[Dixielandjazz] Banjos

[Gluetje1 at aol.com]

Hi Allan,
I'll give you some of my thoughts and a few facts to get you started.   May 
I also suggest a mailing list of over 1000 international members as a group 
 focused on jazz banjo (four string of a variety of tunings.)  That web 
spot  is: 
>_http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/fourstringbanjo/_ 
(http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/fourstringbanjo/) <
 
It is rare to find banjoists tuning identical to soprano uke  (G,C,E,A).  
It is somewhat common to tune to what is called "Chicago"  tuning/baritone 
uke tuning/guitar tuning.  Yes, that is the top four  strings of a guitar, D, 
G, B, E from lowest to highest.
 
The standard tenor banjo has from 17 to 19 frets, some have been made with  
20.  The 17 fret tenor is used primarily for Irish banjo, 1/5 lower  tuning 
compared to standard tenor and uses heavier strings.
 
Standard tenor tuning is: highest string A at 440 cpm, the oboe A for  
orchestra, then D above middle C, G below middle C, C an octave below middle  C. 
 (This tuning is in fifths, identical to the orchestral viola.)
 
The plectrum banjo, also called the long neck banjo, has 22 frets.   
Standard tuning for this instrument is in thirds and fifths.  The highest  note is 
the D a musical second above middle C, B below middle C, G,  C.  Note the 
standard tuning on the 3rd & 4th strings are the same for  tenor or plectrum.
 
I played standard tenor tuning for 10 years, switched to standard plectrum  
for the chord voicings possible with the thirds and fifths.  But then, I  
get more personal kicks from altered chords than flying single string  notes. 
 If you want to focus on rapid, single string improvisation, this is  more 
easily done on the tenor due to all strings being a fifth apart.
 
You can use either length neck for guitar tuning.  There are  advantages to 
each.
 
Banjoists have and will argue till the cows come home and leave again on  
the virtues of the various tunings.  If you are one to study from  
instruction books, they are far more common in tenor and plectrum  tuning than in 
guitar tuning.  Of course they are all designed for  right handed stringing, at 
least to my knowledge.
 
Many left handers argue for playing "right handed", but some will always  
disagree. 
 
One good way to choose a tuning is to explore various artists on YouTube  
whose playing styles you like and see what tuning they are playing.
 
It's of interest to me that the most significant artists; i.e., most famous 
 professionals, play either tenor or plectrum tuning, not guitar tuning.   
I've never seen this adequately explained.  And it may not matter to you at  
this age and stage.
 
As far as shopping for a banjo, I would suggest the least expensive banjo  
you can find with decent action.  If you become committed to banjo,  there's 
plenty of time to shop both vintage and new someday down the road when  you 
are ready to know more what you want.
 
Ginny
 
 
 
In a message dated 1/28/2010 11:25:18 A.M. Central Standard Time,  
allanbrown at dsl.pipex.com writes:

I bought  a ukulele a few months ago and am really enjoying learning how to 
play it. It  has certainly helped to open up my understanding of the top 
four strings of  the guitar. I'm considering investing in a banjo and I 
thought there may be a  few on this list who could help me out with a couple of 
questions I  have.

I'm interested in a tenor banjo as it seems to works so well with  
Dixieland style music. However, there appear to be all manner of lengths and  tuning 
systems and I'm a little confused. Is there a standard tuning that  banjo 
players use for playing jazz and does the tuning system depend on the  
length/ number of frets the banjo has? 

I note there is a "Chicago  Tuning" which is like the top four strings of 
the guitar (or ukulele), which  is immediately appealing to me as I could 
draw on my existing knowledge of  guitar/ ukulele chords, but I'm unsure as to 
whether any tenor banjo would  support this tuning or not, as my cursory 
research suggests that only the long  necked tenor banjos do. But perhaps I'm 
getting unnecessarily hung up on the  "Chicago Tuning" and would be better 
served by rolling my sleeves up and  learning a different tuning system 
altogether? What do you banjo players out  there use?

I'm based in the UK and there appear to be a plethora of  banjo shops - do 
any of you have any suggestions as to what is a reasonable  make of banjo 
for a beginner. That said, I'd probably prefer to invest in  something that'll 
serve me in the longer term and has the potential of  sounding half way 
decent should I ever get any good on it.

Any help or  advice greatly appreciated.

Allan Brown

(P.S. I'm a  lefty.)
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