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.

Southern Appalachian native Dan Levenson and Mel Bay Publications present Clawhammer Banjo from Scratch - A Guide for the Claw-less! This book teaches clawhammer banjo the way we play, not the way others say. It really begins as though you really have NO knowledge of how to play the five string banjo clawhammer style. Based on Dan's innovative Meet the Banjo program (where Dan brings 15 banjos and teaches players who may have never held a banjo), this book assumes no prior experience. Beginning at the beginning, Dan presents a brief history of the 5-string banjo then goes over the parts of the banjo, holding the banjo, right and left hand positions and his basic clawhammer strum. Even the strum is broken down into the steps of the finger and thumb. You are guided through the chords, the scale and then the individual notes of each of 12 jam session favorite tunes from scratch. Includes 2 reference CD's with all exercises, tunes (slow and up to speed), and a fiddle version of each tune.

An important anthology of Irish and Celtic solos for the 5-string banjo featuring a comprehensive, scholarly treatise on the history, techniques, and etiquette of playing the banjo in the Celtic tradition. Includes segments on tuning, pick preferences, and tablature reading followed by 101 jigs, slides, polkas, slip jigs, reels, hornpipes, strathspeys, O'Carolan tunes, plus a special section of North American Celtic tunes. A generous collection of photos of Irish folk musicians, street scenes, and archaeological sites further enhances this fabulous book. All of the solos included here are written in 5-string banjo tablature only with a few tunes set in unusual banjo tunings. the appendices provide a sizable glossary and a wealth of information regarding soloists and groups playing Celtic music, Irish festivals, music publications, on-line computer resources, cultural organizations, and more. If you are serious about playing Celtic music on the 5-string banjo, or if you don't play the banjo but simply want to expand your knowledge of the Celtic music tradition-you owe yourself this book. the first-ever CD collection of Irish and Celtic music for 5-string banjo provides 68 lovely melodies and demonstrates revolutionary techniques for playing highly ornamented tunes and rolling back-up. Recorded in stereo with virtuosos Gabriel Donohue (steel- and nylon-string guitar and piano) and Robbie Walsh (bodhran- frame drum played with a stick), the five-string banjo is out front and plays through each melody in real-life tempo with authentic Celtic chordal and rhythmic backing. the recording features the music of all Six Celtic Nations and includes jigs, reels, hornpipes, slides, polkas, marches, country dances, larides, andros, slipjigs, strathspeys, airs and O'Carolan tunes. 35 songs in the book are not on the CD.

(Banjo). 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.

This is a biography of Dan Levenson, an old-time banjo and fiddle player from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Between 1987 and 1991, Dan worked for Goose Acres Folk Music Center in Cleveland, Ohio, where he dove deeply into old-time music. In the late 1980s, he formed the Boiled Buzzards; they recorded four albums between 1989 and 1994 and were a consistently active presence at old-time music festivals. He also played with Bob Frank during that time as one-half of the Hotfoot Duo. In 1995, he teamed up with Kim Murley and recorded New Frontier: Instrumentals from China and America. Levenson undertook his first cross-country trip as a solo performer in 1996. His traveling workshop "Meet the Banjo" ran with the sponsorship of Deering Banjos from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. Dan recorded three projects in the first five years of the 2000s and began editing the quarterly "Old Time Way" section for Banjo Newsletter in 2005. He continues performing old-time music, teaching fiddle and banjo, writing instructional and repertoire books featuring banjo and fiddle tunes for Mel Bay, and making plans for more old-time music projects.

You've played Over the Waterfall, marched along to Soldier's Joy and perhaps even found your fortune while trotting along on that Old Spotted Pony.Now it's time to take the next step; beyond the waterfall to the land of lesser-played tunes. Inside this volume are 40 challenging, unusual, interesting and dare I say-extraordinary tunes. As it includes standard notation, clawhammer banjo tablature, suggested chords and fiddle bow markings, this book is truly suitable for anyone. A number of old-time songs also include lyrics, so you can sing these great songs in the old-time style. Most of the tunes include notes about their history and recording references areprovided if you wish to hear how they were played and sung way back when. I encourage you to take the time to do that. It may jump start your stalled old-time music collection or as some folks say, start you a new one

You asked for it and you got it! More tunes to play at festivals and jams or just sittin' at home with a friend or two. 62 more tunes with both basic and advancedstandard notation lines with suggested chords as well as a mandolin tablature line to get you going in the right direction and playing these old-time favorites. As in Old-Time Festival Tunes for Fiddle and Mandolin (MB21023BCD), you will find some of the tunes to be straightforward while others promise to be genuine finger twisters! The book revisits some of the author's old favorites and some time -tested standards. Includes access to online audio. The accompanying audio includes each tune on both fiddle and mandolin, with a separate CD for each instrument. There is also a clawhammer banjo companion to this book titled Old-Time Favorites for Clawhammer Banjo (MB30224BCD), which shares the same basic standard notation line in this volume

This book and accompanying audio include popular and lesser-known old-time tunes for the clawhammer banjo. This book is a followup to Dan Levenson's Old -Time Festival Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo (MB20313M ) and includes 62 more tunes of varying difficulty. Old favorites as well as new additions are presented, including many time-tested standards. The material is presented in standard notation and basic/advanced tablature. Suggested chords are also included to help you along the way. Fiddle players will enjoy the companion to this book, Old-Time Favorites for Fiddle and Mandolin (MB30225BCD), which sharesthe same basic standard notation. Includes access to online audio

This book presents clawhammer banjo tablatures from the recording Dick Kimmel - Fishin' Creek Blues (Copper Creek Records). the tablatures have been transcribed by Dick Kimmel directly from his playing on the recording. the book is intended for someone with experience playing clawhammer banjo from tablatures and will be most useful when used in conjunction with the recording. the arrangements represent a spectrum of approaches to clawhammer banjo, from solo clawhammer banjo to clawhammer banjo within an old-time string band context and clawhammer banjo as it would be played within a more modern band setting where all instruments are featured for solos.

Welcome to Gospel Tunes for Clawhammer Banjo. After many years of requests by you and the publisher, I have made this collection of Gospel favorites available to those of you who play the clawhammer banjo style. the versions of the tabs presented here are neither overly simple nor particularly complex. Anyone with basic clawhammer skills should be able to play the tab as written or get close enough so they can create a satisfying version of each tune for themselves.Should you find you need an instructional book, please get my Clawhammer Banjo from Scratch book with companion CD's (MB20190BCD) and the corresponding DVD's which are also available from Mel Bay. You may also wish to see Jack Hatfield's Old-Time Gospel Banjo Solos (MB96755BCD) for 3 finger bluegrass/Scruggs versions of many of the tunes presented here.