The Technique for playing Early Stroke Style Banjo. 

This is PDF Document that was Early Banjo Primer. It is based on an in depth look at the Early Tutors, and the work of Frank Converse,  showing a cohesive path from the Briggs' and Rice books up to the monumental work by Converse in 1886 where he codifies the technique developed on a folk instrument into a cohesive and definable style. 

These are demonstrations of playing technique.
Ten Etudes for Early Banjo

This is a collection of ten progressive works to implement the essentenial elements of Stroke Style playing. Learn these, and you will have no problem in playing 90% of the 19th Century repertoire.

The Rice "Strike" aka the Converse "Combination", major and parallel minor keys, playing higher on the neck, simple Dactyl and more complex odd rhythms, flowing fiddle-like single lines, pull-offs, hammer-ons, slurs, chords, 3/4 and 6/8 timing, 
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