A chord is any combination of notes played together that produce pleasing tones, like Open G and Standard C tuning on the banjo. Beginners should focus on learning these two forms first.
Acquiring the major chord shapes on a 5-string banjo is easier than you may think; these chords can even be moved along the fretboard easily.
C Chord
The C Chord is one of the easiest banjo chords for beginners to master, as it requires no finger fretting; simply press on any string to hear its sound! Used often in songs and used frequently when learning 5-string banjo chords. Once mastered, practicing transitioning between different chords and strumming patterns is key in developing independent use of both hands simultaneously.
The G Chord is another straightforward banjo chord to learn, as it doesn’t require pressing any fingers against its strings. To play this chord with your right hand, strum the strings using your right hand. Additionally, practicing basic finger-picking patterns using this chord may help build your skills in this area; or alternatively you could just repeatedly strum each string until it rings clearly.
Once you’ve mastered the G chord, it’s time to move on to the A chord. Although more challenging than its predecessor, this chord introduces barre chords (requiring you to press on a second fret with your index finger to form it) – making learning this chord harder still! However, this chord can often be found in bluegrass music!
Be mindful when learning the A chord that it’s a major chord. This means it contains three notes, the 1st being known as the root note), 3rd and 5th respectively. Understanding major and minor chords will enable you to read banjo tablature with ease.
The A chord can also be played as an inversion, in which its notes are shifted upward or downward on the fretboard. To perform such an inversion of this chord, fret the second string on its fourth fret with your index finger and place your thumb over its sixth string muting it with your index finger before fretting again at fourth fret to play an A chord inversion.
D7 Chord
The D7 chord on banjo is relatively straightforward to master. Although, unlike its cousin the C chord, this requires you to press your fingers in an unconventional order, it quickly becomes second nature once mastered. Furthermore, it makes for great practice in switching fingering styles – the more often this practice happens, the better your banjo chords will sound!
This chord is a D dominant 7, which requires the notes D, F#, A and C from the major scale (the seventh note). You can learn this chord either using open D voicing or by taking up barre chord shapes in tenth position – the former shown here and latter shown below.
Both chords utilize your index, middle, and ring fingers. An open D voicing is the simplest version of either chord; to add another string with your ring finger for an enhanced sound press your ring finger against the B string at fifth fret and add your middle finger at sixth fret to form an open D7 chord.
The tenth position D7 chord can be more difficult than an open D, yet still simple to learn. To create this chord, place your left thumb at the nut on D string while your third finger presses A string fifth fret; press all these strings simultaneously to form this chord and press them together as one chord at the same time – or use your thumb as usual but vary your strum pattern as often as possible to help with chord changes.
With these two basic banjo chords, you can play many songs. However, it is important to remember that it takes practice to increase your skill level and seamlessly change chords. Therefore, start out slowly, with just a few basic chords before expanding on them as your playing develops further.
G Chord
G chord is one of the easiest banjo 5 string chords for beginners to learn, as it only uses two fingers and requires open G tuning on your banjo. Once learned, this chord sounds amazing whether plucked or strumming it with right hand – whether plucking or strumming, if done correctly it will sound wonderful!
Start off by placing your index finger at the second fret on the fourth string. Next, put your middle finger on the second string at third fret and your ring finger on first string at fourth fret – that’s it! There may be slight variations to this chord but that is its basic structure; others could include moving fingers up or down neck or switching which string they press against; additionally this chord could also easily change into Em or E minor by simply switching up their order of fingers.
Use of a barre, or fretted barre, can also change the chord by adding an extra note and pressing your fingers further onto each string. Beginners might prefer leaving this step out; just leave the third string open for now!
Once you’ve mastered two major chord shapes (which also serve as the building blocks of other chords), it is possible to move on to more intricate ones, thanks to the banjo’s chromatic scale tuning which allows you to create different Major and Minor chord forms simply by shifting where your fingers are placed on the fretboard.
To do this, it’s necessary to know the finger numbers written on a banjo’s fretboard. These typically consist of I, M, P or L for small, middle and ring fingers respectively – however some chord diagrams may show these as letters instead, representing index and middle fingers respectively.
If you are new to banjo, it is advised that if possible you use a small or medium sized instrument as it will have closer-spaced frets which make pressing fingers to strings easier without accidentally striking any unintended frets.
A Chord
The A chord is the second major chord you will learn on the banjo neck and makes a good starting point. Just like its G chord counterpart, it requires minimal fretting so can be quickly picked up and played immediately. Once you master it, move on to other major chords before progressing on to barred chords.
Step one in playing an A chord is placing your index finger across every string at the fifth fret of the sixth string – this forms your bar and serves as the foundation of all A chords you will be playing in this key. After you touch each string individually with your index finger at this fifth fret bar, make sure that every note sounds clearly before moving on to another string at this fifth fret; when learning more complex chords later, this technique will serve you well as it provides a strong base from which you can expand.
As soon as you start learning a chord, keep in mind that your left hand will do most of the work – this may take some time to adjust to! At first, your fingers may feel quite sore or notes not come out clearly; this is perfectly normal, though practice will help improve this with time! Don’t rush yourself; remember it takes practice to master playing banjo chords so be patient!
Chord diagrams are visual depictions of banjo strings and frets, and indicate which fingers to use when playing particular chords. On the left side of this diagram is a C major chord with root note (A), third note (D), fifth (A) and a perfect fifth (5). Meanwhile on the right side is a G minor seventh chord which features its root note as G, minor seventh note and diminished fifth as chord components.
The primary challenge associated with playing this chord lies in fitting three fingers within one fret space, which may prove challenging if your fingers are large. One effective strategy to address this problem is keeping your fingers scrunched together and pressing vertically against strings so only their tips touch frets – this will enable more harmonious playing of this chord.