[Dixielandjazz] banjo tunings

[Ulf Jagfors]

This is a short list of the most common used banjo tunings outside the five
string world. For five string banjos I know of about seventy different
tunings mainly used for minstrel and old-time mountain country music.

If the instrument have no short thumb drone string you can use following
standard tunings.
-six string, standard guitar or banjo guitar  EADGBE
-four string 17-17 frets jazz tenor banjo and tenor guitar CGDA or  DGBE
(Chicago tuning= first four of the guitar tuning)
-four string 17-19 frets Irish/Old-time tenor banjo and tenor guitar GDAE
(=octave low mandolin tuning)
-four string 21 frets plectrum banjo CGBD. You can apply Chicago tuning DGBE
also here.
-four or eight string melody banjo or banjo mandolin GDAE (same as fiddle)
-four string banjo ukulele GCEA or ADF#B (chording pattern as per first four
of the guitar)

I use GDAE Irish tuning when playing old-time music on one of my Gibson
TG-50 tenor guitars. It works perfectly as the most commonly used keys in
old-time/Irish music (G,A,D ) will fit into the lower finger board
positions. Standard tenor C position will be a Irish G etc. but the
fingering pattern is the same as for the standard CGDA tuning. Of course you
have to accommodate the string gauges accordingly=heavier strings.

Ulf Jaegfors
Stockholm

-----Ursprungligt meddelande-----
Från: dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com
[mailto:dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com] För Bruce Stangeland
Skickat: den 28 februari 2011 07:40
Till: Ulf Jagfors
Kopia: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List
Ämne: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Eddie Peabody, banjo

Ginny,
I have a book called "Dublin Banjos" by A. Sullivan.
In it he describes tenor banjo tuning ( C, G, D, A) and
"Irish" or "drop" tuning (G,D,A,E). But wouldn't that be a 4th lower rather
than a 5th lower? Or is it up a 5th but down an octave?

I'm trying to play Irish music with the C G D A tuning, which is sometimes
challenging.

Cheers,
Bruce Stangeland
Berkeley banjoist
------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2011 16:49:36 EST
From:Gluetje1 at aol.com
To:dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List<dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Eddie Peabody, banjos
Message-ID:<166c2.ea85146.3a9acf70 at aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"


Hi Bud,
The tenor is tuned to same notes as viola, or each tone a fifth lower than
the violin.  ...

....

This banjo-guitar is what Johnny St. Cyr played.  Another early jazz
banjoists, Elmer Snowden, also used a lower that standard tuning.  Irish
tenor
is tuned a fifth lower for Irish jig music.


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