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Bluegrass Jam Class

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Taught by Fred Staunton using the Wernick Method*

Pickerington, OH at Violet Baptist Church

8345 Blacklick Eastern Rd., Pickerington OH 43147

Saturdays, June 5 – July 24, 2021

10am-12:30pm each Saturday. Previously scheduled for May 8 – June 27.

Tuition: $195 for 8 sessions

$10 off if you register by May 5. $50 deposit holds your spot. 50% refundable for cancellations more than one month in advance.

$50 discount for mandolin and bass players!

The class venue will be well-ventilated; contact Fred Staunton with questions about safety precautions.


Fred Staunton was first taken by bluegrass in 1980 while attending the Skyline Bluegrass Festival in WV, seeing and hearing John Hartford and the Osborne Brothers. Twenty years later he was playing electric and acoustic guitar in a worship band at church. Fred took up banjo in the early 2010s, playing in a group from his church playing Bluegrass arrangements of gospel hymns at nursing homes and various church events. He’s looking forward to sharing the Wernick Method for bluegrass jamming with like-minded pickers in the Columbus OH area.

Email Fred

Fred’s students say:

“Fred promotes a welcoming and friendly atmosphere where players can relax and have fun making music together.”

“Fred is an excellent and supportive teacher and he always made the class fun, interesting and informative.”

“I learn something new every time. He makes learning fun.”

“Fred is good at bringing the best out in people and a kind and encouraging way.”

* Wernick Method Classes teach real bluegrass jamming!

  • All bluegrass instruments welcome
  • No jamming experience necessary
  • You will be jamming the first class!
  • Friendly, encouraging, knowledgeable teaching.
  • Gentle tempos! Mistakes expected!
  • Music reading not needed or used
  • Singing not required, but encouraged and taught.
  • Easy 2- and 3-chord songs, slow speeds.
  • Soloing not required! “Faking” solos taught.
  • Understanding, low-pressure, time-tested teaching
  • Intermediates welcome, and given added challenges
  • Hands-on learning in large and small groups
  • Learn many bluegrass standards
  • Full ground rules and etiquette of typical jams
  • How to lead songs and how to follow new songs
  • How to find melodies, fake solos, sing harmony
  • Ear skills taught and emphasized, as in real bluegrass
  • Group and individualized instruction on backup skills

Do you qualify? It’s easier than you may think!

If you play guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, bass, or dobro… you can be part of a bluegrass jam.

Only requirements:

  • You must be able to tune your instrument (electronic tuning devices welcome) and
  • change smoothly between G, C, D, and A. (Fiddles and basses need to know which notes work with which chords)

For more info or to send payment in the mail, email office@letspick.org.

Click any photo to enlarge.

  • We welcome you to register and promptly receive 18 pages of useful student materials, with access to video playlist of 116 jam favorites and great ways to work on jam skills!
  • If dates of this class change, we will promptly update this page and notify all registrants to switch their registration if the new dates work for them. If they don’t work a full refund will be given.
  • Watch our class listing, always updated, and go here to be notified of future classes.

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