Simple Songs for Banjo : 40 Easy Songs to Play on 5-String Banjo Arranged by Fred Sokolow

Simple Songs for Banjo is a banjo songbook arranged by Fred Sokolow, bringing together 40 popular songs for beginning banjo players on 5-string banjo. Drawing from folk, country, bluegrass, Americana, rock, and traditional repertoire, the collection offers familiar music for learning, personal practice, sing-alongs, and informal performance.

Each streamlined arrangement combines banjo TAB and standard notation with chord grids and lyrics, giving beginning players several ways to explore the music. The selections support learning the basics of clawhammer style, strumming while singing, or picking melody lines. With songs associated with Johnny Cash, Bill Monroe, Grateful Dead, The Band, James Taylor, Pete Seeger, Hank Williams, and other influential performers and writers, the book keeps practice connected to recognizable repertoire.

The variety of songs supports practice with banjo notation, chords, melody, rhythm, and musical expression across different American musical traditions.

Song List

Ballad Of Jed Clampett * Blue Moon Of Kentucky * Clinch Mountain Backstep * Cold Rain And Snow * East Bound And Down * Folsom Prison Blues * Freight Train * Friend Of The Devil * Gentle On My Mind * Ho Hey * I Am A Man Of Constant Sorrow * I Saw The Light * I Walk The Line * If It Hadn't Been For Love * Jambalaya (On The Bayou) * Keep On The Sunny Side * The Last Thing On My Mind * The Long Black Veil * Mama Tried * The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down * Old Man * Puff The Magic Dragon * (Ghost) Riders In The Sky (A Cowboy Legend) * Ripple * Rocky Top * Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms * Salty Dog Blues * Shady Grove * Sweet Baby James * Teach Your Children * This Land Is Your Land * Tom Dooley * Wagon Wheel * Wayfaring Stranger * The Weight * Where Have All The Flowers Gone? * Wildwood Flower * Will The Circle Be Unbroken * You Are My Sunshine * Your Cheatin' Heart

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