The first half of the Bluegrass Basics course is now available in the classroom! It contains the techniques that are essential for bluegrass banjo. The second half will be the song section where we dive into particular tunes and will be up within a couple of days. Let's jam!

Yo Quiero Mas (I Want More) comes out today. And I wanted to share a little story about the song with you. Love is a powerful emotion. I would suggest, and often do, that love is the most powerful force in the universe. When you have love at your back, you can climb mountains, cross the seas, and open the heavens. Without it, we can wilt like a flower growing from the crack of the dried sands of Death Valley. Fortunately, we don't have to depend on others for love. It already exists in abundance in our heart and spirit. We just have to find it on a daily basis. Anyway...back to the song. I found love in Mexico. The heart of a beautiful woman, and mine, connected in a rare and special way. And because she speaks Spanish, I was trying to use the native language to share with her some of my feelings. In these communications came my phrase, yo quiero mas de ti. Which translates as "I want more of you." Well, apparently, this is a powerful phrase in Spanish, because it had quite the effect! The love story was touch and go. Planes going here and there, flights canceled, flights booked. Among the turbulence, I somehow convinced her to meet me in Puerto Escondido, a little beach town in Oaxaca, for the weekend. My schedule had me there a day early, so I booked a hotel, and made my way there. But because I didn't know the area and didn't speak the language to well. I booked a place that was 40 minutes out of town. Not only that, but it was surrounded by absolutely nothing. It was kind of a resort people go to get away from everything. They even shut down the kitchen at 3pm! So I ordered three hamburgers and several beers, and sat down with my banjo to settle in for the evening. What was I going to do? Well, I thought, I have time. I have food. I have beer. I have love. I have a banjo. I have pen and paper. That's when the song Yo Quiero Mas was born. I hope you enjoy it. And I hope it urges that love in your heart to soak in the sunshine. Much Love, aE Watch on YouTube

In each country we visit with Banjo Earth, not only do we make a collaborative album with local musicians, but we film a full length feature documentary as well. This has been an incredible journey creating these films. So many amazing experiences have been documented and shared along the way. We've even won some film awards! As a Banjo Earth School member, you have streaming access to all documentaries. Choose your own adventure at the links below. MEXICO PERU BRAZIL INDIA CHINA BURNING MAN

Thank you all for being here and challenging yourself to learn more about this incredible instrument and the music it can make! The cool thing about Skool (well there's lots of cool things...It also has an app for the phone), is that you can post here as well. Share anything you wish about banjo, music, travel, food, history, etc. The world is an amazing place, and keeping a curiosity and interest in it is a major health hack! The only rule - Keep it positive and uplifting. We are all here to share our love of banjo music and help each other along the path. Please share videos of your progress, things you would like to see that make the group better, and anything else that you want to contribute. Much Love, Andy