[Dixielandjazz] Question about Banjos for Trad Jazz

[Rickz]

Thanks Scott .... that concurs with my thinking.

I buy light gauge five-string banjo strings, and my banjo tunes up 
nicely to the higher register.  It also sounds louder if you're playing 
with another banjo!!  I'm tuned to (FA#D#G)

I started on Ukulele, and some people still tune and play a tenor like a 
uke.


(On 12/25/2011 1:39 PM, Scott Anthony wrote:
> I just tried to categorize the different styles of Trad Jazz that each 
> type of banjo is best suited for, and then gave up, because I kept 
> thinking of exceptions to my categories. The upshot is, the best type 
> of banjo to learn depends on what sounds best to you.
>
> Tenor banjo (either 17 or 19 fret) is higher in pitch, and will 
> therefore cut through the sound of the rest of the band more. I 
> usually associate it with "older" styles and the "British Trad" sound. 
> Tenor banjo is also somewhat more amenable to single-string solo 
> playing, and if you ever played cello or viola, notes on the 
> fingerboard are laid out exactly the same since the tuning is identical.
>
> Plectrum banjo with 22 frets is somewhat mellower in sound because the 
> pitch is lower. The standard tuning is different from any other 
> instrument (except for "C-tuning" on a 5-string banjo), but it CAN be 
> tuned to the same pitch as the top (highest pitch) 4 strings of a 
> guitar (or baritone uke). This makes it easy for a guitar player to 
> double on banjo, but guitar tuning definitely sounds different from 
> standard tuning because the chord voicings are different. Most people, 
> except other banjo players, probably would not notice this. Note that 
> it is possible to tune a tenor banjo with it's shorter neck and fewer 
> frets down in pitch to either standard plectrum tuning or guitar 
> tuning, but NOT the reverse. Trying to tune a banjo with a longer 
> plectrum neck up to tenor tuning is practically impossible without 
> breaking strings.
>
> I started playing banjo on a tenor, but after a couple of years 
> switched to plectrum. That was 52 years ago but I can still get around 
> reasonably well on a tenor although I don't have one now and haven't 
> ever needed to play one on a job. It seems that once your brain gets 
> used to one set of chords (there are only 12 basic chord "formations" 
> on any 4-string instrument (but each has many alterations)) it is easy 
> to learn another set for a different tuning.
>
> One thing that might influence your decision is that starting on a 
> tenor is PAINFUL unless you have an extremely good instrument with 
> great action. The strings, being pitched quite a bit higher, are much 
> "tighter" and pressing them down to get a good clean sound is more 
> difficult and may discourage especially young players until they get 
> the callouses built up on their fingers. Also, chords on a tenor seem 
> to me to require more stretching than plectrum chords.
>
> Hope this helps!
>
> Scott Anthony
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Barb Jordan" 
> <jordan_barb at hotmail.com>
> To: <santh at comcast.net>
> Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Sunday, December 25, 2011 11:30 AM
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Question about Banjos for Trad Jazz
>
>
>>
>>
>>
>> Hi listmates,
>>
>> I know someone can answer this question:
>>
>> What is the best type of banjo to get to learn how to play trad jazz 
>> music?  17 or 19 fret Tenor or Plectrum?
>>
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Barbara Jordan
>> Burlington, Ontario Canada
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