The Long Resolution: How Star Wars Led Me to a Banjo That Doesn't Exist yet
TL;DR: I’m Team Star Wars—not because of the movies, but because it set me on a winding path through tuba sections and bluegrass circles, leading me to a beautiful, not-yet-released instrument: the Classical Banjo 5.
Star Trek or Star Wars? For some, it’s a casual debate over coffee. For others, it’s a hill to die on. For me, the choice is easy: it’s Star Wars. But my loyalty isn’t about the Force or the Kessel Run; it’s about a recruitment plan that changed the course of my life.
The Cantina Recruitment
When I was in elementary school, the local band instructor was a marketing genius. He knew that if you wanted to hook a room full of kids, you didn't start with scales—you started with the Cantina theme.
I was sold. I had my heart set on the clarinet, convinced it was the key to capturing that specific, jazzy vibe of the Star Wars universe. But as life often does, the tempo changed. We moved, the clarinet never materialized, and the music went quiet for a while.
From Michigan to a Kentucky "Stereo Sound"
When we moved from Michigan to Eastern Kentucky during my freshman year of high school, everything was out of tune. New school, new faces, new everything. That’s when I met Gene Honeycutt. Gene was a trombone player who gave me the simplest, most terrifying advice: “Just join the band. Mr. Saylor will teach you.”
I walked into the band room thinking trombone or maybe sax. Mr. Saylor had a different vision. He needed a second tuba to create a "stereo sound" for the low end. I didn’t know the first thing about a tuba, but the idea of being part of a "stereo" foundation sounded like an adventure.
I spent my freshman year eating lunch in five minutes so I could spend the rest of the hour with Mr. Saylor and that massive brass instrument. By spring, I was playing the marching show—though my "march and play" coordination was still a work in progress.
The Mini Orchestra at LittleCarr
One of the sweetest movements of my musical life happened at LittleCarr Bible Church. This was when my family became close friends with the Bowers Family. Leah Bowers, encouraged me to bring the tuba to Sunday service. We ended up with what I like to call our "mini orchestra":
- Dickie on trombone
- Richard on sax (and occasionally a door spring with a soprano sax mouthpiece on it)
- Bonnie on fiddle
- Leah on piano (she was my constant inspiration and my accompanist for every solo competition)
It was real, it was soulful, and it taught me that worship doesn't require a cathedral; it just requires a heart (and maybe a tuba).
Finding the Resonance: Bluegrass and the Fingerstyle Goal
After a long "intermission" during my college years and several decades beyon, I found my way back to music through Bluegrass. I love the genre because it’s transparent—you can hear the lyrics, and every instrument gets its moment in the sun. I’ve always been more about the instrument than the voice (partly because I can’t sing, but let's call it an "artistic preference").
Last year at the Earl Scruggs Festival, I encountered the sound I’ve been chasing my whole life at the Gold Tone booth. They had a prototype called the Classical Banjo 5. It’s a five-string banjo with nylon strings that sounds like a cross between a classical guitar and a traditional banjo.
It is, quite simply, the prettiest sound I’ve ever heard. You can see a glimpse of that tone in this video of Kristin Scott Benson playing the prototype.
Training for the Not-Yet-Released
Since the Classical Banjo 5 isn't in production yet, I’m spending my time in the "practice room" of life:
- Learning fingerstyle on my acoustic guitar.
- Modifying my current banjo with a custom bridge and nylon strings to mimic the feel.
I recently found a young musician, Titus Major, who captures exactly what I’m aiming for. He plays fingerstyle worship and hymns like this beautiful cover of "Worthy Of It All". At [01:17], you can hear that delicate, intentional resonance. It’s not flashy; it’s just pure worship through the strings.
The Final Movement
At the Scruggs festival, I watched a student from Berklee sit down with that prototype and play it like a classical guitar. In that moment, the "Star Wars clarinet" and the "high school tuba" finally made sense. Every instrument was just a stepping stone toward this specific resonance.
I’m working on my technique now, so that when the Classical Banjo 5 finally arrives, the transition will be like coming home.
Featured Video
Worthy Of It All - Fingerstyle Guitar Cover - Titus Major