2-FINGER BANJO: THUMB LEAD STYLE

I keep coming back to this and the Index lead books when I get frustrated with my clawhammer attempts. After decades of guitar fingerpicking, the two finger style comes naturally. The three basic patterns can be adapted to fit almost any tune and I probably switch from thumb lead to index lead without even noticing as required.Many of the musicians that I really like used some variation on a two fingered style rather than clawhammer. It seems much more flexible and natural, at least to me. Bump ditty, bump a ditty, whatever, you can do it all without being locked into a rhythmic strumming that requires all sorts of left hand tricks to fill in the notes that are in awkward places.

This book is really a little gem. There are relatively few instructional books or videos out there specifically on old 2-finger picking styles (at least that are still in print). This one is really excellent. Provides good basic exercises with clear instruction and some sample tunes. It's a very short book, but the style is somewhat simple, it just requires a lot of practice. The concise nature of the instruction keeps the price low which is also a bonus. If you spend the time though, you can make some amazing sounds. Just got the Index Lead volume and I am excited to look into that further as well.

These two books (Vol I: Index Lead & Vol II: Thumb Lead) are chock full of fantastic arrangements of two-finger banjo tunes.I am particularly fond of a tune I hadn't ever heard before called "Jack O'Diamonds", one of the slower-tempo'd songs in the book. While it's about a rambling gambler going back home to, presumably, die, I can't help but imagine worn out old cowboys when I play it.Good stuff.

Treat the first 3 volumes of this series as an integrated course. See my review of the others for more discussion.

Please please do another book! Its hard to find good 2 finger arrangements and both books are awesome. GREAT audio with fast and slow which is worth the money!!

Great resource for two finger banjo styles. I also have book 1 of the series, about index-lead banjo.

Love this book

schöne klare Erklärung-- great explination.

Informative compendium at a great price.

The only reason I'm giving the book four stars is value for money in all other respects it's a great little book. The tunes are really nicely arranged and if you have any finger picking experience you should be able to play them pretty much straight away. It's a very simple style to play but sounds really light and pretty and more complex than it is.I can't help but feel all three books in this series should have been one book though.Each is very short (less than 50 pages) and all have identical cal sections on the basics, tunings,tab explanation ect. Each of the books then give you an explanation of each two finger style (thumb lead, index lead and mixed lead) and a few introductory exercises. Then you get 10 tunes in each book and they are all really mixed arranged. Still the whole series could have been published in a hundred page book as it is its a bit pricey for all three books

Awesome explanations of alternate pickings, and good sample of songs to start learning.

The second in a set of useful guides to an uncomplicated playing technique. They each come with a link to helpful sound files to help with playing the tablatured pieces. However, as one of a set of three fairly short booklets (around 45 pages), they are relatively expensive for what you are getting.