“As a banjo teacher myself for many years I emphasized playing by ear and improvising, and tried to create the least daunting path to where the music really lives. Results showed me that this works. That's why I got so excited about what Pete is doing. He embraces these same principles, but has developed them into an amazingly direct and effective system, creating a solid infrastructure in which beginning and intermediate players can find their own path of least resistance. And while most banjo teachers influence a few dozen students, Pete is reaching thousands at his jam camps and banjo camps, and hundreds of thousands with his instruction books and videos.

I'm sure that Pete Wernick's curriculum for banjo and bluegrass is the most effective, in that it results in the lowest drop-out rate for beginners. Less obviously, but maybe more importantly, I also feel that it is producing not just more players, but better players: musicians who don't play by rote memory, with better timing, who are sensitive, creative, and mutually supportive.