This is the Hal Leonard Gold Mine series where Miles presents 50 lessons and bluegrass master, Greg Cahill, presents 50 lessons as well. In this book that includes 500 audio tracks, Miles and Cahill share the details of their instrumental mastery.

FROM 2020 BANJO NEWSLETTER REVIEW
Michael gives numerous useful recommendations and cogent insights on: improvisation; song arranging; fills; bring-ing 3⁄4 time to life; use of a partial (3-string) capo; the music of Bach, O’Carolan, and O’Neill; unusual meters such as 5/4 and 7/8; Bb tuning; composition and song writing; adapting clawhammer to bluegrass songs; melodies in two octaves; arpeggios in three tunings; dynamics; tone; and so on, and so on....

Among the most intriguing lessons are the three in which he explores “world rhythms”—reggae, Afro-Cuban, and Latin—and the last fourteen in which he explains and demonstrates the use of the seven modes—Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locri-
an—in three tunings, G, G modal, and Double-C.

Modal scales and their harmonies are often thought to be deeply theoretical and arcane, but Michael shows them to be no more mysterious than what they are – simple arrangements of tones and semi-tones that contain new worlds of sound and unlimited musical possibilities.

This book belongs in the library of every clawhammer player who aspires to reach his or her full potential on the banjo by absorbing these lessons, using them as starting points for the creative exploration of all that they imply, and above all by taking to heart Michael’s wisest piece of advice: “Listen to everything you can. It doesn’t matter if it’s banjo or not. Just feed your soul with more music.”