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.
| Arrangement | Banjo, Banjo Tab |
| Genres | Bluegrass |
| Format | Instrumental Tutor |
| Level | 2 |
| NumberOfPages | 136 |
| Media | CD, Sheet Music |
| Publisher | Mel Bay Publications |
| Contributors | Fox, Dan (Editor) Weissman, Dick (Author) |
| Language | English |
| ISBN | 9780786675937 |
| UPC | 796279103039 |