Bluegrass Songbook: Melody/Lyrics/Chords

I have been listening to bluegrass for years, but have only been playing guitar for the past year. I took the book out of the package, and couldn't believe all of the songs I had been listening to were there ready for me to play. The notation used in the book is very simple, and easy to pickup. There is also plenty of other information about the history and style of bluegrass music. I was able to increase the repertoire of songs I could play within hours of receiving the book.

This book is an excellent resource for both learning some bluegrass standards and also refresahing up on some classics. There is also plenty of great information about bluegrass in genreral from some of the bluegrass legends.

Every single jam session I have been to somebody or practically everyone has a copy of this book. Most are very dog eared meaning that they get used. This book has probably 99% of all the songs you will hear at a typical parking lot jam. Highly recommend.

This book is aimed at the singer attempting to get to the basics of that "high lonsesome" sound that characterizes traditional bluegrass singing. But even if you can't sing a lick, I find it very useful for the musician who is looking for bluegrass songs to add to his or her repertoire. Plenty of classics with lyrics and chords....great for figuring out play alongs if you're a begininning bluegrass musician. My only regret is that some songs couldn't be licensed for inclusion, but that doesn't keep this from being a great compilation.

This book covers over 140 traditional bluegrass songs. The tablature is non standard but is well explained in the book and is simple to follow.If the musician learns half the songs in the book (s)he will be welcome at bluegrass jams. This is the book to own and learn from.The author lists recorded versions of the song of the singer to listen to. There is an section covering how to sing bluegrass harmony, guitar chords, etc.I wish the author would put out a volume 2 of the book.