Network, training and certifying qualified teachers to offer jam classes in their own communities. 

The first five completed classes, in Maryland, Wyoming, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, drew an average of 15+ students and received strongly positive student evaluations. Another 12 classes are scheduled for spring of 2011 in Nevada, Massachusetts, Arizona, Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Colorado, Wisconsin, and Queensland, Australia.

The classes teach such skills as how to follow and learn new songs in a jam, faking solos, finding melodies by ear, leading songs, and the informal ground rules and etiquette used in bluegrass jams worldwide. “It’s mostly just common sense, but people who have only played music by themselves ‘in the closet’, or for one other person, often start off bewildered,” Wernick says. “Between the first session and the later ones, there’s a huge gain in confidence, and typically these folks will now be jammers for life.”