Beyond Bluegrass
Discovering the Magic of the Banjo
Musicians are said to be able to think "outside the box." However, many musicians hit periods of dullness, when, after playing the same things, on the same instrument, over and over, they start to get bored.
If you feel this way, maybe it's time to re-energize your playing. Learning a new instrument can reinvigorate musical creativity. And possibly, this time, you'll consider something way out of the box—the five-string banjo.
Move your cursor over the illustration below for facts on the five string.
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If you already play guitar, picking up the six-string banjo offers little challenge, as it uses the same skills needed for guitar. However, the five-string banjo has a different sound and energy with its mysterious, short fifth string, which ends at the fifth fret and is connected to a special tuning peg mounted on the side of the neck.
Through five-string banjo, players of guitar and other string instruments may discover a whole new world of melody that easily translates back to their primary instrument. The banjo can also help you develop skills to play faster because the fifth string makes speedy licks easier to grasp.
But what if you're not a fan of bluegrass music? Fortunately, there is plenty of banjo repertoire—finger style, rock, alternative, jazz, Latin, classical—and the instrument lends itself well to all these genres. As with most instruments, the banjo is only limited by the creativeness of the player.
The banjo is easy to learn, especially for a guitar player, as the tuning is very similar—the top four strings of the guitar are DGBE and the four main strings on the banjo are DGBD. (See page 29 for some banjo chords.) The fifth string of the banjo lends a high-pitched droning sound and is rarely fretted. You already have left hand technique from guitar, so a little mechanical right hand work and you've got it!
If you are ready to start, there are a wide variety of banjo choices and a wide range of prices available. You should choose an instrument based on your budget, your personal preference in terms of sound, and what music you hope to play. Open-back models are often more cost-effective, weigh less, and have a softer tone, while closed back (resonator) banjos are louder and more common in bluegrass settings. Many budget-priced banjos have guitar-style tuners, but planetary tuners give a banjo a traditional look and feel.
In terms of tone, mahogany banjos usually sound warmer and have a versatile tonal range, while maple gives a sharp, clear tone, more common in bluegrass music. Walnut is a good compromise of the two. Tone rings allow bluegrass banjos to be heard above the other instruments by focusing tone and increasing projection, but they are not essential. Tone rings can be made of wood, steel, and other materials, but solid bronze is top-of-the-line.
To sample the sounds of the Sierra (pictured here) and a wide variety of other banjos, including some acoustic/electrics with pickups, visit the website www.folkofthewood.com, and click on the Video Samplers link.
History of the Banjo in the US
The banjo can be traced back to West African slaves who were brought to work in the US. They fashioned the banjo after traditional instruments, stretching animal skin tightly across a resonating chamber (a gourd or carved wood), and attaching a stick for the neck with one or more drone strings. The instrument was then played in a rhythmic and percussive manner.
By the 1800s, white musicians had begun to play the banjo in minstrel shows, in imitation of African-American players. Eventually, the banjo became an instrument played by both blacks and whites. The first banjo instruction manuals and factory-made instruments came out in the 1840s.
Click to get our downloadable pdf, Get Strummin': A Beginner's Guide to Banjo Playing
