Banjo Books
Expand your banjo knowledge with the Lesson Goldmine series! Featuring 100 individual modules covering a giant array of topics, each lesson in this volume includes detailed instruction with playing examples presented in banjo tablature. You'll also get extremely useful tips, chord and neck diagrams, photos and much more to reinforce your learning experience plus access to over 500 audio tracks with performance demos of all the examples in the book! A huge variety of styles, techniques and concepts are covered, including: clawhammer style, Scruggs-style licks, playing backup, playing in different keys, tunings, using capos, constructing solos, creating harmony parts, achieving good tone, and much more.
The definitive step-by-step guide to playing 5-string bluegrass banjo.
Mel Bay's highly acclaimed, best-selling premium manuscript paper. Twenty-four sheets (96 pages) of 10-stave paper printed on beautiful, cream colored, high grade, heavy paper. Every detail in the production of this premium paper has been carefully planned and implemented. Probably the best value in manuscript paper on the market.
This method is designed for learning the finger style five-string banjo in a larger musical context than previous single style based methods. The Modern 5-String Banjo Method builds the theoretical and technical foundations needed to play in many styles.
This book covers all of the major scales in depth as applied to the 5-string banjo, answering potential questions concerning the use of major scales for any level of player, beginning through advanced.
This volume of the Banjo Play-Along series features 8 traditional Bluegrass tunes all expertly arranged for Banjo in TAB notation.
14 Dylan classics arranged specifically for clawhammer-style 5-string Banjo, written in TAB, including: All Along the Watchtower, Blowin' in the Wind, Hurricane, It Ain't Me Babe, Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Lay Lady Lay, Like a Rolling Stone, Mr. Tambourine Man, Positively 4th Street, Shelter from the Storm, Tangled up in Blue, The Times They Are A-Changin', You Ain't Goin' Nowhere and Don't Think Twice, It's All Right.
Teach youself authentic bluegrass. Clear instruction from a professional; basics, right and left hand techniques, solos, backup, personal advice on performance and much more. Plus a complete selection of the best bluegrass tunes and songs to learn from. Soundtrack included.
C,G,D,A Tuning ...The finest tenor banjo method available, this text represents Mel Bay's own approach to fundamental musicianship for those desiring to play tenor banjo. This book is the standard by which others are judged.
This comprehensive collection features over 100 note-for-note skillfully-crafted clawhammer banjo arrangements of old-time Southern fiddle tunes, in clear tablature - with suggested guitar chords at a wide variety of skill levels. It contains most of the tunes played in concert or recorded by author Ken Perlman and renowned Appalachian-style fiddler Alan Jabbour, plus over 50 more classic tunes from Ed Haley, Edden Hammons, John Salyer and many other iconic roots fiddlers. Also included: Instruction on basic and advanced techniques / Tips on improving your musicianship / How to play syncopated rhythms and melodies in clawhammer style / Frameworks for dealing with crooked tunes and modal tunes. Historical notes and picturesque backstories / Ken Perlman demonstrates all tunes and most musical illustrations on 124 online audio tracks *Online Audio Includes: 24 tracks featuring excerpts from recordings of the author performing with the virtuosic fiddler Alan Jabbour, to whom the book is dedicated.
Kyle Creed Clawhammer Banjo Master is a collection of clawhammer banjo tablature as played by Kyle Creed, with modern interpretations by Bob Carlin and Dan Levenson. This book is the first in a series of transcriptions of tunes from the old masters--in this case, Kyle Creed--who gave definition to our style of old time clawhammer banjo playing. The repertoire, presented in tablature, is intended to be a starting point for your journey through the old time music world. As such, each piece is presented in multiple arrangements, but on the page and on the accompanying audio CD. The recordings are for the most part played at a learning tempo and are close to the written notationbut not exact in all cases.
The Banjo Play-Along Series will help you play your favorite songs quickly and easily. Just follow the banjo tab, listen to the audio to hear how the banjo should sound, and then play along using the separate backing tracks. The book includes access to audio tracks online for download or streaming featuring Playback+, a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down the audio without changing pitch, set loop points, change keys, and pan left or right. This volume includes: Billy in the Low Ground · Cluck Old Hen · Devil's Dream · Fisher's Hornpipe · Little Maggie · Over the Waterfall · The Red Haired Boy · Soldier's Joy.
The Banjo Play-Along Series will help you play your favorite songs quickly and easily with incredible backing tracks to help you sound like a bona fide pro! Just follow the banjo tab, listen to the demo track on the CD to hear how the banjo should sound, and then play along with the separate backing tracks. The CD is playable on any CD player and also is enhanced so Mac and PC users can adjust the recording to any tempo without changing the pitch! Each Banjo Play-Along pack features eight cream of the crop songs. This volume includes: Ain't It Enough · The Cave · Forget the Flowers · Ho Hey · Little Lion Man · Live and Die · Switzerland · Wagon Wheel.
A fun collection of 25 Disney favorites arranged for 5-string banjo, including: The Ballad of Davy Crockett · The Bare Necessities · Be Our Guest · Bella Notte (This Is the Night) · Cruella De Vil · It's a Small World · Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious · Under the Sea · You've Got a Friend in Me · Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah · and more.
The 5-String Banjo Fingering Chart includes tuning notes, chord shapes and a photo/diagram of the instrument.
Five-string banjo enthusiasts who play in the stroke, clawhammer or guitar styles will enjoy these 50 melodic, tab-only arrangements. The collection is unique in that it includes reels, polkas, jigs, hornpipes, minstrel songs, ballads, light classics, and a Christmas tune—nearly all in C tuning with the fourth string a step lower than the typical 5-string G tuning. Well-known classical and popular composers: Beethoven, Foster, and Vivaldi, plus collector/historian-authors: Converse, Emmett, Howe, Kerr, O’Neill, and Ryan—are all represented in this book.With the exception of two Twiss originals, the music was chosen from sources available circa 1840 – 1890. Some of these settings can be used as accompaniment to unison singing; all are designed to lie well on the 5-string fretboard for optimal playability. Using a custom-built fretted, nylon-string banjo, the author has provided online recordings of every tune for ease of learning.
This book counters the claim that the Devil gets all the best tunes! Rob MacKillop has arranged these well-known carols in chord-melody style with jazz chords, folk, and classical influences, engaging countermelodies beneath the principal theme, and more. Written in standard notation and tablature, these intermediate-level arrangements are not only enjoyable to play and hear but will enhance your technique as you learn them. Rob's performance notes are full of insights, and his online audio recordings of each piece make illuminating and delightful listening. Includes access to online audio.
Strum Together songbooks feature melody, lyrics, and chord diagrams for five popular folk instruments displayed together in an easy-to-use format. With this edition, you can play 47 Dylan classics on ukulele, baritone ukulele, guitar, mandolin, and/or banjo! This is a great resource for stringed instrument players who are ready to experience the fun of making music together. Songs include: All Along the Watchtower · All I Really Want to Do · Blowin' in the Wind · Forever Young · Girl from the North Country · Gotta Serve Somebody · A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall · Highway 61 Revisited · It Ain't Me, Babe · Jokerman · Just like a Woman · Knockin' on Heaven's Door · Lay, Lady, Lay · Like a Rolling Stone · Maggie's Farm · Mr. Tambourine Man · Quinn, the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) · Tangled up in Blue · The Times They Are A-Changin' · and more.
Early American Banjo by Tim Twiss provides complete banjo tablature transcriptions of the instrumental solos that first appeared in standard notation in Buckley's Banjo Guide of 1868. This modern tablature edition of over 100 mid-19th century jigs, waltzes, polkas, hornpipes and reels provides insight to the transition between the African down-stroke technique, which preceded claw-hammer style and the newer, more refined plucking technique. James Buckley (1803 ' 1872), sometimes referred to as the 'Father of the Classical Banjo, was one of the most prolific transcribers of early banjo music. His compositions and arrangements were performed on the minstrel stage, andhis scholarly discipline produced a lasting record of banjo music of his era. This repertoire collection includes easy tunes as well as more complex pieces suited for the concert stage. The player will delight in discovering how fresh and unusual some of this music sounds, even today 'all in modern banjo tab. While best experienced on a period reproduction, gut-string fretless banjo in a lower tuning, any 5-string banjo in C tuning (gCGBD) may be used to interpret this collection. Includes access to online audio.
This book provides beginning banjo players with easy streamlined arrangements of 40 popular songs. Learn the basics of clawhammer style, strum and sing along, or pick the melody lines. Arrangements are a combo of tab, standard notation, chord grids and lyrics selected and prepared by renowned banjo guru, Fred Sokolow. Songs include: Ballad of Jed Clampett (Flatt & Scruggs) · Blue Moon of Kentucky (Bill Monroe) · Cold Rain and Snow (Grateful Dead)· Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash) · Freight Train (Elizabeth Cotten) · Friend of the Devil (Grateful Dead) · Gentle on My Mind (Glen Campbell) · Ho Hey (The Lumineers) · I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow (Soggy Bottom Boys) · I Saw the Light (Traditional) · I Walk the Line (Johnny Cash) · Jambalaya (On the Bayou) (Hank Williams) · The Long Black Veil (Lefty Frizzell) · Mama Tried (Merle Haggard) · The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Band) · Puff the Magic Dragon (Peter Paul & Mary) · (Ghost) Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend) (Stan Jones) · Rocky Top (Osbourne Brothers) · Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms (Flatt & Scruggs) · Sweet Baby James (James Taylor) · Teach Your Children (Crosby Stills Nash & Young) · This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie) · Tom Dooley (Kingston Trio) · The Weight (The Band) · Where Have All the Flowers Gone? (Pete Seeger) · Will the Circle Be Unbroken (The Carter Family) · You Are My Sunshine (Traditional) · and more.
While one of a kind is a hard rating to achieve at Mel Bay Publications, Kevin Allison has done it with The Ceilidh Dance Book. A ceilidh is a traditional Scottish gathering where people share songs, stories, music, and dancing that is very much alive today. In Scotland, there are hundreds of ceilidh bands, each of which has their own trademark tune sets, making it possible for a man in a kilt to make a living as a performing musician. This book not only provides 85 Scottish tunes in sets as they might be used in a ceilidh event ”it also offers detailed, beat-by-beat descriptions of the dance steps for twenty-four dances! From The Highland Scottish to The Mooncoin Jig, with this book in hand, you'll be able to both play in the band and step to the music with the locals. The kilt is optional. Arranged for mandolin or fiddle with suggested chord backup, in standard notation only.
Kyle Creed Clawhammer Banjo Master is a collection of clawhammer banjo tablature as played by Kyle Creed, with modern interpretations by Bob Carlin and Dan Levenson. This book is the first in a series of transcriptions of tunes from the old masters 'in this case, Kyle Creed 'who gave definition to our style of old time clawhammer banjo playing. The repertoire, presented in tablature, is intended to be a starting point for your journey through the old time music world. As such, each piece is presented in multiple arrangements, both on the page and through the online audio. Includes access to online audio recordings that are for the most part played at a learning tempo and are close to the written notation but not exact in all cases.
The Banjo Play-Along Series will help you play your favorite songs quickly and easily with incredible backing tracks to help you sound like a bona fide pro! Just follow the banjo tab, listen to the demo track on the CD to hear how the banjo should sound, and then play along with the separate backing tracks. The CD is playable on any CD player and also is enhanced so Mac and PC users can adjust the recording to any tempo without changing the pitch! Each Banjo Play-Along pack features eight cream of the crop songs. This special volume also includes extensive performance notes for all the songs. The songs are arranged and recorded by renown clawhammer banjoist Michael Miles and up-picking banjoist Mike Kropp. Songs include: Blue Skies · Get up and Go · If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song) · Kisses Sweeter Than Wine · Mbube (Wimoweh) · Sailing Down My Golden River · Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) · We Shall Overcome.
This book and accompanying audio download include popular and lesser-known old-time tunes for the clawhammer banjo. This book is a followup to Dan Levenson's Old-Time Festival Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo (MB20313M) and includes 62 more tunes of varying difficulty. Old favorites as well as new additions are presented, including many time-tested standards. The material is presented in standard notation and basic/advanced tablature. Suggested chords are also included to help you along the way. Fiddle players will enjoy the companion to this book, Old-Time Favorites for Fiddle and Mandolin (MB30225M), which shares the same basic standard notation. Includes access to online audio.