Banjo

The Banjo

Banjo Hangout looks like a good spot.

April 28, 2008, my wife returned from running the Boston Marathon, with a banjo in tow! Paul Campo had heard via our mutual friend Richard that I had an interest in the Banjo, and was inspired to encourage my interest. He said, "so many people get discouraged when trying to learn an instrument by trying to learn on a crummy instrument". And so he sent me a nice one to learn on.

A quick chat with him on May 6 yielded the following tips:

Avoid the 4 string banjo (it is a whole different beast); the 5 string is easier to learn.
He sent me a good instrument, because many people get discouraged when trying to learn on a cheap beginner instrument. (This is true of many things besides the banjo). Also, when it comes time to buy my own, I will know what to look for. The one he sent is an Aida.
He says learning to play chords on the banjo is actually easier than learning to play the guitar. Finger picking comes later. He suggested going out and getting a chord chart (and I need to learn how to tighten the strings and tune the thing).

Now it is July, so a number of months have gone by. I have been taking lessons, and my instructor says: "forget strumming cords on the banjo, that ain't no way to play a banjo!" (Well, he didn't actually say exactly that, but made that point in his own way). Patience is what it is all about, which goes hand in hand with practice; particularly with the banjo.

He emphasizes over and over keeping time. He says it is better to play the wrong note on time than to get off time. He says that a metronome is essential, and encourages me to practice with it often.

Banjo brands and such

So, I ask my instructor what to look for when I shop for a banjo of my very own. First, he says that banjos cleanly separate themselves into two classes, the inexpensive and the very expensive. Less expensive is apparently less than $500, and the others are $1000 and up. He recommends the following brands as "among the good ones":

Online resources

A quick search yielded: How to play the 5 string banjo, which seems nicely written.

This site: How to Play the Banjo, might be nice if I ever get sound working on my computer.

musictheory.net is a great site. It seems that most explanations of music theory make some assumption about what you already know, well beyond what any beginner knows. This site does a great job of starting from scratch.

Have any comments? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's home page / tom@mmto.org