Just This Banjo: free/open banjo instruction for an angry moment, because you can't be sad while playing the banjo

For years, I've been covering the career of Patrick Costello (previously) a deaf, copyfighting, open access banjo player and teacher who is responsible for a bounty of instructional books, videos, and meetups for would-be banjo players. Now, Patrick has finished a new book called Just This Banjo and made it open access, in the name of fighting the malaise and terror of our precarious moment. As Steve Martin has proved: you can't be sad while playing the banjo.

Patrick writes:

As I was finishing up this book, the launching of impeachment hearings against President Trump was the breaking news headline. Every channel seemed to have angry people yelling at other angry people. Seeking a reprieve, I went online and found more of the same anger everywhere I looked. A directionless cloud of rage that was eerily reminiscent of the Day of the Dove episode of Star Trek.

My father and I always advise our students, if you see a need, fill it. So, in defiance of the negative emotions of the day, I am making Just This Banjo freely available online. Maybe, just maybe, the encouragement, support, and love I experienced will come through the pages and inspire even one person to stop being angry.

I was the least likely music student to ever fret a string. I was able to learn my craft because there were kind and decent people in the world and that has not changed. Hopefully, my adventures will inspire you to, as Woody Guthrie put it, 'vaccinate yourself right into the big streams and blood of the people.' If you like the book, the eBook edition will be available for purchase. Read the rest