Feb 4 – 25: Clawhammer Banjo 3 with Molly Tenenbaum

Four Thursdays, February 4, 11, 18, 25

7:45pm – 8:45pm

Dusty Strings 3406 Fremont Ave N

Maximum Enrollment: 16

Registration & Refund Deadline: Saturday, January 30, 2027

Focus on skills and expanding stylistic choice. Each class explores an essential element of clawhammer banjo and practices the many options available. Topics include tone, melody choice, drop-thumb, up-the-neck fingerboard knowledge, and rhythmic variation. Each week offers a tune for practicing and experimenting with that element. This class is right for you if you know a few tunes or songs and want some options for variation, or are ready to play around to find your own style within the clawhammer tradition.

Skills Needed: Familiarity with basic frailing—the “bum diddy” pattern. Ability to play the pieces you know at a steady tempo, slow or moderate. Familiarity with G tuning, sawmill tuning, and Double-C.

What to Bring: 5-string banjo in playable condition, tuner, capo, recording device (smartphone or other), and paper and pen or pencil. Need to rent a banjo? Dusty Strings has an affordable rental program. Please call (206) 634-1662 or come to the shop between 10:30am – 6pm at least a week before the first class as rentals are subject to availability.

Teacher: Molly teaches old-time clawhammer banjo (also called “frailing” or “overhand” style). A banjo teacher since 1987, Molly guides students to be independent players and learners, emphasizing old-time traditional repertoire from diverse sources. She deeply loves old-time music and is always excited to get students involved in the music and the community. Molly has been playing old-time banjo since she was a teenager and has since performed around the Pacific Northwest with bands including The Queen City Bulldogs and Dram County. She’s taught locally and nationally at camps including American Banjo Camp, Augusta, and The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes.

*Most classes and workshops are geared towards late-teens and adults. Younger learners will benefit most starting with private lessons.

If you have any questions about group classes, or the school in general, don’t hesitate to contact us at (206) 634-1662 or music@dustystrings.com.