Fiddle For Dummies

Author: Michael John Sanchez
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118930231
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 381

Book Description
Learn to play the fiddle? Easy. Tackling a new instrument can be intimidating, but with this easy-to-use guide, you'll have no trouble at all! From selecting, tuning, and caring for your fiddle to mastering various music styles, Fiddle For Dummies walks you step-by-step through everything you need to start playing the fiddle like a pro. You'll discover how to hold a fiddle, master fundamental techniques, and take your skills to the next level. This title also features companion audio tracks and instructional video clips hosted online at Dummies.com to help further enhance your skills. The fiddle is a popular instrument across many continents, and is a favorite for many because it is small and portable. Playing the fiddle can expose you to a range of musical styles from all over the world, such as Irish, Scottish, Celtic/Cape Breton, country, folk, bluegrass, and more. Plus, if you're already a violin player, you'll impress yourself and fellow musicians as you unlock your instrument to open up a whole new world of sounds. Learn fiddle techniques and fundamentals Select, tune, and care for your fiddle Join the folk instrument movement and master the fiddle Play fiddle music from all over the world Whether you're a complete beginner or a violin player looking to branch out and try something new, Fiddle For Dummies will have you fit as a fiddle in no time.

Banjo For Dummies

Author: Bill Evans
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119731402
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 384

Book Description
Here’s the quick way to get pickin’ with the best of ‘em The banjo is both a staple of old-time music and an instrument that makes frequent cameos in today’s chart toppers. Whatever your musical leanings, Banjo For Dummies will show you how to pick your way around your instrument, even if you have zero musical background! With a little practice—and the easy-to-follow instructions in this book—you can learn your way around the banjo, try out various musical styles, and discover what banjo culture is all about. Think of this For Dummies guide as your personal banjo tutor, as you learn how to buy, tune, hold, play, and have fun with your five-string. You can also go beyond the book with online video lessons and audio files that will get you picking even faster. Follow the guidance of respected banjo performer Bill Evans and soon you may find yourself jamming with a band or rubbing elbows with the pros at your local bluegrass festival. Learn the basics of banjo: how to strum chords, pick notes, and read tablature Add new styles to your repertoire, including clawhammer, three-finger styles, vamping, and classic banjo Play bluegrass music and learn how to network at festivals Choose the banjo and accessories that work for you, and discover how to keep them in good shape Banjo For Dummies is for anyone who want to learn to play the five-string banjo or brush up on banjo-playing skills. No experience required!

Banjo For Dummies

Author: Bill Evans
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118051424
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 344

Book Description
A complete guide to the world of the five-string banjo written for both beginners and more experienced players. Packed with over 120 how-to photos and 130 musical examples. 94 track CD included - hear and play along with every exercise and song. The only book to offer instruction in clawhammer, bluegrass, melodic, single-string, minstrel and classic styles. From Earl Scruggs’ driving bluegrass picking to the genre-busting jazz fusion of Béla Fleck and the multi-million selling movie soundtrack O Brother Where Are Thou?, the five-string banjo can be heard just about everywhere in American music these days. Banjo For Dummies is the most complete guide to the five-string banjo ever written. It covers everything you need to get into the banjo: including how to choose, tune and care for your instrument, developing a good playing posture, fretting your first chords and getting comfortable with the left and right hand picking patterns used for clawhammer and bluegrass playing techniques. You’ll then add the left hand, spicing up your playing with slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and chokes for an authentic five-string banjo sound. From there, you’ll move on the play 19th century minstrel style, early 20th century classic style as well as try your hand at more advanced examples of bluegrass style. An in-depth chapter on bluegrass music explores Scruggs licks and techniques as well as melodic and single-string styles, with song examples. Also included is a banjo buyer’s guide, a section on music theory as applied to bluegrass and old-time music, an accessories guide (advice on cases, picks, straps, metronomes, computer aids and much more), information on how to find a good teacher, banjo camp or festival, chord charts, bios of twelve influential players, practice tips and much, much more! Banjo For Dummies is accessible and fun to read and it’s easy to locate just what you’re interested in playing. Included are 20 songs including several new compositions written by the author just for this book, including Reno Rag (single-string style), “Winston’s Jig” (Irish three-finger), and “Everyday Breakdown” (Scruggs style). All musical examples are played slowly on the accompanying CD, many with guitar and mandolin accompaniment. Bill Evans is one of the world’s most celebrated banjo players and teachers. He has taught thousands of people to play the five-string banjo in private lessons and group workshops literally all over the world. In addition to leading the Bill Evans String Summit, Bill has performed with Dry Branch Fire Squad, David Grisman, Peter Rowan, Tony Trischka and many others and he hosts his own acclaimed banjo camp, the NashCamp Fall Banjo Retreat in the Nashville area. As an American music historian, he has taught at San Francisco State University, the University Virginia and Duke University. He has written a popular instructional column for Banjo Newsletter magazine for the last fifteen years and hosts three popular instructional DVDs for AcuTab Publications. To learn more about Bill, visit his homepage at www.nativeandfine.com. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of the e-book file, but are available for download after purchase.

Bluegrass Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus!

Author: Wayne Erbsen
Publisher: Native Ground Books & Music
ISBN: 1883206677
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 131

Book Description
Beginning banjo lessons have never been more fun! Written for the absolute beginner, this FUN book is guaranteed to help you learn to play bluegrass banjo (How many books come with a personal guarantee by the author?). · Teaches the plain, naked melody to 23 easy bluegrass favorites without the rolls already incorporated into the tune. · Wayne shows simple ways to embellish each melody using easy rolls. · With Wayne’s unique method, you’ll learn to think for yourself! · Learn how to play a song in different ways, rather than memorizing ONE way. · Includes a link to download 99 instructional audio tracks off our website! You WILL learn to play: Bile ‘Em Cabbage Down, Blue Ridge Mountain Blues, Columbus Stockade Blues, Down the Road, Groundhog, Little Maggie, Long Journey Home, Lynchburg Town, Man of Constant Sorrow, My Home’s Across the Blue Ridge Mountains, Nine Pound Hammer, Palms of Victory, Pass Me Not, Poor Ellen Smith, Pretty Polly, Put My Little Shoes Away, Red River Valley, Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms, Shall We Gather at the River, Wabash Cannonball, When I Lay My Burden Down, When the Saints Go Marching In.

Bluegrass Banjo For Dummies

Author: William J. Evans
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1394152906
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 359

Book Description
Pick and roll your way through bluegrass banjo basics The banjo nearly defines the bluegrass sound, and you’ll be playing your own favorite tunes—or maybe writing some new ones—with the help of this book. Bluegrass Banjo For Dummies is the place to start if you’re ready to start learning banjo or upgrade your skills to play in the bluegrass style. Written by an expert musician and educator, this book makes it easy to start plucking your 5-string banjo using common bluegrass techniques. You’ll also have access to over 100 online audio files, and 35 video lessons, so you can see and hear the techniques in practice. This book serves as your first step to becoming a bluegrass banjo player, even if you’re completely new to playing musical instruments. Choose the right banjo, pick up the basics, learn classic banjo licks, and more—the easy way. Learn how to read banjo tablature and perform on a five-string banjo Get insight on playing as part of a bluegrass combo band Practice with classic bluegrass tunes and banjo licks Create banjo solos that will wow your audiences This friendly For Dummies guide is great for fledgling banjo players interested in the bluegrass style. Whether or not you already play another instrument, you’ll pick up the banjo basics you can show off at your next local bluegrass festival.

Banjo For Dummies

Author: Bill Evans
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119731399
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 384

Book Description
Start from scratch on the five-string banjo Learn how to make your right and left hands work together Explore bluegrass and old-time banjo styles Join the banjo revolution! Thanks to its prevalence in folk and bluegrass, the banjo is almost the very essence of Americana. And now a new generation of musicians from the country, pop, and jazz worlds have made the sound of the banjo new again. This book is for anyone who wants to pay their respects to tradition as well as those who want to create the next chart-topper ... or both! Packed with the essentials you need to know—from top techniques to choosing the right instrument—you'll learn, and be able to show off, just why the banjo is never out of style! Inside... Tackle the basics with chords and simple picking patterns Explore historic, traditional, and modern styles Get connected with the banjo world Go beyond the book with online lessons

Bluegrass Banjo Basics

Author: Dennis Caplinger
Publisher: Alfred Music Publishing
ISBN: 9780769285443
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 76

Book Description
Beginning with basic left- and right-hand techniques, Dennis Caplinger guides you through developing great backup parts and playing all over the neck. You'll learn the classic Scruggs style of picking along with the melodic style." Plus you'll study over 20 classic bluegrass standards, and you'll learn how to play them in several different styles. All books in the Ultimate Beginner Bluegrass Basics series are fully correlated to work together. This is the ideal method for the family that wants to play music together!"

You Can Teach Yourself Banjo

Author: Janet Davis
Publisher: Mel Bay Publications
ISBN: 1609749065
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 117

Book Description
This is the ideal beginner's book, presenting the basics of playing the 5-string banjo is a way that is both fun and produces quick results. Janet Davis takes you on an extensive tour of this instrument's fundamental techniques as well as some intermediate possibilities including rolls, chords, bluegrass banjo techniques, playing up the neck, licks, endings, and other basic information needed to play bluegrass and melodic-style banjo. Thorough performance notes are provided from beginning to end revealing the secrets of this versatile traditional instrument.

The Banjo Encyclopedia

Author: Ross Nickerson
Publisher: Mel Bay Publications
ISBN: 1610657659
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Book Description
The Banjo Encyclopedia is a comprehensive, in-depth banjo instructional tool that covers the many intricacies of bluegrass banjo playing, including numerous topics that may have been overlooked in banjo instruction to date. The Banjo Encyclopedia can take a student from the beginning, to intermediate, and right through to more advanced styles of banjo playing. Ross Nickerson uses his many years of experience helping hundreds of aspiring banjo pickers by offering the banjo student an opportunity to learn in a practical, straightforward manner. This wide-ranging banjo instructional book will focus on many techniques that will help every aspect of a banjo player's musicianship while simplifying many subjects in the learning process. The downloadable audio with 99-track recording will enable the student to learn easily by hearing author Ross Nickerson demonstrate each song, and perform many of the banjo licks and phrases included in the book slow, and up to tempo. The audio download available online includes anadvanced song section with a full bluegrass band accompanying Ross along with additional intermediate songs for the student to learn. The Banjo Encyclopedia is undoubtedly one of the most complete five-string banjo books on the market today and a must for every banjo player's collection. Includes access to onlineaudio

Mandolin For Dummies

Author: Don Julin
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119943973
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 408

Book Description
The fun and easy way to learn to play the mandolin The newest addition to the highly successful Dummies instrument-instruction line, Mandolin For Dummies gives you easy-to-follow, step-by-step instruction on learning to play the mandolin. Following the time-tested Dummies format, Mandolin For Dummies provides a level of content and instruction greater than anything currently available. Mandolin For Dummies breaks down the fundamentals of this instrument and provides the resources you need to practice and improve your ability over time. Packed with individualized instruction on key mandolin-friendly musical styles, including Irish and Celtic, "old time" American music, blues, bluegrass, swing, and jazz Files available via download provide audio tracks from the book and exercises so you can play along and build your skills -- almost 2 hours of music! Clear and useful photos and diagrams ensure you fret, strum, and pick with precision Includes a mandolin buying guide to help ensure you make the right purchases Tips on restringing mandolins and other DIY care and maintenance topics If you're an aspiring mandolin player, don't fret! Mandolin For Dummies has you covered.