Bill Evans - Banjo For Dummies

116 118

117 119

118 120

119 121

120 122

121 123

122 124

123 125

124 126

125 127

126 129

127 130

128 131

129 132

130 133

131 134

132 135

133 136

134 137

135 138

136 139

137 141

138 142

139 143

140 144

141 145

142 146

143 147

144 148

145 149

146 150

147 151

148 152

149 153

150 154

151 155

152 156

153 157

154 158

155 159

156 161

157 162

158 163

159 164

160 165

161 166

162 167

163 168

164 169

165 170

166 171

167 172

168 173

169 174

170 175

171 176

172 177

173 178

174 179

175 180

176 181

177 182

178 183

179 184

180 185

181 186

182 187

183 188

184 189

185 190

186 191

187 192

188 193

189 195

190 196

191 197

192 198

193 199

194 200

195 201

196 202

197 203

198 204

199 205

200 206

201 207

202 208

203 209

204 210

205 211

206 212

207 213

208 214

209 215

210 216

211 217

212 218

213 219

214 221

215 222

216 223

217 224

218 225

219 226

220 227

221 228

222 229

223 230

224 231

225 232

226 233

227 234

228 235

229 236

230 237

231 239

232 240

233 241

234 242

235 243

236 244

237 245

238 246

239 247

240 248

241 249

242 250

243 251

244 252

245 253

246 254

247 255

248 256

249 257

250 258

251 259

252 260

253 261

254 262

255 263

256 264

257 265

258 266

259 267

260 268

261 269

262 270

263 271

264 272

265 273

266 274

267 275

268 276

269 277

270 278

271 279

272 280

273 281

274 282

275 283

276 284

277 285

278 286

279 287

280 288

281 289

282 291

283 292

284 293

285 294

286 295

287 296

288 297

289 298

290 299

291 300

292 301

293 302

294 303

295 304

296 305

297 306

298 307

299 308

300 309

301 311

302 312

303 313

304 314

305 315

306 316

307 317

308 318

309 319

310 321

311 322

312 323

313 324

314 325

315 326

316 327

317 328

318 329

319 330

320 331

321 332

322 333

323 335

324 336

325 337

326 338

327 339

328 340

329 341

330 342

331 343

332 344

333 345

334 346

335 347

336 348

337 349

338 350

339 351

340 352

341 353

342 354

343 355

344 356

345 357

346 358

347 359

348 360

349 361

350 363

351 364

352 365

353 366

You just can't get that wild and complex sound out of your head. You thought about trying to play, and you ended up here — with a copy of Banjo For Dummies in your hands. It's time to join the hundreds of thousands of other players all over the world who can't get enough of one of the world's most unique and loved instruments. You're ready to play the five-string banjo.

You've probably already come to the realization that no matter what you may have seen on television or in old movies, real banjo players aren't comedic rubes or country bumpkins. They're folks just like you and me from all walks of life who at some point heard the sound of a banjo and said to themselves, “That's for me!”

While the five-string banjo is usually associated with bluegrass, folk, and country music, these days musicians play just about any kind of music on the banjo — from rock to jazz to classical and everything in between. You can use the banjo to accompany songs around a campfire or to play a Bach partita. You can play anything on a five-string banjo. It's time to get started!

Banjo For Dummies, 2nd Edition, is your musical road map for wherever you may want to roam in your banjo travels. From choosing the right instrument and accessories to hands-on experience playing bluegrass, old-time, and historical styles, it's all here. This book transports you from the most basic beginners’ questions to performing intermediate tunes played in the most popular styles used today. I even sneak in more than a few advanced concepts for those of you who really want to be challenged. You can find clear, step-by-step explanations to each and every technique and discover shortcuts that are especially helpful to the adult student.

In this new edition, you'll find a chapter covering intermediate to advanced clawhammer and old-time fingerpicking styles ( Chapter 8) and another new chapter revealing the secrets of how to sound great playing with others using bluegrass accompaniment techniques ( Chapter 10). You can also dig deep into bluegrass styles ( Chapter 9) and discover the fascinating world of early American banjo ( Chapter 11).

With this edition of Banjo For Dummies, you can now watch as well as listen. There are over 40 short videos on 24/7 standby online, ready to provide assistance with tuning, hand positions, basic playing techniques, songs, and even changing strings. Need more? Check out the online audio tracks that correspond to techniques and songs presented in the book.

Although I'd like to think that this book makes for a gripping and powerful literary experience, don't worry about reading Banjo For Dummies cover to cover. Think of this book instead as a reference work that's designed for you to jump into and out of at any point along the way. Take a look at the table of contents and start at the chapter or section that best matches your ability and interests the most. Don't forget to check out the index at the back of the book for an even more comprehensive listing of topics.

You may notice that you can't find a speck of conventional music notation anywhere in Banjo For Dummies . Instead, you find banjo tablature, the universal form of written music notation for just about all styles of banjo playing. Tablature is easier to master than regular musical notation and clearly shows you exactly what to do with both hands.

Every now and then, you'll run across information contained in a gray-shaded sidebar. Think of these as rest stops along the banjo superhighway — you can check them out as you're passing through or return to pay a visit later when you have a bit more time to enjoy the scenery.

Within this book, you may note that some web addresses break across two lines of text. If you're reading this book in print and want to visit one of these web pages, simply key in the web address exactly as it's noted in the text, pretending as though the line break doesn't exist. If you're reading this as an e-book, you have it easy — just click the web address to be taken directly to the web page.

I'm betting that you've picked up this book because you're interested in playing the banjo, but I don't want to assume too much more as I begin this banjo adventure with you. You may or may not own a banjo or have any prior experience on the banjo or any other kind of instrument, and I don't assume you come to this book knowing anything about music. I also don't assume you're interested in one particular style or way of playing the banjo over another (which is why I include more than one).