Derek Wall
Advanced Banjo
Faculty
Derek Wall was born and raised in Magoffin County, Kentucky, and currently lives in Morgan County, Kentucky. He was reared in a household of musicians and singers. His grandfather Hassell Helton sparked his interest in music at a young age. Hassell Helton initially learned to play a banjo from his father Claude Helton, but soon realized he preferred the fiddle. At the age of 9, Derek picked up the fiddle just like his grandfather. Derek and his uncle Jackie Helton played together nearly every Sunday, during which time he discovered that he loved the drop thumb banjo. In the inverse of his grandfather, he laid the fiddle down and began to teach himself clawhammer banjo. Through the years, he has learned to play three-finger Scruggs style banjo as well, but his love has always been the drop thumb style of banjo music that his family played.