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Hal Leonard

Earl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo | Complete Banjo Method Songbook for Beginners and Teachers | 40+ Bluegrass Songs with Tablature, Audio, and Video Lessons | Revised and Enhanced Edition

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Description

Earl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo is the definitive guide for learning the Scruggs-style banjo, created by the legendary Earl Scruggs himself. Ideal for beginners, students, and teachers, this revised and enhanced edition offers a complete learning experience that makes mastering the 5-string banjo accessible and enjoyable. Whether you’re playing for fun, performing on stage, or teaching others, this book provides everything you need to develop your skills with confidence.Featuring over 40 classic bluegrass songs and detailed lessons, this method book covers banjo history, tunings, reading tablature, right-hand rolls, and left-hand techniques. Each lesson includes step-by-step instructions and clear illustrations to support progressive learning. The collection stays true to the traditional Scruggs style while helping new players build solid technique and musical understanding.This edition includes online audio and video access, with more than 60 examples performed by Earl Scruggs. The PLAYBACK+ feature allows you to slow down tracks, adjust pitch, and loop sections for targeted practice. These tools make it easier than ever to learn at your own pace and refine your technique.Full Song List American Made-World Played Ballad of Jed Clampett Cripple Creek Foggy Mountain Breakdown Ground Speed Lonesome Road Blues Nashville Blues Reuben Sally Ann Yonder Stands Little Maggie and many more.Bring music to life. Perfect for lessons, self-study, or teaching, this trusted resource helps every aspiring banjo player develop authentic bluegrass skills while enjoying the timeless sound of Earl Scruggs. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hal Leonard


Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 1, 2005


Edition ‏ : ‎ Pap/Com


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 200 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0634060422


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 27


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9 x 0.59 x 12 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #49,272 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1 in Banjos (Books) #4 in Banjo Accessories #64 in Guitars (Books)


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • American Made; World Played
Format: Paperback
Every banjo picker born after 1940, and every fan, student or performer of bluegrass music owes Earl Scruggs (1924 - 2012) an outstanding debt. Few musicians have ever accomplished for their particular instrument what Scruggs did for the 5-string banjo. He developed an extraordinary playing style from a suite of syncopated rhythmic devices that plucked virtue from the instrument's acoustic limitations, firmly established the banjo's role in the bluegrass ensemble, and revitalized the popularity of the instrument, in eclipse since the advent of swing music and electronic amplification in the early 1930s. Principal in his legacy is the instructional work "Earl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo". Written in collaboration with Dr. Burt Brent (who wanted to expose the "anatomy" of Scruggs style) and Warren Kennison, Jr. (who transcribed the songs and exercises into tablature), the book was originally published in 1968 by Peer International Corporation and revised in 2005. The Hal-Leonard edition includes an audio CD of 60 lessons presented by Earl himself. In addition to practical lessons for playing the banjo, the book includes a treasury of autobiographical anecdotes, a recapitulation of Scruggs' career and valuable information about the instrument itself from "Getting Acquainted With Your Banjo" to "How to Build a Banjo". There are detailed instructions for maintenance and repair, as well as intricate descriptions of optional banjo hardware, such as Scruggs tuners, capos and 5th string hooks. Louise Scruggs (Earl's wife) contributes a "Brief History of the 5-String Banjo". There are lucid, well-illustrated chapters on the elements of musical structure, chords, inversions, tunings, and tablature. And there is of course a "Song Section" featuring the rudiments of 44 tunes recorded by Scruggs that Earl invites us to "try playing". The heartbeat of the workbook is "Exercises in Picking", a 32-page section, supported by the audio CD, that provides as fine a starting point for the fledgling player as there is to be found anywhere. Atop each final measure in the practice exercises rides the laconic direction "Play many times" where the word "many" represents a value lying somewhere between 100 and 1,000,000. Earl's music is pervasive. You may not recall when you first heard it - perhaps it was "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" from "The Beverly Hillbillies" or "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" in "Bonnie and Clyde" - but you have Scruggs licks dancing in your head, as do we all. In his 2004 liner notes for the album "The Essential Earl Scruggs", Bela Fleck writes, "He creates the impression of a nonstop cascade of notes... His playing is so technically advanced, still you can hear the mud and dirt, wood and metal, flesh and bone... We're all still trying to sound like Earl." From his debut on Nashville's "Grand Ole Opry" program in 1945 until his last days, this plainspoken genius from the Appalachian foothills of North Carolina never stopped amazing the musical world. With the aid of "Earl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo", future musicians will forever be able to locate bluegrass at its roots to cultivate their own artistry. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2012 by Phil Wernig
    • Buy It, Use It, Mark It Up, and Dog Ear It!
Format: Sheet music
Part commentary and history, but mostly instruction, Earl's book (and it's often called just that) is about as much a standard work for the Banjo as you can find. You can actually learn to play with this book, but unless you also have access to a teacher or some other means of accessing the phrases and tunes, preferably with the capability of controlling their speed without varying pitch, YOU REALLY NEED TO BUY THE VERSION THAT INCLUDES THE CD! You can buy it either way. I didn't, and regretted it quickly. I think so much of this book that I spent a couple of hours digging in my storage unit to find it - unsuccessfully - and so I am buying it again (we're in the middle of a move). Probably the Kindle version this time. While Scruggs style is hardly the only way to play or learn Banjo, just about all bluegrass starts with it, if not directly, then as a variation or in reference to a difference. Hence you'll run into comments like "Earl does it THIS way, and I change ...", or "if you want another variation, see Earl's book ..." or "the reason Earl does this is way is ..." Etc. The format is somewhat unusual, being a mix of text and tab. On one hand, it can *appear* to be less organized than it is. On the other, it makes good reading on its own. There aren't many books in the sheet music category where you can say that! If I have one criticism, it's that it may progress too rapidly for some beginners. I believe in hard challenge when learning an instrument - I play several - but people also need variety. When pressed too hard in music instruction, one of several things happens: 1) The student gets discouraged and gives up, or 2) settles for sloppy, or 3) starts dabbling too far ahead and picks up bad habits. So Scruggs, in my opinion, is best used with a teacher, as a supplemental volume in another instruction program (including online instruction), or when the student has non-trivial experience with other instruments. Very highly recommended ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2015 by New England Yankee
    • He REALLY did "write the book" on Banjo playing!
Format: Paperback
Earl Scruggs HAS to be the MOST imitated musician on the planet; when you consider all the 5 string banjos being made in the world, and HOW they are going to be played by the people purchasing them. Granted, some will be played in the traditional Clawhammer/Framming/Drop-Thumb styles which predated Bluegrass by several decades....but the remaining 99.99% will almost certainly be played in the 3 finger style of Earl Scruggs, the author of this nearly 40 year old book. Although many of today's modern 5 string banjoists have expanded the idiom somewhat, into the 'chromatic' or 'melodic' realm and attempt arrangements of jazz and new-age pieces adapted for the instrument...it is STILL the playing of Earl Scruggs that remains as the foundation of it all. The book is well written, well illustrated, easy to follow, and the accompanying CD (or tape) with it is a special treat with Earl himself, speaking each step of the way (in his pleasant down-home North Carolina accent) This book and CD will get the aspiring picker up and running in a very short time, as Earl starts with the tuning, then the basic fingerpicking patterns, which in combination, and with speed added, will develop into some very good sounding music...played by YOU! You absolutely CANNOT go wrong with this book...millions of copies have already been sold worldwide. What many people don't know, is that Earl is also an incredible fingerpicking guitarist with a style all his own. I would like to see him publish a book of his guitar stylings--I'll be the FIRST to buy a hardcover of it. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2006 by Bill Turner

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