The Fretboard Journal Guitar Podcast Podcast 541: Ramsey Thornton
Mar 20, 2026
Ramsey Thornton, a Tulsa-based multi-instrumentalist and banjo scholar with an MA in banjo history and a debut album on the way. He discusses tracing the banjo’s roots, swapping drumming instincts into right-hand picking, adapting banjo techniques to guitar, recording in Brooklyn with collaborators, and the gear and tunings behind his new songs.
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Master's Thesis As A Banjo History
- Ramsey described his master's thesis as essentially the history of the banjo tracing it from West Africa through the Caribbean to the American South.
- He used diaries, paintings, and recordings (including a 20th-century Black string band case study) to argue for a continuous Black gourd-banjo tradition.
Picked Up Banjo At College From A Friend
- Ramsey first picked up banjo at 18 because a college friend owned one and he wanted to try it out while mainly having played drums growing up.
- He learned guitar later mostly through banjo habits, carrying banjo picking patterns into his guitar approach.
Drumming Shaped A Right Hand First Guitar Style
- Ramsey's drumming background made him prioritize right-hand rhythmic picking over left-hand theory when playing guitar.
- He relies on unusual tunings (notably an open banjo-like tuning) and rhythm-first technique rather than conventional guitar theory.