Reddit reviews Clawhammer Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus 40th Anniversary Edition book w/ CD

I used Clawhammer Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus

I like Wayne Erbsen's books. Depending on the style you want to play, he has two:

http://www.amazon.com/Bluegrass-Banjo-Complete-Ignoramus-Book/dp/1883206448

http://www.amazon.com/Clawhammer-Complete-Ignoramus-Anniversary-Edition/dp/188320643X

My wife is learning the fiddle. I got her the Erbsen fiddle book. She and her teacher both like it a lot.

I've been learning bluegrass. I have found the Erbsen Bluegrass banjo book along with Earl Scruggs book to be somewhat complimentary to each other and I go back and forth between the two.

Read all the stuff in the sidebar. Even the stuff for Clawhammer.


I personally am very fond of Wayne Erbsen's books, Bluegrass Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus and Clawhammer Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus. I started out focused on Bluegrass but recently decided to try walking both paths. Fun so far.

Of course there is also Earl Scruggs and the 5-String Banjo, pretty much the bible for some folks for bluegrass banjo. It gets pretty complicated quickly though.

If you do go with any of these books, make sure you get them WITH the CDs.


A couple things regarding your new banjo.

1st, if you open the box and the bridge is installed, that's not a good thing. It should have been shipped with the bridge out, as the tension can cause damage in transit. Inspect it thoroughly, to include taking the resonator off and looking at it from the back.

2nd, if you are not 100% confident in your own abilities to set it up, take it to a local shop and have them do it. It's possible to DIY, but if you are not a tinker/tool guy, let a pro do it.


There are a lot of good instructions out there but here are the ones that I used to fool my teacher. He asked where I got it set up, and gave me a nod and thumbs up when I told him I did it myself.

Basic setup stuff

Bridge placement


One word about setup - I initially borked the setup on mine, ended up with the strings a good bit higher off the neck than they should have been. Once I went through that first link, I re-did it, and nearly had to relearn fretting as the strings were so much easier to press.

These are two books that I used when I started. They have really easy songs that help you get used to the technique of clawhammer and picking as well as reading tablature.