SKU: MB.20803M

ISBN 9780786690916. 8.75 x 11.75 inches.

The Getting Into Bluegrass Banjo book and audio by Alan Munde is the accumulation of successful teaching concepts developed in his 40 plus years as a professional bluegrass musician and teacher. Munde presents a straight-forward and well-founded course of bluegrass banjo essentials. Designed for those who have never played a stringed instrument to those taking up bluegrass banjo as a second instrument. Includes access to online audio. Getting Started - Covers the parts of the banjo, hand positions, first picking patterns, pull-offs, hammer-ons, slides, exercise songs, ending with the professional sounding Levelland Mountain Breakdown. Review of Rolls, New rolls, and combinations of Rolls, with Examples - Offers the most used rolls in bluegrass banjo playing with often-played examples of each. The player learns many of the licks used in the style with an example of how to combine them to make a solo. Roll Logic - How to place a melody into the several different roll patterns. Tools and Techniques - Helps develop left hand techniques through the use of intervals of thirds and sixths.Creating Solos to Songs - At the heart of the book is this revealing section with many examples of how to create many, many solos to the song Jesse James.Songs - Put to use all you have learned on these great standards Ground Hog, Wildwood Flower two versions ,Nine Pound Hammer, Worried Man Blues, Lost All My Money, Old Country Church, Kneel at the Cross, and Train 45.

SKU: MB.21025M

ISBN 9780786691968. 8.75 x 11.75 inches.

Easy to play five-string banjo arrangements of twenty-four childrens favorites by banjo master Ross Nickerson. Not only are these songs fun to play but from an instructional standpoint they are perfect for helping you develop the ability to bring out the melody in the bluegrass banjo style. Accenting the melody within the steady rhythmic roll of banjo playing is one of the biggest challenges facing banjo students and these familiar melodies are ideal for your development of that skill. Each song is arranged and performed using proper three-finger bluegrass technique. The arrangements are carefully designed to bring out the melody, but easy enough for a beginner or intermediate player to learn quickly. The tablature in the book is large and easy to read with accent marks for melody notes, as well as right and left-hand fingering indications. This book is not simply a tablature book. Childrens Songs for Banjo Made Easy also features instruction on learning the chords to each song, chord progression charts for each song, special learning tips for each arrangement, a full page of advice on memorizing the songs and more. Also, in the instructional section of the book Ross includes a page of suggestions on the best use of practice time and how to develop the skills needed to succeed with each piece. Includes online access to a high quality studio recorded audio of all the songs played at three speeds and a bonus track of Ross performing.

SKU: MB.99126M

ISBN 9781513465791. 8.75x11.75 inches.

Provides the intermediate clawhammer 5-string banjo player with a fresh repertoire of 21 traditional and 5 original tunes as played by the author with the Boiled Buzzards Old Time String Band. The book briefly addresses clawhammer basics with a few pages of exercises and scales before presenting the tunes. The banjo tunings in this book are: double C tuning gCGCD , modified double C tuning eCGCD , G tuning GDGBD , A tuning aEAC#E , D tuning aDADE , and Double-D tuning drop 5th f#DADE . Written in banjo tablature only with suggested backup chords. Voted one of the top 10 clawhammer banjo players by Banjo Newsletter readers, Levenson advises the reader that the tablature in this book is to be used only as a guide and to play the tune as you hear it, not slavishly as written. This approach allows the reader to play within his/her style and level of ability. Includes access to online audio.

SKU: MB.20595M

ISBN 9780786691296. 8.75 x 11.75 inches.

Long-time banjo picking ace Alan Munde brings his considerable banjo arranging skills to some of the most played songs in the bluegrass tradition. In these stylistic revealing arrangements, running from straightforward roll approach to the delicately beautiful melodic fingerings, Munde lets the melody of each piece stand out to its fullest. Great Picking Tunes for Banjo includes all-time winners Red Wing, Turkey in the Straw, Arkansas Traveler, Down Yonder, and Home Sweet Home, bluegrass favorites Blackberry Blossom, Cumberland Gap, Black Mountain Rag, John Hardy, and Bury Me Beneath the Willow, fiddle favorites Whiskey Before Breakfast, Flop-Eared Mule, Boston Boy, St. Annes Reel, and 8th of January, plus a host of other jam session standards. In tablature only. Includes access to online audio.

SKU: MB.20993M

ISBN 9780786694365. 8.75 x 11.75 inches.

This book is designed to aid the novice attempting to learn the 5-string banjo using 3-Finger Style, where the strings are picked by three fingers thumb, index and middle of the right hand. Upon completing this volume, you will have learned how to combine left-hand notes with right-hand patterns so as to perform bluegrass style solos and back-up. You will also have the foundation needed to explore other styles of music, such as blues and jazz. No prior knowledge of music or any musical instrument is needed to learn from this method. Enough detail is given to allow the beginner to fully grasp each concept. In addition, exercises are designed to facilitate a gradual increase in the students understanding and dexterity. When a new concept is presented for the right hand, the left hand performs previously learned tasks. Likewise, a new left-hand technique is demonstrated with familiar right-hand patterns. This instructional technique is used throughout the text. Includes access to online audio.

SKU: MB.20313M

ISBN 9780786687541. 8.75 x 11.75 inches.

This book and extensive online audio recording is intended to be a tune repertoire book. It includes over 100 Old-Time festival favorites. Some are cliche, others unusual, some easy, some difficult. The book contains 2 lines of tablature (one basic and one advanced) as well as standard notation and suggested chords. The basic version should be playable by those with general clawhammer skills. The advanced version will require more time and finesse as it is more ornamental (often more than just melodic) and may include less than intuitive ways of playing some passages. Includes access to online audio.