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Easy Bluegrass Banjo
In spite of whatever you may have been told to the contrary, bluegrass banjo isn't all that difficult. Like any folk instrumental style, making music at home or jumping into jam session really only requires an understanding of a handful of techniques and concepts that you can learn in an afternoon.
We're not going to look at playing lead breaks or fancy licks here. That stuff is a lot of fun, but in order for them to work you really have to be grounded in the basics. One of the reasons people give up on the banjo is they try to jump into the advanced material right away.
Look at it this way: Earl Scruggs didn't play Foggy Mountain Breakdown the first time he picked up his banjo. It took him years to get his skills to that point. It's going to be the same way for you.
Besides, what I'm going to share with you is a lot cooler than being able to play one song, we're going to walk away from this workshop able to play and sing thousands of songs.
Stop shaking your head. I'm not kidding here. In fact, rather than just telling you what we're going to be doing it would be much more interesting to just do it.
Come on, grab that banjo and let's start making music.
The first step is getting in tune.
When you are tuning your banjo you should know how the strings are numbered. The short string is the fifth string. When you are holding your banjo the fifth string will be on top and the first sting will be closest to the floor.
Your banjo is tuned to an open G chord.
* The fifth string is tuned to G.
* The fourth string is tuned to D.
* The third string is tuned to G.
* The second string is tuned to B.
* The first string is tuned to D.
Be sure to have the string ringing when you crank on your tuning pegs. This helps you avoid tightening the string past its breaking point.
To tune your banjo without a tuner just follow these steps:
* Assume that your first string is at least close to being in tune.
* Play your second string at the third fret. Tune it up or down so that it matches the sound of the first string played open.
* Play your third string at the fourth fret. Tune it up or down so that it matches the sound of the second string played open.
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The |
fifth string is tuned to G. |
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The |
fourth string is tuned to D. |
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The |
third string is tuned to G. |
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The |
second string is tuned to B. |
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The |
first string is tuned to D. |