Banjo For Dummies®
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Copyright © 2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2007926013
ISBN: 978-0-470-12762-9
Manufactured in the United States of America
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Banjo player Bill Evans is not to be confused with the deceased jazz piano legend or the very much living jazz saxophone player (or the Austin, Texas, real estate agent). This Bill Evans is a banjo player, performer, teacher, workshop leader, recording artist, composer, producer, record label owner, and American music historian. For a banjo player, Bill has an unusual amount of schooling. He earned his bachelor’s degree in anthropology with a specialization in folklore from the University of Virginia as a DuPont Scholar and a master’s degree in music with a specialization in ethnomusicology from the University of California, Berkeley. After completing coursework for the PhD at Berkeley with a specialization in American music and the music of Japan, Bill taught courses in ethnomusicology and American music history at San Francisco State University, Duke University, and the University of Virginia and was the Associate Director of the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky. A recipient of a Brown Foreman–Al Smith Artist Fellowship from the Kentucky Arts Council, Bill has also served as a consultant to the National Endowment for the Arts.
As a recording artist, Bill’s CD Native and Fine (Rounder Records) earned an honorable mention for Acoustic Instrumental Recording of the Year from NAIRD. His CD Bill Evans Plays Banjo (Native and Fine Records), featuring all original instrumental compositions, was on many “best of” lists, including those of the Chicago Tribune and County Sales. Bill earned a nomination for “Recorded Event of the Year” from the International Bluegrass Music Association for his work as producer on Suzanne Thomas’ CD Dear Friend and Gentle Hearts. As a performing artist, Bill has played with Dry Branch Fire Squad, Tony Trischka, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Maria Muldaur, Jody Stecher, Kathy Kallick and Laurie Lewis, among others. He tours nationally with his solo show “The Banjo in America” in addition to leading his own band, the Bill Evans String Summit.
Bill is a long-time contributor to Banjo Newsletter magazine and co-hosts an annual banjo camp, the Sonny Osborne NashCamp Banjo Retreat, held each fall outside of Nashville, Tennessee. In addition, Bill participates in workshops all over North America, hosts several popular instructional DVDs for AcuTab Publications, and maintains an active private teaching practice at his home in Albany, California. His former students include Chris Pandolfi, Greg Liszt, Jayme Stone, and Eric Yates. He is the co-author of Parking Lot Picker’s Songbook: Banjo Edition from Mel Bay Publications.
To learn more about Bill, visit www.nativeandfine.com.
I’d like to acknowledge the support and love of my family: my wife Kathy and my children Jesse and Corey. I dedicate this book to you.
I’d like to thank Jody Stecher, Brad Leftwich, and Eli Kaufman of the American Banjo Fraternity for their advice and assistance in the preparation of the clawhammer and classic banjo sections of this book.
I am indebted to Elderly Instruments of Lansing, Michigan for providing many of the photos. Many thanks to Elderly’s Stan Werbin, photographer Dave Matchette, and gig bag model C. Misener for their time and energy. Thanks also to photographer Kelsey Vaughn at Gruhn Guitars for supplying photos of the Osborne Chief banjo. The rest of the photos in this book were taken by Anne Hamersky. Thanks, Anne, for your fantastic, inspirational work, and thanks to Anne’s assistant, Caitlin Atkinson. I’m also grateful to have worked with Dix Bruce on the CD that accompanies this book. Thank you, Dix, for your guitar and mandolin playing and for your engineering and mixing talents. Thanks also to Larry Cohea, John Lawless, Gretchen Snyder, Erin English, Paul Hostetter, and Don Nitchie of Banjo Newsletter for their continued support and assistance.
I’d like to express my thanks to the team at Wiley Publications who cheerfully and patiently dedicated themselves to this project: my project editor Tim Gallan, my acquisitions editor Michael Lewis, copy editor Sarah Westfall, and Joyce Cullen. Thanks also to technical editor and good friend Jan Threlkeld, and to my agent Carole McClendon. A big salute also goes out to Dummies author Bob LeVitus (a.k.a. “Dr. Mac”) for getting the ball rolling by answering my e-mail inquiry regarding life as a Dummies author.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank three individuals who have provided a lifetime of musical inspiration and have mentored me over many years of close friendship: Sonny Osborne, Ron Thomason, and Tony Trischka. Your influence is found on every page of this book.
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Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development
Senior Project Editor: Tim Gallan
Acquisitions Editor: Michael Lewis
Copy Editor: Sarah Westfall
Technical Editor: Jan Threlkeld
Editorial Manager: Christine Meloy Beck
Editorial Assistants: Erin Calligan Mooney, Joe Niesen, David Lutton, Leeann Harney
Cover Photo: Anne Hamersky
Photographers: Anne Hamersky, Dave Matchette, Kelsey Vaughn
Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)
Composition Services
Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond
Layout and Graphics: Claudia Bell, Carl Byers, Denny Hager, Shane Johnson, Heather Ryan, Julie Trippetti
Anniversary Logo Design: Richard Pacifico
Proofreaders: David Faust, Betty Kish, Susan Moritz
Indexer: Sherry Massey
Special Help Christine Williams
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies
Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel
Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User
Composition Services
Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services