Description

Nineteen Songs. Jam Tracks. No More Exercises.

You finished the Banjo Primer. You’ve got your rolls down, you can read tab, and you’re ready to stop doing exercises and start playing actual bluegrass. That’s exactly what this book is for.

The Easy Banjo Songbook for Beginners takes nineteen of the most-played tunes in bluegrass and breaks each one down into a beginner-friendly arrangement you can actually learn and remember. Geoff walks you through every song slowly, note by note, on video. Then you get an audio jam track so you can practice playing the song at speed with a band backing you up — which is the closest thing to a real jam session you can get without leaving your living room.

The 19 Songs You’ll Learn

These aren’t obscure tunes. These are the songs that get called at every bluegrass jam, festival, and pickin’ circle in the country. Learn these and you can show up anywhere and play along:

• Dueling Banjos — the most famous banjo song ever recorded
• Cumberland Gap — a bluegrass standard every picker needs to know
• Wildwood Flower — the Carter Family classic, arranged for banjo
• Sally Goodin’ — one of the most-played tunes in old-time and bluegrass
• 8th of January — better known as “The Battle of New Orleans”
• Will the Circle Be Unbroken — the gospel-bluegrass anthem
• Soldier’s Joy — a tune so old it was played during the Civil War
• Devil’s Dream — a driving traditional jam favorite
• Bury Me Beneath the Willows — a beautiful Carter Family standard
• Little Maggie — a classic mountain ballad turned bluegrass staple
• Tom Dooley — the folk hit that launched the banjo revival
• Salty Dog — a crowd favorite at every jam
• Train 45 — a hard-driving bluegrass standard
• Sourwood Mountain — a classic Appalachian folk tune
• Reuben’s Train — a must-know banjo showpiece
• Home Sweet Home — the timeless melody arranged for banjo
• Arkansas Traveler — a fiddle tune that translates perfectly to banjo
• Whiskey Before Breakfast — a fiddle tune that works beautifully on banjo
• Old Joe Clark — an American folk standard going back 150+ years

How the Course Works

Every song in the book follows the same proven format:

• 1. Read the tab. Full, easy-to-follow banjo tablature for the complete arrangement.
• 2. Watch Geoff play it slowly. Over 3 hours of video instruction, with Geoff teaching each song measure by measure.
• 3. Practice with the jam track. Play the song at tempo with a professional backing band, just like you would at a real jam.

This is the same method Geoff uses in his private lessons and at his workshops — you see it, you hear it, you play it, and then you play it with a band. That’s how songs stick.

Who This Book Is For

This is the natural next step after the Banjo Primer for Beginners. If you’ve worked through the Primer — or if you already know your basic rolls, how to read tab, and how to fret basic chords — you’re ready for this book. Every arrangement is written at a true beginner level, so you don’t need to be fast or fancy to play these well.

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. He’s been teaching beginners the whole time, which means he knows exactly where new players get stuck — and how to get them unstuck.

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 the Easy Banjo Songbook from GeoffHohwald.com, you’re buying directly from us — a small family business in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Your book is 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.

Yes, this book is also on Amazon. Yes, it’s a few dollars cheaper there. Here’s what you get by ordering direct instead:

• ✔ Signed by Geoff on request — just ask in the order notes
• ✔ 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

Product Details

• Format: Paperback, 51 pages
• Includes: Free online video and audio access (3+ hours of video, plus jam tracks)
• Songs: 19 classic bluegrass tunes with full tabs
• Level: Advanced beginner — ideal after the Banjo Primer
• Style: 5-string Scruggs-style bluegrass banjo
• ISBN: 978-1976746031
• Ships from: Yellow Springs, Ohio, USA

Where This Fits in Geoff’s Beginner Series

• Beginning Banjo Warm-Up Series — build your right-hand foundation first.
• Banjo Primer for Beginners — learn rolls, tabs, fretting, and your first songs.
• → You are here: Easy Banjo Songbook — 19 classic bluegrass songs with jam tracks.
• Easy Banjo Gospel Songbook — more beginner-friendly songs in the gospel tradition.
• Intro to Banjo Rhythm & Backup — learn to play behind other musicians.