dj0qs
Verified buyer
05/10/26
Excellent course with well-founded basics and innovative ideas! Thanks
Next Gen Clawhammer
12 Next Level Clawhammer Banjo Techniques & Concepts
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About this course
In this Next Gen Clawhammer Masterclass with Brad Kolodner, you’ll study 12 essential techniques and concepts designed to take your clawhammer playing to the next level and beyond. Brad breaks down each concept in detail and you’ll put it all to work across a series of performances studies with backing tracks for a real world musical context.
Brad represents the next generation of Old-Time musicians pushing the boundaries of the tradition into uncharted territory. Highly acclaimed for his delicate touch, expressive style, and original compositions, Kolodner has rapidly gained national attention for his unique approach to the banjo.
"Banjo player Brad Kolodner takes the clawhammer style to heady heights, soloing with the deftness of a bebop player, despite the physical limitation of doing so on his plunking instrument,” says WMOT Radio.
We’re thrilled to welcome Brad to the family with his first TrueFire course, Next Gen Clawhammer!
”I grew up in a musical family where old time music was the soundtrack of my childhood. My father played fiddle and hammered dulcimer but I was drawn to the banjo and while my playing is very much rooted in the traditional clawhammer technique, my creative and technical approaches have evolved over the years -- improvising, playing all over the neck and bringing fresh expressive qualities to old time tunes.”
Brad will guide you through a series of illuminating concept and technique lessons including: Bum-Ditty Review, Demystifying Drop Thumb, Playing with Clarity & Tone, Fingerboard Mapping in Open G, Playing Up the Neck & the Magic X, Variations & Embellishments, The Cluck Technique, Ghost Strum and the Strum Ditty, Fingerboard Mapping in Double C, Playing Up the Neck in Double C, The Galax Lick, Spicing Up Your Playing and Banjo Setup.
"Along with each concept lesson, we’ll apply what we learn across 12 Old-time string band playalong jams with fiddle and guitar. We’ll play Josie-O, Fire on the Mountain, Roscoe, Roscoe with Variations, Sandy Boys, Grub Springs, Spotted Pony, Sadie at the Backdoor, Sadie at the Backdoor: with Galax Licks, and Roscoe Ending Tags.”
Brad will explain and demonstrate all of the key concepts and approaches along the way. You’ll get standard notation and tabs for all of the performance studies. Plus, you’ll be able to use TrueFire’s learning tools to sync the tab and notation to the video lesson. You can also loop or slow down the videos so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace. All of the backing tracks are included to work with on your own as well.
Grab your banjo and let's dig in with Brad Kolodner!
Brad represents the next generation of Old-Time musicians pushing the boundaries of the tradition into uncharted territory. Highly acclaimed for his delicate touch, expressive style, and original compositions, Kolodner has rapidly gained national attention for his unique approach to the banjo.
"Banjo player Brad Kolodner takes the clawhammer style to heady heights, soloing with the deftness of a bebop player, despite the physical limitation of doing so on his plunking instrument,” says WMOT Radio.
We’re thrilled to welcome Brad to the family with his first TrueFire course, Next Gen Clawhammer!
”I grew up in a musical family where old time music was the soundtrack of my childhood. My father played fiddle and hammered dulcimer but I was drawn to the banjo and while my playing is very much rooted in the traditional clawhammer technique, my creative and technical approaches have evolved over the years -- improvising, playing all over the neck and bringing fresh expressive qualities to old time tunes.”
Brad will guide you through a series of illuminating concept and technique lessons including: Bum-Ditty Review, Demystifying Drop Thumb, Playing with Clarity & Tone, Fingerboard Mapping in Open G, Playing Up the Neck & the Magic X, Variations & Embellishments, The Cluck Technique, Ghost Strum and the Strum Ditty, Fingerboard Mapping in Double C, Playing Up the Neck in Double C, The Galax Lick, Spicing Up Your Playing and Banjo Setup.
"Along with each concept lesson, we’ll apply what we learn across 12 Old-time string band playalong jams with fiddle and guitar. We’ll play Josie-O, Fire on the Mountain, Roscoe, Roscoe with Variations, Sandy Boys, Grub Springs, Spotted Pony, Sadie at the Backdoor, Sadie at the Backdoor: with Galax Licks, and Roscoe Ending Tags.”
Brad will explain and demonstrate all of the key concepts and approaches along the way. You’ll get standard notation and tabs for all of the performance studies. Plus, you’ll be able to use TrueFire’s learning tools to sync the tab and notation to the video lesson. You can also loop or slow down the videos so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace. All of the backing tracks are included to work with on your own as well.
Grab your banjo and let's dig in with Brad Kolodner!
What you'll learn
- Apply drop thumb technique in high position passages
- Execute the cluck technique with proper finger coordination
- Play the complete Sandy Boys tune with clucks integrated
- Translate familiar melodies from lower positions to upper neck positions
- Recognize how instrument setup affects advanced techniques
Release date: 06/21/2021 • 4h 31m runtime
Sample lessons
Developing Your Own Style
Demonstration
Roscoe: with Variations
Overview
Roscoe: with Variations
Performance
Roscoe: with Variations
Breakdown
What's included
51 lessons • 23 charts • 12 Jam Tracks
Next Gen Clawhammer
Hey I'm Brad Kolodner. Welcome to Next Gen Clawhammer.
I grew up in a musical family where old time music was the soundtrack of my childhood. My father played fiddle and hammered dulcimer but I was drawn to the banjo and while my playing is very much rooted in the traditional clawhammer technique, my creative and technical approaches have evolved over the years - improvising, playing all over the neck and bringing fresh expressive qualities to old time tunes.
In this masterclass, we'll study 12 essential concepts to help take your clawhammer playing to the next level. I'll break down each for you in detail and you'll have all of TrueFire's learning tools to work with as well. We'll look at demystifying drop thumb, playing up the neck in G-and-C tunings, developing your own style, strum dittys, the galax lick, and we'll even explore what I like to call "the magic X".
Along with each concept lesson, we'll apply what we learn across 12 old time string band playalong jams with fiddle & guitar. We'll play Roscoe, Sandy Boys, Spotted Pony, Fire on the Mountain and more.
The concepts and tunes we'll work on together continue to be essential building blocks of my own clawhammer style and I'm stoked to share them with you here. Grab your banjo and let's get started!
I grew up in a musical family where old time music was the soundtrack of my childhood. My father played fiddle and hammered dulcimer but I was drawn to the banjo and while my playing is very much rooted in the traditional clawhammer technique, my creative and technical approaches have evolved over the years - improvising, playing all over the neck and bringing fresh expressive qualities to old time tunes.
In this masterclass, we'll study 12 essential concepts to help take your clawhammer playing to the next level. I'll break down each for you in detail and you'll have all of TrueFire's learning tools to work with as well. We'll look at demystifying drop thumb, playing up the neck in G-and-C tunings, developing your own style, strum dittys, the galax lick, and we'll even explore what I like to call "the magic X".
Along with each concept lesson, we'll apply what we learn across 12 old time string band playalong jams with fiddle & guitar. We'll play Roscoe, Sandy Boys, Spotted Pony, Fire on the Mountain and more.
The concepts and tunes we'll work on together continue to be essential building blocks of my own clawhammer style and I'm stoked to share them with you here. Grab your banjo and let's get started!
Bum-Ditty Review
This is where it all begins: the bum-ditty. Let's deconstruct the basics of this fundamental building block of clawhammer banjo. There are many different ways to approach the bum-ditty - this is the approach I've honed in after years of playing and teaching. Next, we'll learn a basic tune!
Josie-O
Let's apply the bum-ditty on a simple fiddle tune called "Josie-O". This tune demonstrates how the bum-ditty rhythm can be applied for that classic clawhammer banjo groove.
Josie-O
Notice how the bum-ditty is the foundational building block on which I play this tune. Regardless of what my left hand is doing, my right hand just keeps on bum-dittying.
Josie-O
We'll deconstruct "Josie-O" piece by piece so you can solidify the bum-ditty while learning a new tune in the process. Make sure to focus on a consistent and streamlined right-hand approach that minimizes unnecessary movements.
Demystifying Drop Thumb
Here we'll explore the melodic and rhythmic textures possible with drop thumb, an essential tool to take your playing to the next level. Let's dive into how properly position your thumb to improve accuracy and tone.
1-2-1-5 Roll: G-C-G-D
Here's a common rhythmic drop thumb pattern I apply in my playing all over the place. I use this while backing up a song, playing in jams or just riffing on a chord progression. It's a critical tool in my arsenal.
+ 44 more lessons
Reviews
13 results
jzeringue
Verified buyer
03/03/26
Great Program
Enjoying the experience and Brad’s approach to teaching Clawhammer, this have definitely helped me improve
Simonbanjo178
Verified buyer
01/15/26
Next Gen Clawhammer
Great course!
BernieTheBeast
Verified buyer
08/25/25
Ich mag Brads Banjospiel. Der Unterricht ist sehr professionell. Noch habe ich nicht alles durchgearbeitet, aber bisher habe ich einen Riesespaß an den Lessons.
Gazz00
Verified buyer
02/14/25
Fantastic course
I have never play banjo before purchasing this course. The lessons are aasy to understand and very easy to digest.
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