[Dixielandjazz] Re; Eddie Peabody, Banjos

[Dave Stoddard]

Bud Taylor said:

This discussion on banjos got me to thinking.  A young man plays guitar for
our church services.  He just graduated with a degree in music from a local
college with strong arts programs.  I asked him if he had considered playing
a tenor banjo and he said he had not.  Part of the problem may be to learn
the new fingering associated with tenor banjo tuning *that is the same as
violin).  An advantage of this tuning is the wide range of the notes in the
chords compared with guitar.  Would it be possible to tune a banjo as if it
were a guitar but with the second and fourth string missing?  This would
give a similar range of notes, and may make the transition from guitar to
banjo easier.

If learning the banjo is thought to require a new set of fingerings, most players won't do it.  I would suggest acquiring a six-string banjo (banjitar) or tuning a four-string banjo like the top four strings of a guitar.  There are plenty of banjitars out there.

Dave Stoddard
Round Rock, TX