Customer Reviews

The Banjo Player's Songbook: Over 200 great songs arranged for the five-string banjo

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4 star:		(1)
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Simple clawhammer arrangements of a lot of folk and other songs, grouped by category ("A parcel of rogues", "All over this land", etc.) and with a short introduction to each song.

Most of the tunes are what you'd expect from a book of this type (Shady Grove, Sweet Betsy from Pike, etc.) but there are a few from left field - a whole section on Stephen Foster, for example, and a few Jewish tunes which are arranged quite well.

If you already own a book or two of folk tunes, you can probably do without this, but it's a great book for someone just starting out on the banjo (it was for me!)

This is an excellent resource for an old-timey banjo player. A great selection of songs, clear almost error-free tab. If it had standard music notation and a companion CD, it would be as close to perfect as I can imagine.

This book was recommended to me by my banjo teacher, and he was right: it has a great variety of songs, and most are fairly easy to learn and understand. But you do need to know clawhammer banjo, or be willing to learn.

While beginners will find plenty of great songs to learn, some of the songs are challenging. I also like that it goes beyond the traditional genre of banjo songs (i.e. Tom Dooley, Cripple Creek, Old Joe Clark) and provides Celtic songs, variations on holiday music, songs that our non-banjo might know (i.e. When the Saints go Marching In), and much more. This book has definitely kept me more motivated and active in banjo playing, and I only wish that there was an equivalent book I could buy to get some more tabs.

Wanna play the banjo? Check out Wayne Erbsen's "Clawhammer Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus" (Book & CD Set) and as soon as you have that down ... about 6 months to a year ... get this book and just start on page one. The book is filled with wonderful and very playable banjo arrangements that will keep your interest high and your frustration low. I guarantee that by the 4th or 5th time through the book, you will realize that you have started well down the road of becoming a traditional style banjo player with hundreds of songs and tunes at your disposal! There is also a short history or story about each song and the arrangements are suitable for advanced players, as well. Of course, this will only be the start, so be forewarned. Happy playing!

I bought this book one year ago and have spent countless hours playing the ageless tunes. I bought an extra copy just to have when I wear the first one out. I have about 20 books of tab but this is the best I've found.