5 String Banjo Music & Song Books

Wade Ward - Clawhammer Banjo Master is a collection of clawhammer banjo tablature as played by Wade Ward, with modern interpretations by Bob Carlin and Dan Levenson. This book is the second in a series of transcriptions of tunes from the old masters--in this case, Wade Ward--who gave definition to our style of old time clawhammer banjo playing. The repertoire, presented in tablature, is intended to be a starting point for your journey through the old time music world. As such, each piece is presented in multiple arrangements, both on the page and on the accompanying online audio. The recordings are for the most part played at a learning tempo and are close to the written notation, but not exact in all cases.

Tony Trischka. A thorough survey of the three finger picking classics of the early 1900s, transitional styles of the 1930s and the Scruggs style of the 1940s and beyond. Includes over 75 bluegrass, old-time fiddle and classic tunes in tablature for 5-string banjo.

Art Rosenbaum is one of America's foremost performers and teachers of traditional five-string Banjo playing. He has a long-time interest in the myriad of old-time tunings that give breadth and richness to mountain and old-time Banjo picking, and has learned first-hand from old-timers in the South and Midwest.

A compilation of favorite solos on Irish, Scottish and New England fiddle tunes arranged for banjo by one of America's foremost clawhammer banjoists, Ken Perlman. Book with online audio link

Long-time banjo picking ace Alan Munde brings his considerable banjo arranging skills to some of the most played sons in the bluegrass tradition.

Easy to play five-string banjo arrangements of twenty-four Children's 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.

A comprehensive repertoire book of fiddle tunes adapted for banjo, in easy to read tablature, by the renowned player and teacher of the 5-String Banjo, Tony Trischka. For the early picker to the advanced player, this book and its companion online audio will enable the player to learn by example and broaden their technical range.

Fiddle tunes have been adapted for Banjo since the early 1850's. The explorations contained here include a large collection of popular American fiddle tunes and a section of Celtic tunes played in the three major Bluegrass Banjo styles. These Bluegrass, Old Time and Celtic banjo traditions will expand the players' knowledge of the instrument, and deepen their understanding of bluegrass and traditional music.

This rich collection of 68 jigs and reels features some of the most cherished tunes played by session players from 21st-century Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Celtic Diaspora. Tom Hanway demonstrates contemporary "Celtic fingerstyle banjo" through modern techniques and traditional Irish and Celtic melodies using standard G tuning. Additionally, this book explains the Four Celtic Modes that are found throughout the tunes in this collection. Through these lessons, you can learn the essentials needed to play stock Irish and Celtic tunes, which can later be combined in medleys to play at sessions.

Easy Irish And Celtic Melodies and accompanying audio present Irish, Celtic and British Isles folk melodies for the 5-string banjo.

The book demonstrates contemporary Celtic fingerstyle banjo in G tuning using modern techniques. 32 airs and song melodies are presented, with chords written in standard notation and tablature.

Entertain your friends and fellow pub customers with this collection of rousing Irish folksongs for the Banjo. The pieces in this collection have been sung in pubs for generations but will also sound great when played in the comfort of your own home.

The arrangements in this 35-song collection include the vocal melodies, lyrics, chord diagrams and tabs for the 5-string Banjo. 3-finger picking annotations are also included below the tab. The arrangements can easily be adapted for plectrum use.

A collection of over 225 great bluegrass, old time, country and gospel standards. Melodies are presented with standard notation and tablature along with lyrics and chords. Learn to play songs written and recorded by the giants of traditional American music: Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, The Osborne Brothers, Jimmy Martin, Doc Watson and many more.

This book and online audio set is intended to be a tune repertoire book. It includes over 100 Old-Time festival favorites.

All it takes is the thumb and index finger! This book allows you to explore this traditional, often easier way of playing the banjo: the original two-finger style. It covers thumb lead, up-picking, frailing/clawhammer (stroke style), and drop-thumb variation techniques and is presented in various tunings with easy to read tablature plus accompanying chord symbols and diagrams with audio tracks online for download or streaming. Includes over 50 songs in the bluegrass, old-time, country, folk and gospel styles. Audio is accessed online using the unique code inside the book and can be streamed or downloaded. The audio files include PLAYBACK+, a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down audio without changing pitch, set loop points, change keys, and pan left or right.

This songbook celebrates the legacy of Pete Seeger with 41 favorites presented with words, melody lines, and chord symbols: All Mixed Up · The Bells of Rhymney · Blue Skies · Goodnight, Irene · Guantanamera · If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song) · Lonesome Valley · Michael Row the Boat Ashore · Midnight Special · Over the Hills · So Long It's Been Good to Know Yuh (Dusty Old Dust) · This Land Is Your Land · Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) · We Shall Overcome · Where Have All the Flowers Gone? · and more. Note the tunes are written in musical notation with the chords above.

14 Dylan classics arranged specifically for clawhammer-style 5-string Banjo, written in TAB, including: All Along the Watchtower, Blowin' in the Wind, Hurricane, It Ain't Me Babe, Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Lay Lady Lay, Like a Rolling Stone, Mr. Tambourine Man, Positively 4th Street, Shelter from the Storm, Tangled up in Blue, The Times They Are A-Changin', You Ain't Goin' Nowhere and Don't Think Twice, It's All Right.

This collection contains tab for Earl's banjo breaks, intros and tags, plus complete banjo instrumental transcriptions for over 80 tunes spanning his recording career. It also includes recording references and tuning and capo infofor each piece.

In this book, with accompanying CD, Ron Hughes presents 20 of his exciting 5 string banjo arrangements of a selection of Turlough O'Carolan's wonderful Irish airs, jigs and reels.

Fred Cockerham & Tommy Jarrell: Clawhammer Banjo Masters is a collection of 23 clawhammer banjo solos written in tablature. The pieces are transcribed as played by Fred Cockerham and Tommy Jarrell by Bob Carlin. Also included are modern interpretations by Dan Levenson. This is the third book in a series of transcribed tunes from the old masters. Previous books are Kyle Creed - Clawhammer Banjo Master and Wade Ward - Clawhammer Banjo Master. Fred Cockerham and Tommy Jarrell both gave unique definition to the style of old-time clawhammer banjo playing. The repertoire, presented in tablature, is intended to be a starting point for your journey through the old-time music world. Eachpiece is presented in multiple arrangements, both on the page and in the online audio. Most of the recordings are played at learning tempos and correspond to the tablature.

The Banjo Play-Along Series will help you play your favorite songs quickly and easily. Just follow the banjo tab, listen to the audio to hear how the banjo should sound, and then play along using the separate backing tracks. The book includes access to audio tracks online for download or streaming featuring Playback+, a multi-functional audio player that allows you to slow down the audio without changing pitch, set loop points, change keys, and pan left or right. This volume includes: Billy in the Low Ground · Cluck Old Hen · Devil's Dream · Fisher's Hornpipe · Little Maggie · Over the Waterfall · The Red Haired Boy · Soldier's Joy.

O'Carolan's best-loved harp tunes are notated in a contemporary style that makes them accessible to all instrumentalists. This ideal collection with accompanying audio lays bare 20 classic Irish compositions for melody and backing players using standard notation and chords. For all 5-string banjo players, fretting and picking-hand fingerings are included in the transcriptions which match the play-along tracks. This is Hanway's fourth collection demonstrating Celtic fingerstyle banjo in G tuning. It is part of a Celtic 5-string series that includes Mel Bay's Easy Irish and Celtic Tunes for 5-String Banjo: Best-Loved Jigs and Reels (2012) and Mel Bay's Easy Irish andCeltic Melodies for 5-String Banjo: Best-Loved Airs and Session Tunes (2013). Tom Hanway's pioneering work, Mel Bay's Complete Book of Irish & Celtic 5-String Banjo (1998), was acclaimed by Bluegrass Unlimited magazine (1999) "as 'the bible' for any 5-string player with an interest in this joyous music." The current collection breathes life into the Gaelic classical melodies of Ireland. Access to online audio download.

If you've ever felt compelled to play Flight of the Bumblebee on the 5-string banjo, this is the book for you!Challenging banjo transcriptions of classical masterpieces may seem like a humorous anachronism to some, but not for Italian master Claudio Parravicini, a conservatory graduate who, while majoring in French horn, always believed that the banjo was 'a virtuoso instrument capable of enriching any musical genre. In the author's words, 'I chose the classical pieces in this book on the basis of how they might advance right and left-hand banjo technique and even refine the player's musical sensibility ¦ Some pieces, like Flight of the Bumblebee will challenge yourability to play rapidly, while others like Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, are much slower, but will test your musical abilities in other ways.  The other pieces in the book are: Prelude No. 2 in C minor and Inventions No. 4 and No. 6 by J. S. Bach, Flight of the Bumblebee by Korsakov, Perpetual Motion and Carnival of Venice by Paganini, and Toccata for Piano or Harpsichord by Paradisi. Classical Masterpieces for Banjo is written in tablature only in standard G tuning [gDGBD] using three-finger banjo technique in the traditional, melodic and single-string style. Each selection is guaranteed to further your technique and delight your audience, or simply expand your vision of what is possible on the 5-string banjo.

A Clawhammer Christmas by Dan Levenson is a collection of 30 of the most loved Christmas songs transcribed in tablature for the 5-string banjo in the clawhammer style with chords provided for accompaniment instruments. Written in his clear and traditional style, Dan has finally made these holiday favorites accessible to all clawhammer banjo players with good basic skills. All songs have been written in one of the three basic old-time banjo tunings of G, double-C or G modal. This will allow you to find the tune in a fingering you know and easily capo to your preferred singing key. Build your skills as you entertain family and friends and maybe even yourself! Ring in the holiday season with the joyful sound of the 5-string banjo played clawhammer style and have a double-thumb, drop-thumb Clawhammer Christmas!

Early American Banjo by Tim Twiss provides complete banjo tablature transcriptions of the instrumental solos that first appeared in standard notation in Buckley's Banjo Guide of 1868. This modern tablature edition of over 100 mid-19th century jigs, waltzes, polkas, hornpipes and reels provides insight to the transition between the African down-stroke technique, which preceded claw-hammer style and the newer, more refined plucking technique. James Buckley (1803 ' 1872), sometimes referred to as the 'Father of the Classical Banjo,  was one of the most prolific transcribers of early banjo music. His compositions and arrangements were performed on the minstrel stage, andhis scholarly discipline produced a lasting record of banjo music of his era. This repertoire collection includes easy tunes as well as more complex pieces suited for the concert stage. The player will delight in discovering how fresh and unusual some of this music sounds, even today 'all in modern banjo tab. While best experienced on a period reproduction, gut-string fretless banjo in a lower tuning, any 5-string banjo in C tuning (gCGBD) may be used to interpret this collection. Includes access to online audio.

This book provides beginning banjo players with easy streamlined arrangements of 40 popular songs. Learn the basics of clawhammer style, strum and sing along, or pick the melody lines. Arrangements are a combo of tab, standard notation, chord grids and lyrics selected and prepared by renowned banjo guru, Fred Sokolow. Songs include: Ballad of Jed Clampett (Flatt & Scruggs) · Blue Moon of Kentucky (Bill Monroe) · Cold Rain and Snow (Grateful Dead)· Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash) · Freight Train (Elizabeth Cotten) · Friend of the Devil (Grateful Dead) · Gentle on My Mind (Glen Campbell) · Ho Hey (The Lumineers) · I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow (Soggy Bottom Boys) · I Saw the Light (Traditional) · I Walk the Line (Johnny Cash) · Jambalaya (On the Bayou) (Hank Williams) · The Long Black Veil (Lefty Frizzell) · Mama Tried (Merle Haggard) · The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Band) · Puff the Magic Dragon (Peter Paul & Mary) · (Ghost) Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend) (Stan Jones) · Rocky Top (Osbourne Brothers) · Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms (Flatt & Scruggs) · Sweet Baby James (James Taylor) · Teach Your Children (Crosby Stills Nash & Young) · This Land Is Your Land (Woody Guthrie) · Tom Dooley (Kingston Trio) · The Weight (The Band) · Where Have All the Flowers Gone? (Pete Seeger) · Will the Circle Be Unbroken (The Carter Family) · You Are My Sunshine (Traditional) · and more.