Customer Reviews

Banjo Primer (Book & audio CD) (Watch & Learn)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My wife can't believe it, I actually can play the banjo. I couldn't have done it without this book. I haven't spent a dime on private lessons, and you don't have to either. This is the only lesson you will need. The book comes with an audio tape (or CD) so you can hear the songs. Geoff talks you through each step and in no time, he will have you playing real songs. I only wish Geoff had a second book.

Of the three banjo beginner books I purchased this is the one I find myself using most frequently.

I purchased: Banjo Primer, by Geoff Hohwald; How to Play the 5-String Banjo, Third Edition (Banjo), by Pete Seeger; and Teach Yourself Bluegrass Banjo (Teach Yourself Bluegrass), by Tony Trischka.

Banjo Primer is the book most easily used because it is very simple and easy to learn from. The songs that are taught take you step by step through the learning process and are played at two or three different speeds on the accompanying CD to help you progress. Even though the book is great, I find that I am going to take additional banjo lessons along with using the book, as I find myself developing bad playing habits already.

These bad playing habits are covered in the book, but should be addressed by a professional teacher to help you develop good technique from the start.

As far as the other books go...How to Play the 5-String Banjo, Third Edition (Banjo), by Pete Seeger, is a good book, but teaches a different style of banjo playing than most of us are familiar with. The book focuses primarily on frailing (strumming), rather than the finger-picking, Scruggs-style bluegrass that we all know. It's more "folky" oriented, but is an excellent book nonetheless. I have not really used it as a practice book, but the amount of information contained in the book about music and the history of the banjo makes it a worthwhile investment for any picker.

I also purchased Teach Yourself Bluegrass Banjo (Teach Yourself Bluegrass), by Tony Trischka, because I am familiar with Tony Trischka's music, but the book seems to be geared more towards the intermediate/beginner level of playing. Once I've been taking lessons for a couple of months, I'll probably take another look at the book and use it. The CD that accompanies the book has all the songs, but because the titles are not explained as you're listening, it's easy to lose track of where you are on the CD and where you are in the book.

Bottom Line: Banjo Primer, by Geoff Hohwald is a great beginner banjo book and I would recommend it to anyone who is learning to play the banjo.

So, there I was. A thirty-something workaholic looking for a new hobby to unwind a bit, but with very little in the way of musical experience. Nonetheless, inspired by a local Allison Kraus concert, I found a hot deal on a great used banjo on E-bay and I was off and running! What fun! I'm hooked on the 5-string twang!! About 3 months or so at 30-minutes a day (give or take) and I can play well enough to entertain myself - and my wife and the cat can at least stay in the same room!

Not many banjo instructors in New England, so I thought I'd go in for a few good teach-yourself manuals. I bought four. In order of usefulness they were - Revised Banjo Primer by Geoff Hohwald - First Lessons Banjo by Jack Hatfied - How to Play the 5-string Banjo by Pete Seeger - How to Play Banjo by Tim Jumper.

The Banjo Primer was the best of the lot. I was able to make good progress with about 30 minutes practice each day. The instructions were clear and the tunes were fun to play (Cripple Creek, Boil 'em Cabbage Down, Worried Man Blues). It was VERY helpful that the book came with a CD. Some lessons I just couldn't get until I heard them played, then they came easily. Each lesson is played at three speeds, but I've pretty much given up EVER matching the insanely fast top speed.

First Lessons was next best. It also came with a useful CD with multiple speeds and I think I've at least got a shot at the top speed. It also includes tracks with only the backup musicians so you can jam on your own (I haven't reached that point yet). The choice of music wasn't as good - the intro claims that well-known songs are easier to learn, but I found them to be cliche and boring (Tom Dooley, Old Time Religion, Good Night Ladies). It was much more fun to learn a song I didn't know and finding myself actually playing something that sounds like bluegrass after the long struggle!

Both books cover roughly the same techniques and both focus exclusively on Scruggs Style picking (all plucking, almost no chord strumming). It's turning into my favorite style. But my goal is to play well enough to sit in on a local bluegrass jam, so I've also started to learn other styles (e.g. frailing) that will let me strum on chords in the background to build confidence. For that I need other books, but so far I haven't found a good one.

By all accounts, Pete Seeger's book seems to be the classic in the field. It started as a set of hand copied notes and it really is lots of fun to read. I hope that once I improve a bit more I'll be able to get more out of it. My guess is that its the book you'd want if you already had a community of pickers around to lend advice and guidance. As a teach-yourself manual though, I'm finding it tough going.

How to Play Banjo is the worst of the lot. To my untrained eye it seems more like a guitar book than a bluegrass banjo book. The focus is on chords and strumming (which is good for my next step I suppose), but it's just boring. The instruction is minimal and the music uninteresting, at least to me. I tried several times to get into it but found myself quickly going back to the other manuals when I realized I was no longer looking forward to my practice times. I finally threw in the towel on this one when I used it to try to learn "frailing". I like to think I'm a smart guy, but I just didn't get it. And I don't think it was me. Maybe if it came with a CD that I could listen to I could work it out. I'm now in the market for an alternative, but in the meantime I'll keep pickin' with the Scruggs Style.

One last bit of advice. I highly recommend getting at least two books. I found myself much more motivated jumping back and forth between the Primer and First Lessons - when one got too hard or too boring, I'd work on the other for a few days. A great trick to keep from getting stuck. I'm in the market for some "intermediate" books next and I'll probably take the same approach.
Happy Picking!!

I ordered several banjo books, and this was the best. The author doesn't waste my time by trying to teach me "Mary had a little lamb" or "She'll be coming around the mountain". Instead, good bluegrass tunes are taught almost from the start. The companion CD is excellent, in that it has each song played at 4 speeds, the last being at full speed with a band. 3 weeks later, I'm doing pretty good! I do recommend that you pick up a metronome though...

I bought Geoff's Banjo Primer DVD and after working through that looked at the book and wish I had bought that instead.

I'm dusting off my Banjo after about 20 years (I never did really learn much before) within a week was able to play the first four songs on the DVD (which I think are also the first four in the book) at Geoff's fast pace. I would expect a musically inclined beginner to spend a few months learning this material. At the end of it, you probably won't be ready to hop into a jam session or anything, but that's not to be expected of a primer.

My only complaint is that Geoff presents each song in two speeeds (on the video at least and presumable on the CD as well) which are good learning speeds. He then gives the song at "medium jam speed" which is so fast I can't even begin to play it. Lots of practice doesn't seem to be moving me much in that direction and I wish he had given a few tips on speeding up once all of the songs are learned.

The DVD doesn't seem to add a lot of value over the book (based on browsing the book in the store) and you will get several more songs with the book / CD combo than on the DVD.

This is an excellent book for beginning banjo players. The song arrangements are broken down by measures, which are practiced at different speeds. This approach demystifies the rather complicated-looking tableture. Eventually, the author combines the measures into their respective songs, which are also played at several speeds on the CD. Learning a specific lick for a specific song helps give me focus during my practice sessions.

This book is pretty good, with lots of information. The CD is a little discouraging, though, to a beginner. He plays the songs REALLY slow, and then kinda slow at a good "I've-played-the-guitar-for-years-but-never-the-banjo" beginner pace, but then the third time he calls "medium jam speed" and the implication of that is he would like to take it faster, but he's holding back for your benefit. The problem is it's about 20 times faster than the previous speed and he also doesn't play in the same rhythm, but adds some swing to it or something, so it's pretty hard to follow. Bottom line, this book/CD set is not step by step, but there's nothing like hours of repetitive practice to get you up to speed!

Very good step by step basic introduction. The DVD is very easy to watch and understand. (meaning the guy speaks very clearly and goes step by step) I learned how to tune, hold, and do at least one roll on day one. This says a lot because i had NEVER even held a banjo, and i do not play any other instruments. The only reason i am only giving 4 stars instead of 5 is because i would like to have the words with the songs, for some reason that makes it all come 'full circle' for me...i really do not think that's too much to ask. I have been google-ing the words and printing them out.

******IMPORTANT******: I bought the book, cd, and dvd in a package at my local music store. It appears that the dvd is sold separate here on Amazon. So make sure you get the dvd it helps A LOT!!

I have no doubt Hohwald is a great banjo player, but he makes an awful teacher. The Banjo Primer only gives a sentence or two for each lesson, even the more complicated ones. Reading that something is "fairly difficult to perform" or "requires practice" doesn't really help the newbie who needs more information on WHY he's doing these exercises in the first place. The songs are fun, but the tab is incredibly lazy and does a horrible job describing the rhythm of the song. Hear it for yourself by listening to the audio CD: the recordings go from very slow to medium to melt-your-face-off fast (which Hohwald calls "medium" jam speed--thanks for that). Not only that, you're only hearing the real rhythm of the song at full-speed jam tempo; the slower versions don't have that bluegrass swing and just sound like extended versions of the exercises.

I was very excited about learning the banjo and thought the Primer would be a good companion in lieu of a real-life instructor (I live in one of the states where you'd MOST expect to find a banjo teacher, but alas, if they're out there, they aren't speaking up). Instead, I've become increasingly frustrated with the lack of direction in the book and the knowledge that I can never master these great songs the way they were MEANT to be played. When I perform for my friends, I know the song must sound strange since the rhythm is pretty much a combination of improv and my best guesses. But I will continue to practice until I find something better.

this is a great beginner book. i have the dvd to go along with it. it takes incremental steps, breaking down a song into pieces and then building it consistently into the song...great incremental teaching...