Noam Pikelny: Banjoist. Teacher. Pitchman.

Featuring Steve Martin, Ed Helms, Bela Fleck, Edgar Blackmon, Greg Hess & Holly Laurent
Join: artistworks.com/noam
Written by Noam Pikelny, Greg Hess & Steve Delahoyde
Produced by Greg Hess
Directed & edited by Steve Delahoyde
Filmed by Marcus Luscombe, Jordan Friday & Noam Pikelny
Special thanks to John Graves, Marcus Luscombe & Patricia Butler

[@numenhilmar]

"thanks for sending the same lick again" lmao

[@jessemadden1183]

This made my day. Thank you, Ed, Bela, Steve, Edgar, Greg and Holly for being such good sports and helping Noam launch his lesson project and thank you for all you do for the banjo community

[@kathleenemerson5248]

I love this guy. HIs talent, humor and humility (or seems so to me!) are wonderful. Walk before you run, Bela.

[@halrodriguez713]

6mins well spent. The humour is refreshing! 👏👏

[@banjoist123]

The thing about Noam is that, like Steve Martin, another gifted musician and humorist, you have a hard time figuring out when they're being serious! Which is great.

[@jameskellam2980]

Best vudeo of in the rabbit hole so far.

[@elisabethemory]

When he said to go back and watch "what is a banjo video" got me!! 🤣🪕

[@theL81Again]

Giggles; I lost it when I saw Steve Martin! 🤣🤣🤣 Walk before you can run, Béla! Real tears! ❤ Pickles!

[@michaeldavis9954]

Now I definitely wish I had time to learn banjo. Wonderful.

[@jisun1785]

Noam, thank you for being you and for being a banjo player

[@howiedick6857]

I've been using his course, as I was unhappy with my lack of musical knowledge, and boy I'm not disappointed.

[@candicekight2922]

I cannot stop laughing at "I see, so it's where you put your FINGERS on the STRINGS that makes the note"

[@elektrolyte]

whaaaaaaaa hilarious!!! Steve & Bela... upo for tuition

[@CaseyDriessenMusic]

Hi Noam, long-time listener, first-time commenter...I also play a 5-string, but it happens to be a fiddle (sorry)...would your tutorials work for me?

[@unripetomato4312]

Fiddle has.....oh wait no yah ur right. 5 strings..........

[@danielberry9610]

This guy is a legend

[@kylek7668]

Noam is awesome! Awesome singer too.

[@chadkelderman134]

You really know things.

[@heathkish6901]

I'd be willing to pay any amount of money to get some pointers for his banjo part on Another New World!

[@3340steve]

Thank you for the excellent music....loved the words....

[@stevemepsted1]

"Hey Bela - you should start with the 'what is a banjo video''! Ha haaaa!

[@aerovexa8794]

This is seriously one of the funniest things

[@motioninmind6015]

So I have a question. Can the banjo also function as a canoe paddle in an emergency and should I have taken the strings off before heading to shore?

[@polimana]

if the strings are metal, definitely take em off. if they're gut, probably fine in the river. depends how long you have to paddle!

[@mercerino]

Nice work. Hilarious!

[@elisabethemory]

This is hilarious! 🤣

[@cmeimgee]

This is awesome

[@kelsyschoenhaar8717]

HA!!!

[@olivieruldry]

Hilarious !!! Ah, this reminds me of Monty Python, though these british folks definitely didn't play banjo as well as Noam !!!

[@utahyork3338]

Lots of proposals, eh? Lots of average Joe's out there learning to play banjo. Must be a COVID-19 thing? Perfect timing Noam!

[@skosalexander3783]

🤣 fuckin love this guy!

[@danholabaugh6299]

Flute camp...

[@cathannah7860]

I find that the idea of playing the banjo is more of a compulsion than a desire....so...

[@kworgz]

LOL

[@vballady]

LOL.

[@daveandrews6670]

Ha Ha Ha Ha.

[@anusha8085]

Amateur voice over artist?!

[@warrendietzel1953]

You didn't even have Martin Mull on there. I feel like I just wasted the last 6 minutes and 20 seconds of my life.

[@marqy007]

No one's allowed to watch this video...especially banjo plunkers!

[@davidfreel1451]

Hi I am a 'folk' musician with no ear who has never had a music lesson and does not come from a musical family. Is there some way that you can give me 'short cuts' so that I don't need to pay attention whilst practicing ? Also I am likely to meet accomplished musicians in the real world but am so cloth eared and deluded that I would like to be vaguely condescending and deny their ability and musicality so, can I pretend to know you and infer that that makes me better than them ? I can't read music, can you flatter my laziness ? Also how about more BS about instruments, I like wasting money on instruments I never learn to play, it helps me imagine I sound better than the people I meat who have taken the time to listen to and get to know the instruments they are playing. With more BS about expensive instruments I could offer them advice and go home and look at mine on the wall and it will help me forget about the crimes agains music I inflict at jams. Lastly, I cannot pitch, my voice broke in high school and was so fearful for so long that I haven't gotten to know my voice box again, in the tradition of having a fine instrument but never learning to play it, could you explain things in an extremely long winded and tedious fashion, ie one note at a time explaining left hand right hand fingering, string, fret position etc, that would be great as it would waste so much time and miss the point of folk music all together. Thanks in advance. All that said, can you offer me advice on good naturedly mocking idiots ? I often come across as mean but really I want to help them but there is so much deliberate misinformation online about what a music lesson is that it seems the easiest thing to do is fleece them cheerfully with a program that encourages all of their misapprehensions since, if the penny never drops, they can keep paying me forever and never learn a bloody thing and that would be great because it would really undermine real music teaching in the real world. The problem with real music lessons is that learning real skills and musical tase and how to really practice makes people less likely follow trends that maximise their consumption. Folk music shouldn't be about jamming with friends it should be about horrifying celebrities whilst music dies.