Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am 60 years old and never held a banjo, much less play one, until my wife gave me one for Christmas 2013 . For that matter, I've never played any sort of instrument, other than plunk around with my brother's ancient guitar as a kid, which frustrated me and I quit. I can't read a single note of music. This book is amazing and was apparently written specifically for me. The book (and it seems the banjo world as a whole) uses "tablature" diagrams to show you where to hold each string for a note or chord, and does not use music notation. And, fantastic as it is....about 80% of bluegrass uses only three chords, one of which is "G", which is the "open" (unfretted) key that the banjo is tuned to , so that leaves two chords to learn. The book starts off with very simple tunes, the banjo equivalent of "chop sticks" and then adds "rolls", "pinches", "reverse rolls", "slides" and other tricks to add spice to the tune. The book comes with a CD that plays out each lesson and all the variations so you can get instant response....basically it tells you "this is what this lesson should sound like".....note by note....at a pace you can replicate....so you will know whether or not you are doing things right. Bottom line is I was able to play at the pace of the book within a day or two of practice....one tune at a time mind you. I'm on my sixth song....after one month....practicing about 30 minutes a day. I'm far from being any sort of musician, but this book has allowed me to realize the sort of satisfaction that always eluded me as a kid....I can't wait to pick up the banjo each day and push my abilities to the next level. I am really satisfied with this book and the gift that it has brought me.....I guess I'm becoming a musician of sorts....even my wife is excited about the results. I bought several "how to play" books after the banjo arrived, but all the others were too complicated for me....this one really "strikes a chord" in me....and I'll use this one until I've mastered all the tunes. If you're a complete ignoramus like me, you'll really like this book.