How to Play the Five-String Banjo, Part A

FW-ASCH-7RR-1378

Recorded in: New York, United States.

Pete Seeger (1919 - 2014) was a giant of our time. Growing up in a musical family, he had a long and productive career as a folk song leader and social activist. Overall, he appears (or is otherwise associated with) an astonishing total of 123 Smithsonian Folkways recordings. One of the most influential of those recordings is the present one. What better way to learn a musical instrument than from someone who is generally acknowledged to be the most prominent performer and authority on that instrument? This recording affords just such an opportunity and many "Folk Revival" folksingers - including Dave Guard of the Kingston Trio - first learned to play the banjo either from this recording or from Pete Seeger's book of the same title. On this recording, Pete explains and provides examples of basic tunings, strums, techniques such as "hammering on" and "pulling off" and other aspects of playing. He covers the basics of a variety of styles, including frailing, 3-finger, blues, jazz, and Latin-American. Liner notes provide background information, a complete transcript, and the musical notation for what Pete demonstrates. CDR copy- Disc 344