Reddit mentions of Bluegrass Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus (Book & CD set)

If you're in Denver drop by, I'll give you my spare Kay.

That said, getting one is a good start. There's a balance though, if you pay a lot you'll get one that works well and you'll know that the times when it sounds bad are because you're just learning. If you get a crappy one, rebuild it and then play it and it sounds bad then it MIGHT be the instrument and it MIGHT be you which can add some stress. Personally I went with the cheapest I had access to, rebuilt it and the I've played it for a couple of years and only recently discovered that the high frets are in the wrong places making it impossible to stay in tune above, say the 14th fret.

I started with the "complete ignoramus" book https://www.amazon.com/Bluegrass-Banjo-Complete-Ignoramus-Book/dp/1883206448 , learning some tunes and then took actual lessons from a human. You'll need finger picks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhLInd4ZhjE (if you aren't going to learn clawhammer https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=AMv0rT4CYPg) and a tuner https://www.amazon.com/Snark-Super-Tight-Instrument-Tuner/dp/B00646MZHK.

Then get on banjohangout and try

Are you already 'musical'? I personally wasn't really when I started (some would argue I'm still not), and I am pretty happy with Wayne Erbsen's Bluegrass Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus, along with the stuff in the sidebar here.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1883206448/ref=pe_385040_30332190_pd_te_s_gc_ti/181-8103069-0668343

This book is incredible. It teaches you how to improvise rolls and the tabs only have the bare bones melody. I've learned from this book so freakin much

I've found that the best way to play a popular song with distinct melodies with with the Scruggs style.

Basically, just learn to play the simple melody of the song on the banjo. Then, using the Scruggs style, you can add filler notes with different rolls to accompany the melody. This way you can clearly hear the melody of the song and also have that full banjo sound.

The way I learned this method is through this book and I highly recommend it, since it essentially teaches exactly what you are asking:

https://www.amazon.com/Bluegrass-Banjo-Complete-Ignoramus-Book/dp/1883206448

I'm in the same boat. I picked up this book from amazon, and it includes a CD of various tunes played at the most basic level as well as with some more advanced techniques. It's basically 10 pages of intro/how to and then tabs for ~23 songs with ideas on how to spice 'em up.
http://www.amazon.com/Bluegrass-Banjo-Complete-Ignoramus-Book/dp/1883206448/

I like Wayne Erbsen's books. Depending on the style you want to play, he has two:

http://www.amazon.com/Bluegrass-Banjo-Complete-Ignoramus-Book/dp/1883206448

http://www.amazon.com/Clawhammer-Complete-Ignoramus-Anniversary-Edition/dp/188320643X

My wife is learning the fiddle. I got her the Erbsen fiddle book. She and her teacher both like it a lot.

I've been learning bluegrass. I have found the Erbsen Bluegrass banjo book along with Earl Scruggs book to be somewhat complimentary to each other and I go back and forth between the two.

I'm just learning too (starting a class this week, in fact!), but I found the format in Bluegrass Banjo for the Complete Ignoramus to be a great way to learn.

The title is silly, but it did a great job of breaking down how to play, and understanding how you use rolls to fill in the melody. For someone like me—who has never played an instrument before—it was nice that it had no expectations of the reader.

The basic gist is that the book teaches you the raw melody first, then once you get that down, you slowly add in pinches, drone notes, rolls, and slides, until you are playing a very full-sounding piece.

(I also recommend looking up some videos on YouTube, which helps because watching other people play was very helpful. You can just search and see what you find, something like "learning bluegrass banjo" is a good start.)

These are two books that I used when I started. They have really easy songs that help you get used to the technique of clawhammer and picking as well as reading tablature.