A Manual on How to Play the 5-String Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus

This book is designed for those of you who fall easily into the ignoramus category when it comes to music. It is meant for those with no pitch, no rhythm, no sense of hearing, no talent. It is meant for those who have tried every other method of playing the banjo and have failed.

But before you flush your banjo down the toilet, wait! There is still hope! You have already taken a positive step by buying this book (unless you stole it, that is.)

Most people think that only a genius can play the banjo. This erroneous rumor was undoubtedly circulated by a few banjo pickers who wanted to frighten away their competition. And they succeeded! This book is intended to show that even the ignoramus can become a fine banjo picker.

Wayne Erbsen stated picking the banjo in 1962 and he hasn't quit yet. A native of California, Wayne entered his first banjo contest after playing three weeks, and walked away with third place in the beginner division and the prize of a book on how to play banjo. Two years later he won first place in the advanced banjo competition.

He also won first place in clawhammer banjo at Galax, Virginia in 1973. Since 1972 Wayne has made his home in North Carolina. He is currently Director of teh Appalachian Music Program at Warren Wilson College and president of Native Ground Music. Since writing "The Ignoramus" in 1973, Wayne has produced some fifteen instruction and song books and has recorded over a dozen solo recordings for Native Ground Music.