Four out of five banjos would suck. We had a nice assortment of guitars, banjos, mandolins, bass and one fiddle. Right, it doesn’t hold a candle to Ben’s, but it’s a different curriculum, it’s all jamming as opposed to lots of teaching and “some” jamming.
Anyone Been To A Wernick Jam Camp?
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I don’t doubt that for a minute! Ben has a lot of “personality” I haven’t noticed in the Wernick camps (promotional material only, as I have not had the opportunity to attend either.)
And without a full compliment of instruments, I’m sure it would be difficult to get things to sound right.
But I also think this may be an apples-to-oranges comparison, with both camps having different goals.
Right now I am aching to play with others & there’s nobody around that I know of, so I am totally ignorant of what the experience is like.
For example, I do not have any idea of what it sounds like. If I try to play along with a recorded song, I can turn the volume up, or I can turn it down, but I cannot tune it to the same loudness as a live group simply because I do not know how loud that is!
Virtual is fine, but it’s tough to beat the real deal.
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Wernick’s camp was teaching with little jamming. It is just my opinion. I’m not trying to put anyone down. An opinion was asked and I gave my experience. Sorry if I offended anyone.
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Thanks for sharing @ChrisWms and @lonewolf223! I agree that Ben’s camps are awesome, and I’m looking forward to attending again! I’ve been so fortunate to be able to attend one every year (except 2022, so far) and I highly recommend them to anyone reading this.
Maybe he (@BanjoBen) might consider trying a camp specifically aimed at at jamming and playing with others (hint, hint). I have no idea what all this would require, but I’d bet he and his sisters (& company) could devise a solid curriculum given enough time! 
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I can’t speak for everyone, but since I asked for an opinion and you gave an honest one, I’m as happy as can be! 
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Yeah I could see his ad for his first jammin camp…“boys and girls come to my first all “jammin” nudie camp…we goin TABless. Bring nut’n but your instrument, ears and a smile. We be jammin at my place.” Sign me up (haha).
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I will totally conceive that and launch it in 2023, thanks! I do wrestle with the balance of instruction vs. jamming. I try to run camps that appeal the most amount of people, and I also have learned even this year that some folks desire to do more jamming than time allows.
I haven’t released details yet, but I’m doing a camp this fall in Nashville that is different than any before. It’s a band camp with a focus on how to be a successful bandmate. There is focus on how to play, yeah, but it’s much more. We’ll have sessions on groove/pocket, how to arrange songs, how to write a setlist, how to get gigs, how to record and choose a studio, how to get on the radio, and how to get a record deal. Each session will have a Nashville expert teaching it…gonna be off the charts.
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That is exactly what I was just thinking I need… I can’t wait for these details!! I’m assuming it’s going to be taught at an advanced level?
Ben gets better at reading our minds every day…
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Yes please. We all need more advanced stuff.
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Most all the band-related stuff will be at an intermediate-advanced level. But also there will be much that is not skill level-dependent, like how to record or how to get played on radio.
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Oh yeah, also having Skaggs’ sound guys out to teach you how to do a pro soundcheck and work with audio folks.
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Wee doggey, would have been all over that bandcamp idea as a young pup Ben. Down to front porch jam pickin now. Will watch out for your jammin’ camp.
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Oh dear, there’s a subject that used to be close to my heart, then I retired. Yippee! During my radio career I had countless local bands come to me with vanity demos they wanted played on the radio. They never heard of ASCAP/BMI/SESAC.
This could be very valuable information for skilled musicians who want to get into the music business. It’s a world where they call it the “music business,” but in reality it is the “business of music.” Things get a bit colder when business comes before music.
I heard an anecdote about Louise Scruggs, Earl’s wife and business manager for the band. On the “Acknowledgements” page of the book “Earl Scruggs & the 5-String Banjo,” the very first thing Earl writes is “I would like to express my appreciation to Billy Keith and Burt Brent for the assistance they gave me in preparing this book.” No one ever expected the book to sell as well as it did.
When Bill Keith wanted a little share of the money for helping Earl with his banjo book, Louise allegedly told him “You can’t take a handshake to the bank.”
Earl knew the music business. Louise knew the business of music.
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The story goes that Lester & Earl broke up after Lester found out Louise had put her dog on payroll!
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I just attended a weekend Wernick Method jam camp this past weekend in Denton Texas. It was a great experience and I can’t wait to do it again. I’m just a beginner and maybe some more experienced folks wouldn’t like it as much, but I gained more experience playing with others this past week than I could have imagined.
Pete has a large roster of teachers so I’m sure some are better than others, but they all use the Wernick Method. The focus is on getting beginners and intermediate players playing together. I think the curriculum was well thought out. You can tell the instructors have been trained to ensure a good experience. I paid $250 for the weekend with two instructors and 8 students and 17 hours of playing over 3 days. They did talk and give instructions, but mainly we played and we played and we played. Much more playing than talking.
I met several other BanjoBen members there by the way.
Pete or Dr Banjo still teaches some of the camps at some festivals. I’d like to go to one of those.
There are also some videos for sale on the DrBanjo site about bluegrass jamming. Pretty close to the way the class works
It’s a thumbs up from me.
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Now you’re talking!
Thank you.
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@BanjoBen, that’s great news! It’s very encouraging to see your high level of commitment to exploring different ways to reach out to old and new students alike, and exploring different interests. You go, Ben!