"I started the Murphy Method for one reason. I couldn’t stand to hear what the students were learning from tab. There was no music in what they were playing. Which told me that they had no idea what the song sounded like. They were just playing a bunch of random notes.
In desperation one day, having run out of “easy” songs in the Earl Scruggs tab book, I “talked” a version of “Old Joe Clark” onto a cassette. I hemmed and hawed and stopped and started because I had no idea how to break a song into “licks”. But somehow I got it done.
I handed the cassette to my student and said, “I hope this works.”
She came back the next week and played “Old Joe Clark” for me. It was the best thing she’d ever played.
I never used tab again." -- Murphy Henry, co-founder of The Murphy Method
Half-Price: Capos, Chords, and Theory
Using the capo can be confusing and intimidating for beginning banjo players. In this video Murphy explains capoing and music theory from a banjo-centric point of view--only what you need to know for bluegrass, in a simple, understandable way.
On sale this month for $14.98
Subscriptions
For a small monthly fee, you get access to all of our videos. (67 titles on all the bluegrass instruments.) You can stream or download any of these for the period that you choose.
Capo Confusion Zoom Workshop
Sept 13, 2 p.m.
Are you intimidated by your capo? Do you know how to use in A, but you are less confident when you have to go to any other key? Is vamping while capoed a total mystery?
In this hour-long workshop Casey will guide you through everything having to do with the capo.
Categories
Murphy Method Banjo Camps
We host two camps per year in Winchester, Va. Exact dates TBA
April 2027: Intermediate Banjo Camp
July 2027: Women's Banjo Camp
New On The Blog
You Probably Need To Hear This If…
You probably need to hear what I’m about to say if you’ve never had an in-person lesson with me or with Murphy, or attended one of our camps. That is to say, if you’re learning on your own with only the video lessons to help you along
Looking for Red's Mandolin Bridges?
In the website redesign Red's mandolin bridge pages got moved to their own domain. You can get to it by clicking the button below!
Private Lessons
Murphy, Casey, and Christopher Henry all teach private lessons--in-person as well as online. Murphy and Casey are in Winchester, Va. and Christopher is in Charlotte, NC. Please get it touch if you're interested in scheduling regular or one-off lessons.
Casey Henry Custom Banjo Lessons
Looking for a particular song on the banjo but can't find it here? Check out Casey's custom lesson site where she has hundreds of individual lessons available for purchase, all taught the Murphy Method way.
Christopher Henry Mandolin Lessons
Christopher Henry has an extensive selection of mandolin lessons and workshops on his website (all taught the Murphy Method way), as well as a Patreon page, for in-depth Monroe-style enthusiasts.
