Overall Comments

This book is a great collection of old-time clawhammer songs. It's not an instructional book per se(except for a brief introduction to the style), but a book of tunes. It's based on the styles of players like Wade Ward, Fred Cockerham, Henry Reed and Frank George, among others. To me this is a superb book!! I prefer these arrangements, which I feel are based more on the right hand than the left, to the often fancier melodic versions. This, of course, is just my personal taste. Mind you, many of these arrangements are meant to be played along with a fiddle, so they do not always have all the melody notes. The included cd is ok, consisting of five songs and some licks performed on banjo alone. I prefer learning these versions, and then playing along with cd's of Wade Ward, Frank George or the Camp Creek Boys. If you're a beginner looking for a book to teach you clawhammer style, I suggest getting the "Clawhammer Style Banjo" by Ken Perlman. It's a brilliant instructional tool. But if you like traditional, driving clawhammer playing and are looking to expand your repertoire, I highly recommend this book!

Overall Rating

9