Students at Dwight's Pocahontas Clawhammer Banjo Retreat Center

A typical group of students

Comments, Pictures and Video Clips by graduates/survivors of Dwight's Banjo and Fiddle Retreats:

Comments from students over the years:

Susan:

If you take a Dwight Diller workshop, do it because you would like to learn what he can teach you. No, he will not teach a broad based stylistic program, but he will teach what he knows which is drive, sensitivity to the rhythm of a particular tune and emphasis on right hand power as well as West Virginia lore. In our workshop, he was supportive while teasing us and certainly gave us our money's worth. I did not experience him as being mean to anyone. Of course if you want to have a big argument with him about his beliefs that may subtract time from his actual teaching. We had lots of fun and learned plenty.

H. Thomas Mitchell:

I am an officer of a $1B company headquartered in the Twin Cities area and a recent "graduate" of Dwight Diller's beginner banjo course. All that I can say is that Dwight is fabulous and one of a kind; the real deal, a genuine, caring individual, interested in conveying a notion of the music that has been so important in his life and the culture behind it. He is demanding, but only to the extent necessary for students to realize their fullest potential and aspirations. His course is not for the passively interested or for those looking for five star accommodations 'with a little music thrown in.' Rather, it is for those with a burning desire to learn from perhaps one of the finest old-time banjo players alive today. I consider it a great honor to have met him and to have been able study uninterruptedly 1000 miles away from the demands of telephones, pagers and fax machines.

Alice Martel:

Dwight really got me going on the banjo. Before his first class I was "self taught " from a book and a few pieces of tab I had been given. Dwight got my right hand and thumb working well as a unit. He was patient and persistent with his corrections and help and extremely supportive. Having to learn by rote was a real trial for me, but now I can now learn a tune by listening rather than relying on the printed page.

Cindy Harris:

When Dwight first looked at me and said "So, what did you want to learn about old time fiddle?" all I could manage to stammer out was that I wanted to learn to play a few tunes. But it didn't take long for me to discover that learning from Dwight entailed much more than learning "up down up" and "down up down."

Every session was a lesson in rhythm and harmony, a history lesson, a philosophy seminar, a chance to laugh at improbable humor, and most importantly, a lesson in how to LISTEN to the old music and hear the spirit of the musician in complex interactions of melody and rhythm that I never knew existed. At camp I was frustrated and exhilarated by turns but came away with a much clearer understanding of what it means to play the music that Dwight teaches and how it fits into my life.

Bates Littlehales:

When I first met Dwight Diller I was loaded with atrocious banjo habits and a low estimate of how much more I could learn. I was in my later 60s then.
He first renewed my interest in my beloved Appalachian banjo/fiddle music, then proceeded to teach me how to play the 5-string banjo.
At the risk of sounding like a shill at a medicine show, he taught an old dog new tricks and in my 70s I'm still learning.

Alan Perks:

Dwight's workshops have helped me get to a whole new level of playing the banjo. I found the teaching methods effective, and Dwight's style enables me to get that hard driving, rhythmic playing style going well, and to apply it to many new tunes on my own. These are practical, effective workshops for players at all levels.

Charlie Hammond:

As an instructor, Dwight provides a blend of his unique rhythmic playing style with traditional banjo and fiddle tunes from West Virginia and the Southern Appalachian Mountains. His banjo camps give students a first-hand experience of how music was learned from the old people without the use of tablature.
Each banjo camp and workshop that I have attended has been a major milestone in helping me to become a more accomplished clawhammer banjo player. They have also instilled a sense of responsibility and dedication to keep this traditional music "alive" for future generations.

Joseph Rizzi:

It is rare to find a single individual who is an extremely talented musician, with a deep cultural connections to the roots of his music, who is also a gifted and a tireless teacher. While there are quite a number people that can help you play a few tunes on a clawhammer banjo, there aren't very many that can show you how to make it sound right. Dwight is unequivocally an expert at doing that.

Dave Keller:

Before I signed up for the Dwight Diller banjo/fiddle workshops, I was a scrawny 98 pound banjo/fiddle player. I'm still a scrawny banjo/fiddle player, but at least I have better rhythm! But seriously, I had been playing music for 20 years before taking workshops with Dwight (and Doug). I never really had a sense of what makes music come alive until their wisdom and experience helped show me the light. I still have a long way to go, but at least I have a much better idea of what to aim for. The workshops I have attended have been exhausting, informative, entertaining and fun. My appreciation of music has grown, and my music has grown as well. I would highly recommend them for any musician, beginning to advanced. I only wish that I could have had such insightful caring teachers 20 years ago.

Randy Markey:

While not formally trained (thank God), in my mind Dwight conveys the rhythm, spirit and feeling that good banjo playing was meant to be. And he does a good job of demonstrating many of the concepts of banjo playing that make it such a unique instrument. Having played music of many styles for most of my life (and a professional for 6 of those years) I feel his emphasis on rhythm, feeling and right hand clawhammer technique are right on! I have taken his workshops and instruction for a number of years and now feel that I have the technique and most of what I need to become an accomplished banjo player. Dwight may not always make it easy, but if you listen carefully to what he says and plays--it's all there! And if you're lucky, he may spin one of his West Virginia yarns to boot!

Rick Loftus:

Dwight Diller is the reason I play banjo with pleasure and confidence, for my dogs, my wife, neighbors, and with the growing number of West Virginia style fiddle and banjo players in mid-Michigan. The banjo and fiddle communities I've found here are, to a great extent, courtesy of Dwight and his workshops.
He's a personable man, who cares a great deal about passing on the tradition and skills his playing embodies. His workshops are enjoyable, but no joke. Walk into the woods with Dwight Diller and clawhammer your way out. Music and a sense of accomplishment will surely follow.

Gail Hatton:

"Banjo Camp--not just for boys!!"

The following are notes I made to myself when we first returned home:

Whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Not just music instruction--listen to impromptu performances by legendary musicians, evening discussions (everything from understanding the music, to spiritual enlightenment, to reminiscences by those who have been "on the scene" for a long time), shared mealtimes, jamming and chatting with new friends from all around the country.

Go beyond the mechanical playing of the music--feel the spirit in it, let it lift you up, feel yourself growing as you learn to play from the heart!

Dwight works magic--watch as he "levels the playing field", then pushes you to new heights in your music!

January 2002 Lew Stern guest host, sums up camp. click here