Patrick Costello On Frailing Banjo Book One: The Mechanics of Frailing Banjo Spiral-bound – May 1, 2015

its ok

For context, I've been playing for a little while, and have gone through Patrick's previous books as well as methods from other instructors from Seeger to Trischka. Patrick's method as put forth in the How and Tao and A book of five strings were the most effective for me, personally, so while I was no longer a stone cold beginner (which is the target audience for The Mechanics of Frailing banjo) I still found a lot of value in the volume. I think this has to do with how the Costello method was imagined from square one.For starters, the old mnemonic "Bump-dit-ty" to describe the basic strum has been abandoned, and is now presented as three independent, interchangeable composite parts, a strike, a strum and a thumb.Reclassifying the basic rhythm as a strike, a strum, and a thumb makes the progression into double thumb and drop thumb feel more natural, and treats all the various "strokes" if you will as a part of a larger whole rather than as distinct styles that are mutually exclusive. This is key, since it should help keep a student from fixating on terms like roundpeak or clawhammer or galax or bum-ditty or bump-a-ditty when all you're doing is counting to four. I think of it as a "zoomed out" view that lets you see the whole forest instead of a single leaf on one branch on one tree.The new notation used to diagram measures should make the concept of beats per measure more accessible to a beginner. My 11 year old son just began taking drum lessons, and the teacher used very similar bare bones notation that he grasped right away and after two lessons he was playing a basic rudiment and kept it steady for almost four bars.Much more to the point and not as comprehensive as How and Tao, which was the idea from the start. The multimedia content is a huge value add for those who learn easier by sight or ear, like myself, and the fact that it's web based means we can receive additional instructional content whenever Patrick feels like adding it, rather than getting a specific set amount as a one shot deal.

Costello is a charlatan who can barely play himself. Please save your money.

So you want to play frailing/clawhammer banjo?This is the place to start! Patrick's books and youtube videos along with his dad's videos have launched thousands of aspiring banjo player's musical journeys. Including mine. His positive, easy to understand no BS approach to teaching makes learning this instrument simple. You still have to put in the time and effort to practice, but if you do so you will be playing music on the banjo in no time.