Description

From Memorized Arrangements to Real Improvisation — the Complete Path.

There’s a moment every banjo player hits where memorized solos stop being enough. You can play the songs, but you sound the same every time. You can’t solo on a song you haven’t practiced. And at jams, you feel stuck while other players seem to pull solos out of thin air. The difference isn’t talent — it’s that they’ve learned to improvise. The Complete Banjo Improv Special gives you the entire four-book series in one package, taking you from your first lick substitution to creating explosive solos up the entire fretboard.

This is the exact improvisation curriculum Geoff Hohwald has developed over six decades of playing and teaching. The books are designed to be worked through in order, and each one builds on what came before. By the time you finish all four, you’ll have the tools to walk into any jam and create your own solos on the spot.

What’s Included

Book 1: Banjo Improvisation

The foundation. You’ll learn lick substitution — the core concept that great banjo players use to instantly create solos, even to songs they haven’t practiced. You’ll accumulate a library of licks and learn how to plug them into any song’s chord structure to build your own unique solos on the fly. Includes 143 minutes of video instruction and audio jam tracks.

• ✔ Lick substitution — the key to real improvisation
• ✔ Build a library of interchangeable licks
• ✔ 143 minutes of video plus jam tracks

Book 2: Banjo Improvisation

The vocabulary expansion. You’ll learn licks that work in multiple positions on the neck, licks with a bluesy sound, chord-based licks, and licks inspired by J.D. Crowe — one of the most influential banjo players in bluegrass history. Geoff teaches each lick in detail and shows you how to use it in the context of a real song. Includes 155 minutes of video instruction and audio backing tracks.

• ✔ Positional, bluesy, chord-based, and J.D. Crowe-inspired licks
• ✔ Licks demonstrated in song context
• ✔ 155 minutes of video plus backing tracks

Book 3: Pentatonic Improvisation

The fresh sound. The pentatonic scale gives you a completely different palette to draw from — licks that sound different from standard Scruggs-style playing and connect bluegrass to its blues roots. You’ll learn the scale in multiple neck positions, then apply pentatonic licks to 7 bluegrass songs including New River Train, 9 Pound Hammer, John Hardy, and a 12 Bar Blues. Includes 157 minutes of video instruction and audio backing tracks.

• ✔ Pentatonic scale in multiple neck positions
• ✔ 7 bluegrass songs with pentatonic lick applications
• ✔ 157 minutes of video plus backing tracks

Book 4: Up the Neck Licks

The capstone. Most banjo players live in the first five frets. This book teaches you how to create and modify licks in the upper fretboard — the part of the banjo that gets the biggest reaction from listeners. The licks are built from basic chord shapes and can be moved around to work in any key. This is the longest video course in the series with 3.5 hours of instruction, plus full tablature and audio jam tracks.

• ✔ Create and modify licks up the fretboard
• ✔ Moveable chord-shape licks that work in any key
• ✔ 3.5 hours of video plus jam tracks

Why Buy the Package

All four books purchased individually would cost $79.80. The Complete Banjo Improv Special gives you the entire series for $74.95 — a savings of $4.85 — and you get the complete improvisation education from day one. No wondering which book to buy next, no gaps between learning lick substitution and applying it up the neck. Start with Book 1 and work your way through. By the time you finish Book 4, you’ll have the tools to improvise confidently anywhere on the fretboard.

Want Geoff to sign each book? Just add a note at checkout and he’ll personally sign all four before they ship.

Who Geoff Is, and Why That Matters

Geoff Hohwald has been playing banjo since 1964 — back when Columbus, Ohio was a genuine bluegrass hot spot — and studied under John Hickman. He’s performed with two of Bill Monroe’s guitar players, shared stages with Red Allen, Frank Wakefield, and Hylo Brown, played with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra, and co-founded the Greater Atlanta Bluegrass Band. Six decades of improvising on stage and at jams means Geoff doesn’t teach theory in a vacuum — he teaches what actually works when you’re playing live.

Geoff also runs Banjo Warehouse, our sister shop in Yellow Springs, Ohio and Atlanta, Georgia, where he’s been buying, selling, and setting up banjos since 1980.

Buy Direct. Skip the Warehouse.

When you order from GeoffHohwald.com, you’re buying directly from us — a small family business in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Your books are packed and shipped by people who actually play banjo, and if you have a question about a lesson, Geoff is the one who answers the email.

• ✔ Signed by Geoff on request — add a note at checkout and he’ll personally sign each book in the package
• ✔ Direct access to the author if you get stuck on a lesson
• ✔ Your purchase supports a small family business, not a warehouse
• ✔ Ships from Yellow Springs, Ohio, usually within one business day

Package Details

• Includes: 4 paperback books with free online video and audio access
• Total video: 10+ hours of instruction across all four books
• Level: Intermediate to Advanced
• Style: 5-string Scruggs-style bluegrass banjo
• Ships from: Yellow Springs, Ohio, USA

Or Buy Each Book Individually

• Book 1: Banjo Improvisation — $19.95
• Book 2: Banjo Improvisation — $19.95
• Book 3: Pentatonic Improvisation — $19.95
• Book 4: Up the Neck Licks — $19.95