 Best Sellers
| | Home Mel Bay Clawhammer Banjo from Scratch: A Guide for the Claw-less! | |
|  | |  | | | Mel Bay Clawhammer Banjo from Scratch: A Guide for the Claw-less! | | | | | SKU:
ACOMMP2_book_new_0786671335 | | In Stock | | Availability:
Usually ships in 1 business days | | | | | | 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 CDs with all exercises, tunes (slow and up to speed), and a fiddle version of each tune.
| | | |
List Price:
| $26.95 | |
Our Price:
| $20.48
& eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.
| |
You Save:
| $6.47 (24%)
|
| | |
|
| | Product Promotions | | |
| | Product Details | | Author: | Dan Levenson | | Spiral-bound: | 124 pages | | Publisher: | Mel Bay Publications, Inc | | Publication Date: | 2003-10 | | Language: | English | | ISBN: | 0786671335 | | Product Length: | 11.66 inches | | Product Width: | 8.86 inches | | Product Height: | 0.28 inches | | Product Weight: | 0.86 pounds | | Package Length: | 11.6 inches | | Package Width: | 8.5 inches | | Package Height: | 0.4 inches | | Package Weight: | 0.85 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 8 reviews |
| |
| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review: ( 8 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 16 found the following review helpful:
 A good book, but not the best available Mar 21, 2005
By J. Janssen
This is a good beginning tutorial for clawhammer style banjo and does assume the reader has no prior musical experience, just as the author states. However, like Pete Seeger's hallowed tome "How to Play the 5 String Banjo", Dan Levenson starts the student off in a tuning that will present him with challenges down the road. Seeger even states in the most current edition of "How to Play..." that if he had the time to revise his book one of the first things he would change would be to start off the student in "G" tuning. While this might seem like a minor detail it's just as agravating as the occassional book employing non standard tablature.
My recommendation for anyone (new or experienced) who wants to learn the instrument in this style would be to get Ken Perlman's "Clawhammer Style Banjo" AND the available DVD's that follow the text. While some reviewers have faulted this book as being a little too advanced for them, the videos do a wonderful job of presenting the technical material in a manner that provides easy access to the more comprhensive material. Levenson's book has videos available as well but his teaching methods, while undoubtedly effective, are somewhat unique. That isn't a put down as "Clawhammer Banjo from Scratch" is a good book, just not one you can grow with as easily as Perlman's.
Most students will wind up with a number of books anyway and it's often beneficial to have the same information presented in different ways. For some, "Clawhammer Banjo from Scratch" will undoubtedly be just the ticket to unlocking the frailing banjo's potential. For me, it was Perlman's book and videos.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 I'll review it again! Flawless, easy, Totally cool! (no complexity!) Jul 29, 2008
By Jennifer H. Tavernier
"fiddledlehangout.com/"
There is a major review of my delight on my Amazon page - but here again, I'll say that this took me from disolusionment into a slide down the neckboard of life -
because of Dan - I actually learned to read tab - his method of notation is perfectly clear and linear - here - no overwhelming 15 notes at once) - note by note -
He starts in Double C - (a tuning for the banjo) and STAYS in Double C tl you have your chops in - he takes you to Double D - (yes, now you actually learn about confronting a capo, and the ease of it) and then takes you through to a bit more (perfect gradiant) bouncy version, and on to a full jam kitchen sink version that you'll hear at jams -
This Book KICK A88 - the excersises in the front, if you actually even do them with limited attention - you WILL find that it all applies, and becomes natural. If you are a beginner - totally - this is the RIGHT book to start with -
and do yourself the favor of getting the DVD that goes through Spotted Pony, with a total introduction (covered also in book, but seeing it live in real time will blow you away - ) of just what it is for you to play YOUR banjo - not someone else's idea of how you should hold it and play - So check out my amazon page review - and check out this book -
he doesn't start with the well known "bumditty" strum that seems to be well known - it is So. Appalachian style - but everything in here will build and hone you to play it or any other style, with finesse -
My name is Jenny, and I'm a Banjo Addict
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
An Excellent Book Nov 16, 2007
By Alan D. Legrand
"banjo student"
This is probably one of the best first Banjo books you could get. It takes a unique approach to teaching ClawHammer Banjo.
It presents 12 songs that everyone should know how to play and works through them at three different playing levels: Basic, Drop Thumb, Kitchen Sink. The first two levels are really exercises used to teach rhythm and fretting ( my problem areas). The third level introduces brush thumbs, hammer ons, pull offs,and slides, etc.
The second major difference between this book and most others is that it assumes that you will eventually want to play the banjo with other people (instruments) so it present the songs in double D tuning (double C capo'd at the 2nd fret). This is a tuning that fiddlers are comfortable with.
It would be a great book to supplement the lessons that you are probably taking. Since it focuses on the exact areas many teachers skip through quickly so that they can start teaching tunes.
6 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Awesome book!! This is THE clawhammer banjo book for rookies Jun 28, 2004
This book is awesome. Thank you Dan. After struggling with other books, this book really made it happen for me. I am a real banjo player now! Going to get the companion DVDs next. Dan is an excellent teacher -- the guy I take some lessons with (an AMAZING player) says he could have saved himself 5 years if this book had been out 20 years ago! What are you waiting for? If you want to learn old-time banjo, THIS IS THE BOOK!!
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
A fantastic book on frailing the banjo Jan 04, 2011
By Chet Rideout
Although I've looked at a number of books on clawhammer banjo, this is the first I have seen that focuses on Double C and Double D tuning, tunings that in my estimation work far more efficiently for this style of banjo picking. One reviewer of this book compared this tuning to the C tuning presented by Pete Seeger, but they are very different. Using double C (or Double D) you can play in the second position, effectively giving you a longer reach, and chord patterns are far simpler than they are in G or Seeger's C tuning. Tim Jumper (The Banjo Player's Songbook) recognizes this tuning as being one of the most versatile; also it is very close to G modal tuning, and retuning to G is also pretty easy to do.
Many other books on clawhammer focus mainly on open G tuning - this is the standard tuning for bluegrass, but I don't feel that it works as well for clawhammer and fiddle tunes. Levenson's book includes CD's covering the entire book, and it is very well organized. He has many exercises to develop the student's speed and clarity, and I found it a bargain for the price. Kudos to Levenson for writing such an excellent book.
See all 8 customer reviews on Amazon.com
| |
| |
| |  | |  |
|
Recently Viewed | You may also like ...
|
