A technique-focused course to help foster rhythmic expression from the thumb in clawhammer playing, with examples from traditional banjo repertoire to help store the new techniques in player’s hands. Building up from the basics with the development of strong tone and ergonomic technique, all the way to drop thumbing, ghost notes, and other selective uses of the thumb to have more control over dynamics and the production of syncopation and drive.
Instructor Bio
Known for rhythmically deep and rapt delivery of roots music voiced on banjo, fiddle, finger-style guitar, lap steel, and voice, Laurel Premo is a Michigan-based touring and recording artist, composer, engineer and music educator. MTV News described Premo’s 2021 solo record ‘Golden Loam’ as “subtle but dazzling and rich in texture. Watching a live performance is pure hypnosis.” As a collaborator, soundtrack composer, and teacher, she’s internationally sought out as an authentic representative of her field. Drawing on American and Nordic traditions alongside new compositions borne out of that traditional vocabulary, the glowing heartiness and rich grit of her sound reveal a love of and complete submersion in these heavy archaic roots. Important mentors who have helped shape Laurel’s lens in folk arts have been her parents Bette & Dean Premo (fiddle, guitar, and traditional song, Michigan), Joel Mabus (clawhammer banjo, Michigan), Arto Järvelä (fiddle, Finland), and Ånon Egeland (fiddle, Norway).