[Dixielandjazz] Additional Important Info Regarding Banjos

[Mike Woitowicz]

If you opened this post, it's because you were intrigued by the title, so you must have an interest in banjos.

Bill Gunter discussed the use of capos on 5-string banjos. For the uninformed, these are little devices that are clamped on the neck of the banjo directly over the strings just behind one of the frets. This raises the pitch of the strings uniformly across the neck, thus allowing the performer to play the same 4 chords he knows, but in a different key. It also permits more open strings (i.e., without having to finger the string) to be used, giving the sound more of a "twang". 

Capos are generally used only on 5 string banjos. However, some may find it interesting to know that the are also occasionally used on tenor banjos played by performers of Irish music. It allows a easy transition to playing in the keys of D and A, which are especially useful in Irish music, since these are also common keys used by fiddle (violin) players. Many Irish Reels, Jigs, Hornpipes and other Irish tunes are in these keys. As with the 5-string banjo, it allows the tenor banjoist the use of more "open" strings.

Most 4 string banjoists (tenor or plectrum) do not use capos, as it is possible to play in all keys and to switch "on the fly" to a different key. The latter is not possible when a capo is used. 

For those interested, the book titled "The Half-Barbaric Twang" (Karen Linn, Univ. of Illinois Press) provides an interesting history of the development of the 4-string banjos from its 5-string precursor, as well as the use of 4-string banjos in the early part of the 20th century.


Mike Woitowicz
The Banjo Barons Ragtime Band
The Dixie Barons Dixieland Band
www.banjomusic.biz