Clawhammer Style Banjo [Paperback]

Ken Perlman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1989

A complete guide for beginning and advanced banjo players! From Ken Perlman, here is a brilliant teaching guide that is destined to become the handbook on how to play the banjo. The style is easy to learn, and covers the instruction itself, basic right and left-hand positions, simple chords, and fundamental clawhammer techniques; the brush, the 'bumm-titty' strum, pull-offs, and slides. For the advanced player, there is instruction on more complicated picking, double thumbing, quick slides, fretted pull-offs, harmonics, improvisation, and more. The book includes more than 40 fun-to-play banjo tunes.

Product Details

• Paperback: 194 pages
• Publisher: Centerstream Publications (May 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0931759331
• ISBN-13: 978-0931759338
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars most comprehensive teaching guide, March 22, 2005

By 

J. Janssen (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Clawhammer Style Banjo (Paperback)

Ken Perlman's book has been around for almost 30 years and, with the sentimental exception of Pete Seeger's "How to Play the 5 String Banjo", is clearly the leading "how to" book on this unique style of play. However comprehensive and well written a book is if you don't get the earliest lesson down pat you're gonna be dead meat when things speed up down the road. If you don't have a competent teacher and are trying to learn from any book alone clawhammer, more than any other picking style, will beat you into the ground.

Fortunately for those of us too cheap to hire an instructor Perlman has produced a 2 DVD (originally VHS) set that bests most teachers for clarity and continuity in following the text of this excellent book. I can't recommend highly enough just how effective the book and DVD combination is. You'll save years of struggle and have a great time learning this most fascinating style of play. A great book made much better with the available video.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this first, November 14, 2002

By 

Rob Fulton (Boulder Creek, Ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Clawhammer Style Banjo (Paperback)

This book is easily the best beginner and up book on clawhammer banjo. Perlman has an uncanny ability to lay all this down and make it understandable. He brings you along in a way that you don't realize your learning and getting better. Next thing you know your sittin on the front porch playin old songs from our past effortlessly

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Clawhammer Bible!, February 21, 2005

By 

Jared Engel (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Clawhammer Style Banjo (Paperback)

This book is the most well organized, clear, and fun book on clawhammer I have ever encountered. If you are a clawhammer banjo teacher, as I am, this book is absolutely essential for you and your students. I especially apprecite Ken's attention to detail, the accurate rhythmic notation (which is often less then desirable in clawhammer books), and the generous amount of songs within the book. If there's a clawhammer equivalent to Earl Scrugg's book, this is it.