Get Rolling

HOMESPUN
Taught by Pete Wernick
Level 1
60-min. video + chords and lyrics


You can make good banjo music almost immediately with "Dr. Banjo" himself! Pete Wernick has taught thousands of people, young and old, to play three-finger style bluegrass "Scruggs" picking. This super-easy lesson has been time-tested at Pete’s many workshops and music camps, and he will have you playing along in the very first minutes.

With only two chords (one "open," the other using just two fingers), Pete gets you started strumming and accompanying ten bluegrass standards. By learning just one more easy chord, you are now able to play along with almost any bluegrass song. You’ll learn a sizeable group of favorites by simply strumming and changing chords in the right places. Getting started this way builds results and confidence quickly, and is extremely effective in learning timing, left hand, and "ear" skills -- all necessary for eventually playing in jam sessions.

Next, it’s time for the basic banjo rolls that really start sounding like bluegrass picking! With just a four-note pattern, your banjo sparkles as you roll along with the video on all of the songs you’ve learned up to now. You’re ready to jam with Pete’s guest students Joel Adamson and Marie Steen, who show how strumming and picking work together on "Tom Dooley," 'Take Me Back to Tulsa" and "Long Journey Home."

Finally, Pete shows more roll patterns: the Foggy Mountain Breakdown roll, the forward roll, and others. He closes with a lead banjo version of "When the Saints Go Marching In," using your new rolls. By now, you’re well on your way to becoming a real bluegrass picker.

About Peter Wernick
Pete (Dr. Banjo) Wernick's years of touring and recording with Hot Rize brought him worldwide attention as one of America's premier banjo players. His Banjo Camps, teaching workshops and best-selling instructional books sealed his reputation as a popular and dynamic instructor. Pete's Homespun lessons are critically acclaimed worldwide as some of the best banjo methods available. His recordings are available from Sugar Hill, Rounder and Flying Fish Records. Pete continues to tour, record and teach from his home in Colorado.