This is a good book, but is a little bit more advanced than someone would need with no previous playing experience. I found myself getting frustrated easily trying to keep up with the book.A better book for the true beginner would be Banjo Primer, by Geoff Hohwald. I have reviewed Banjo Primer in detail over there.Tony Trischka's book will be of value to me at some point because it contains an excellent collection of songs, but I doubt I will look at it until I've got a month or two of lessons underneath my belt.