A Guide To Non-Jazz Improvisation: Banjo Edition

A Guide To Non-Jazz Improvisation: Banjo Edition by Dick Weissman. Edited by Dan Fox. For Banjo (5-String). Improvisation. Bluegrass. Beginning-Intermediate. Book/CD Set. 136 pages. Published by Mel Bay Publications, Inc (MB.20832BCD).

ISBN 9780786675937. Bluegrass. 8.75" x 11.75" inches.

The non-jazz improvisation series is a concept that germinated in Dick Weissman's mind while he was attending music school. He wrote a 15-piece arrangement of the old square dance tune, Cripple Creek, and wanted the trombone to take a solo as part of the arrangement. When the trombonist kept playing a bebop solo that was totally unsuitable for the chart, Dick realized that - in addition to the many musicians who do not improvise - there are even jazz musicians who don't know how to improvise outside the limits of their own stylistic backgrounds. This book approaches the five-string banjo as a musical instrument freed from the prison of specific musical genres. Old-time music, clawhammer, bluegrass and many eclectic adaptations of the banjo are utilized to demonstrate a variety of musical styles. A number of the selections are in different tunings. All examples are written out in traditional and tablature notation.