Product Details

• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Music Video
• DVD Release Date: February 17, 2004
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0001I56HS
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,730 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

This DVD is designed for the beginner to intermediate level player. A full range of DVD special features have been integrated with video special effects to create the most powerful learning system yet produced by SMP. With your DVD remote control, you're ready to take full advantage of the interactive menus, scene selections, and other easy to use features that are there at your fingertips. See how fun and easy it is to learn to play your five string banjo in front of your own TV. Your own private interactive DVD teacher is here to patiently guide you each exciting step along the way.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars So much better than expected., June 20, 2006

By 

T. Smith (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginning Banjo: For 5-String Banjo (DVD)

This DVD came as part of a beginning banjo package deal. I wasn't expecting much from it, figuring they probably included the cheapest DVD they had in stock.

It's seven months later, and I'm here on Amazon looking for the next DVD in the series because I just finished learning the final song on this wonderful disc.

I knew absolutely nothing about the banjo when I bought my kit (and this DVD). I played the guitar (badly) many years ago, but never so much as touched a 5-string. Now I'm walking around the house after work seamlessly switching between the songs I've learned on this DVD.

The pacing of the DVD just makes sense. It starts off with the basics, but instead of beating you down with drills until you're bored out of your skull, it quickly introduces you to a few simple songs, giving you a sense of real progress. Each of the songs included is a actual tune, not just some anemic practice ditty, and there's a real sense of pride when you hear your rendition starting to sound vaguely similar to what's on the video.

Note that this is an introduction to reading tab notation - this DVD doesn't focus on any music theory whatsoever, it's more or less purely a rote memorization course. There's so much muscle memory to figure out between the fretwork and the picking, though, that I think this is a good thing. I'm hopeful that the intermediate DVD will begin to introduce a bit of the fundamentals, now that I have some marginal skill at actually making the banjo produce the sounds I want it to.

(To give a sense for the amount of content here, I play for about an hour a night, and started knowing absolutely nothing; its taken me about seven months to work through this DVD to the point where I can play all of the songs competently.)

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Give yourself a break...buy it., May 27, 2005

By 

G. MacDonald - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginning Banjo: For 5-String Banjo (DVD)

I have been playing the banjo for...hmmmm...let me see...1...2...3...4 days now, so to say that I stink at playing would be terribly unfair to myself. However, this video gives me hope that I might work my way up to stinking someday.
If you want to learn how to play, buy this video...now. This instruction is clear, concise, and, above all, full of hope.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mike Taylor is a very good instructor, February 14, 2007

By 

Myra Hill "pigeon lover" (New York City, United States of America) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginning Banjo: For 5-String Banjo (DVD)

This video gives you step by step instructions on the basics of playing bluegrass banjo. Mr. Taylor goes over learning how to reading tablature, shows you several right hand roll patterns, left hand techniques like slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs, etc.

There are several popular banjo songs like John Hardy, Cripple Creek, Old Joe Clark, etc that will be learned on from the tape. You will see and hear how each song is played in three steps: Fast, slow and thorough on each measure of the songs, then playing again, but slower.

Mr. Taylor seemed like a warm, down home person. He is easy to learn from. He is great in explaining about requirements of time, focus and patience in learning to play banjo. Moreover, he has a great smile.