Customer Reviews

Original Banjo Case Chord Book

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

 

 

Well, if you've been playing banjo for a while, you may not need this. But if you're starting out (like me), you'll find it invaluable. It's a slim line book that will fit in your banjo case behind the neck (yes, its that slim). And its just pages of chord diagrams. The sections of the book are different tuninings (ex: G tunining, C tuning, etc.) So if you've tuned to a different key, you can quickly see how to make any chord. It also covers multiple ways to make the same chord, in case you're up the neck. I'm going through "Earl Scruggs and the five string banjo" to learn to play, and this little book is the perfect accessory to reference.

A lot of banjoists won't think they need this chord book. Chords and old time banjo playing especially are not recognized as friends. If you play old time, then you get a lot of non sense from guitar players or even people trained to play tenor or classic banjo about chords.

However, I find this chord book pretty useful for trying to build backup patterns, even if they are done not by strumming chords, but by playing rolls and frailing patterns where I am not actually making the whole chord but playing the notes of the chord.

I played guitar for about 35 years before I played banjo. I developed a repertoire of songs based on chords. Having this chord book helped me to learn some of the chords that might seem normal in a guitar players repertoire that seem distant for old timey banjo players. For example, I did an arrangement of my friend Raeford Starke's song "Roughed" up that has a BM7.
I could not have figured it out without this book.

You will also find that a practice especially jazz players do with a chord book can be useful by trying to play arpeggios of the notes of a chord. This can get you a lot of notes and how they go together. It can give you a good bunch of ways to harmonice or play leads around tunes.

Just because you play old time banjo, does not mean that you should be ignorant of music!

Just received this book today. It looks as useful as other reviewers have said, BUT the binding is awful. I tried to open the book out flat and pages immediately started falling out! Publisher, please print an edition with a spiral binding!

I'm new to the banjo and the extensive list of chord diagrams has been somewhat helpful, not so much in practice, but in fooling around and trying to transpose songs on my own. That being said, I work in a printing press/book bindery and the binding is awful. For such a small book, a saddle stitch (staples along the spine) would be a much better option. The book is impossible to keep sitting open without cracking the spine and it's of little use to try and pin the pages down so that it doesn't close on itself while you're trying to find the chord that you want.

I have browsed through other chord books in my local library as well as the chord presentations in my own self-teaching books (of which I do have many of), and frankly this book really DOES present it in the easy format as advertised compared to *everything else*. Its what I go to now without hesitation for finger placement (within 15 minutes of study/practice of the G section, I had the entire chord scale memorized... still working on speed of fingering tho LOL). Additionally, the "Use of the Capo" chapter was the first very clear description of the fret positions I had seen (other books seem to just kinda gloss right over how and where capos are used). However, as mentioned in previous reviews, a spiral binding would have made it a 5-star perfect. Nevertheless, it's such a useful reference, I would buy another copy if I ever saw it with a spiral binding.

I love this chord book. Whether i'm just picking or playing a song, every chord i'll ever need is within these few pages. really handy to have around. and at just a few dollars, worth it.

has all the most used chords in the most used tunings. small and easy to reference. very useful for learning banjo.

I needed a chord book that would fit in my banjo case. This book is easy to read while playing, has lots of chords for various tunings, gives a nice description of various tunings and when to use them.

If you are a BEGINNER who needs a banjo chord list, you have found the right one. This is not only about the banjo chords but about using the capo as well.

Like others have said, the binding makes it difficult to have it lay open without holding it. It also doesn't fit in my case, but I won't take off any stars for that considering they have the product dimensions on Amazon. The info inside is great and very helpful to anyone looking to start playing banjo.