Clawhammer Banjo ~ Tunes, Tips & Jamming (book & online audio)

This is a great follow-up to Wayne Erbsen's "Clawhammer Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus." It's a broad spectrum of old-time tunes and songs, laid out in an easy-to-use way. He gives a basic tune, and ways to embellish it, allowing the player to go at tune in their own fashion. As a bonus, it covers a bit of the history, some of the players, interesting historical photos, and best of all, there's banjo jokes. The section on jamming is well worth it, giving some guidelines. Every genre of music has it's own unique rules and etiquette involved in playing with others, and it's always good to know the basics before attempting to join in. My only minor quibble is that he doesn't play one of the tunes in the tempos one is likely to encounter in the wild, but it's a small thing. All told, it's a fun book. It's written in an easy-going, conversational style that feels very informal and personable. Highly recommend for any aspiring clawhammer player.

This is great book. I would classify myself as an advanced beginner. I’m still focused on playing in open G tuning and although the book includes tunes/songs in other tunings, it has a great collection of open G tunes/songs. I love that the tabs focus on the melody and frails and don’t have embellishments. This means that within a few minutes of trying the tune, I’m able to hear the melody on the banjo. Once I have the basics of the song down, I can then incorporate the embellishments suggested in the text accompanying the tune. The accompanying text also gives you some history and tips on how to play the tune. Finally I really appreciate the section on jamming and related “music theory” sections. I really can’t stress enough how useful and good this book is.

I had been learning to play claw hammer banjo for about 6 months when I bought this book. I have tried other books and this book has greatly enhanced my learning. Really a plus.

I am learning to play the banjo and have found this book to be a great compliment to Erbsen's Clawhammer Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus. Good selection of songs and I particularly like the hot licks tips provided with most songs.

I purchased this to see if playing my banjo ' would be easier now that arthritis has affected my playing ability. So far it hasn't worked.

Well presented and easy to understand. Worth it

It's really a good book, but clearly for beginning players. If you're relatively new to clawhammer, go for it. Just one very, very minor point. The tracks on the CD start too fast. Tracks begin as soon as you hit the button. By the time you get hands back on banjo, the tune is already underway. BTW, Erbsen's clawhammer book for the ignoramus is also a great book. It was my first book many years ago.

It is a great addition to my hopeful library of musical information and meets expectations.

a very good book with lots of songs, including different version of songs that had been in his previous book, these, set to different tunings. I only had a couple of gripes: The other book had a really interesting C minor tuning and only two songs for it. I had hoped that this book would have more songs in that tuning or at least, the chords for that tuning. (which I am unable to figure out well enough to improvise songs) Also, the two songs I most want learn on clawhammer banjo: "Mountain Dew" and "Applejack" are not in this book. (and weren't in the other book either)

This is a good learning resource. There are books by better Banjo players than Wayne Erbson, but for the beginner I have not seen any better than this. The author understands the need for an early learner to begin slowly and to build skills gradually and to consolidate as progress is made. Visually the music is very clear on the page and the notes are very helpful. I have made many attempts over many years to learn clawhammer banjo and now, because of this book (and lots of practice) I can. Recommended.

Anything Wayne Erbsen does in his books is a must for any aspiring banjo player,it is laid out in the simplest way and won’t take anyone long to be playing a tune

This book is a must for anybody wishing to learn Clawhammer banjo. I purchased this book after studying Waynes book,Ignoramus, a wonderful book in itself. I know for a fact that reading and practicing the advice from this book, I shall become a Clawhammer Banjo player. I would without doubt recommend Both these 2 books to anybody wanting to learn Clawhammer Banjo Thank you Wayne for your inspiration.

Am still enjoying this book. All the tunes a set out in the basic bare bones of the tunes, a CD has all the tunes ( one versio basic & one version with embellishments). It's a great intro to this type of music that the reader (me/you) learns each tune and then we are able to develop the tune in our own way. Each tune has a little commentary and history in words. The book is very informative with some of the basic turnings with their corresponding scales etc. I give it 4 stars because I haven't finished it yet but to me it's an invaluable reference to old time clawhammer banjo.