The Sound

A great song can be deeply personal yet decidedly universal in its ability to touch listeners. “Patch of Blue,” written by Claire Lynch and released on her award-winning Dear Sister album (2013, Compass Records), is a case in point. It wasn’t a hit single. It isn’t the fastest, grassiest number on the album. Instead, it’s…

Teaching Millions to Play the Banjo You might look at the title of this article and think, “Are there really millions of people learning how to play the banjo?”  If you look at Jim Pankey’s YouTube channel and check out his “Learn To Play Bluegrass Banjo – Lesson 1,” you will see that this one…

The ToneSlabs Story At some point in their musical life—after acquiring a basic chord vocabulary and conquering the down-up picking pattern—most mandolinists or guitarists who play with a pick begin to think about how a pick’s shape, thickness and composition contribute to the sound they want to create. It’s just another worrisome concern if you…

An Interview with Randy Lanham, Education Director, Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum How do people learn to play bluegrass music, or any type of music for that matter? Is it handed down from generation to generation?  Do they teach it in school? Private Lessons? Group Lessons? Jam Sessions? Or are today’s options for…

By Jody Stecher Beautiful and unusual instrumentation, rare points of view, and intricate, natural imagery come together to create “The Only Sunshine,” an atypical love song written by Jody Stecher and released in December 2023 on his album Mile 77.  The writer behind this powerful statement song has a musical career that spans decades and…

Putting The Fun In Banjos All Photos Courtesy of Eric Sullivan “Banjos = fun” is the lifelong philosophy of one American luthier. “Sullivan Banjos is fairly recent,” its current proprietor, Eric Sullivan of Alabama, shared during a recent interview. “It started in 1970 when Dad (Bill Sullivan) was working at General Electric in the tool and…