Banjo For Dummies: Book + Online Video and Audio Instruction

by Bill Evans

Overview

Play your way to banjo-playing expertise

Traditionally associated with country, folk, and bluegrass music, the banjo is accessible to anyone with the patience and willpower to learn it. This second edition of Banjo For Dummies does the rest of the work for you with updated practice lessons, teaching techniques, and step-by-step examples. With this guide, you will learn tips and techniques for selecting the right instruments and accessories, how to develop correct hand position and posture, and how to tune, care for, and make simple repairs to the instrument. An updated multimedia component features companion audio tracks and complementary video lessons that cement the concepts readers gain during their reading.

• Written by Bill Evans, an accomplished five-string banjo player, teacher, writer, and historian
• Includes access to "how-to" videos on Dummies.com
• Ideal for anyone who wants to learn to play this classic instrument

For musicians hoping to lend their art an edge or interested learners looking to pick up a unique skill, Banjo For Dummies is a must-have, straightforward guide to success.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781118746332
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	01/28/2014
Series:	For Dummies Books
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Bill Evans is an internationally celebrated five-stringbanjo player, teacher, historian, and recording artist, who hashelped thousands of banjo players from all over the world in aprofessional career that spans over 35 years. He has producednumerous instructional DVDs and hosted hundreds of instructionalworkshops. Bill has performed on stages throughout North America,Europe, and Japan, and his CDs have topped both folk and bluegrasscharts.

Read an Excerpt

Click to read or download

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part I: The Amazing Five-String Banjo 5

Chapter 1: You Want to Play What?: Banjo Basics 7

Chapter 2: Tuning Your Banjo 23

Chapter 3: Starting to Play: Fretting and Strumming 35

Chapter 4: Playing by the Rules: Songs and Tablature 53

Part II: Let’s Pick! Basic Banjo Techniques 75

Chapter 5: Getting Right with the Right Hand 77

Chapter 6: Sliding, Hammering, and Pulling: Adding the Left Hand103

Chapter 7: Working Up Your First Tunes: Clawhammer and Bluegrass131

Part III: Playing Styles Past, Present, and Future143

Chapter 8: Playing the Old-T ime Way: Clawhammer and TraditionalStyles 145

Chapter 9: Playing Three-Finger Styles: Scruggs, Melodic, andSingle String 163

Chapter 10: Playing Up-the-Neck Backup: Chords and Vamping197

Chapter 11: Playing Historical Styles: African, Minstrel, andClassic Banjo 211

Chapter 12: Net working into Banjo Culture 223

Part IV: Buying a Banjo and Keeping It in Good Shape241

Chapter 13: Finding Your Banjo Bliss: A Buyer’s Guide243

Chapter 14: Getting the Right Stuff: Banjo Gear 269

Chapter 15: Taking Care of Your Baby: String Changing and BasicMaintenance 291

Part V: The Part of Tens 311

Chapter 16: Ten T ips to Make Practicing More Fun 313

Chapter 17: Ten Great Banjo Players You Need to Hear 321

Part VI: Appendixes 327

Appendix A: Banjo Chords and Notes 329

Appendix B: Audio Tracks and Video Clips 335

Index 343