A banjo is a stringed musical instrument composed of strings connected by membrane. Additionally, there may be an adjustable bridge and different tunings are often available for this instrument.
As a beginner, we recommend starting off on the 5-string clawhammer banjo style – ideal for bluegrass music with its thumb and index finger picking technique.
Origins
Although most think of the banjo as an Appalachian instrument with Scots-Irish roots, its history is much richer. Many believe the instrument to have its roots in West African skin drums; also, an African spike folk lute known as an akonting is believed to have some relation with modern banjos.
In 1760s West Africa, European travelers wrote travel journals that first mentioned an instrument with banjo-like features in them – likely taken from Mandinka term banjulo which means rope fiber; perhaps this name referred to the string-like nature of these instruments.
Another key event in the banjo’s early history was its inclusion as part of African-American minstrel shows, entertainment vehicles that depicted black culture and music while wearing white cultural clothes or dressing in blackface; during these turbulent years African-Americans turned to music for solace as a means to voice their discontent with society; this included banjo music.
Joel Walker Sweeney of Virginia is often credited as being the pioneer who transformed the physical construction of banjo from its gourd-based structure into the more modern drum-like construct that we know today – as well as creating the short fifth string.
One of the most interesting aspects of banjo’s history is its constant cross-fertilization between musical styles and cultures. For instance, white mountain musicians would often pick up banjo playing after hearing it played by black railroad workers or steamboat workers on trains or steamboats; learning from them and developing their own distinctive style that left its mark on Appalachian phonics.
The five-string banjo has become an indispensable instrument of American traditional music as well as Caribbean genres such as biguine and calypso. Additionally, its use has become a part of Bluegrass, Old-time, Dixieland Jazz and even hybridized forms with ukuleles, bouzoukis and guitars.
Styles
The banjo stands out among stringed instruments with its distinctive string arrangement. This has led to numerous variations of playing styles for this instrument – some are similar to other instruments while others differ greatly.
Most banjo players employ a three finger style of picking. This technique involves plucking strings with your thumb, index, and middle fingers using this three finger method – ideal for both melodic and chordal playing styles. Bluegrass musicians may incorporate additional techniques like raking or frailing into their performance for additional musical effects.
Clawhammer banjo playing is another well-known style. This method employs rhythmic downstrokes that often combine with two or three finger techniques – and Bill Keith himself has even used jazz and ragtime elements into his playing!
Rural banjo bands recorded traditional fiddle tunes and hillbilly music during the 1920s to keep five-string banjo traditions alive. Unfortunately, by 1930 minstrel music began its decline which in turn lead to its own decline of banjo popularity.
After the demise of minstrel music, several new styles for banjo were created. Bluegrass became one of the most prominent styles, drawing influence from ragtime and country blues – its distinctive sound quickly becoming its hallmark.
Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt and Buck Owens were some of the most renowned bluegrass banjo players. These musicians adapted clawhammer and three-finger picking techniques to develop their signature sound; many early bluegrass songs featured traditional fiddle tunes that allowed for more complex harmonic structures with this new form of playing.
While it might be tempting to attempt learning all of the styles associated with playing banjo, most will likely find this difficult. Therefore, it is advised that beginners start off with basic technique before working towards mastery of one particular style or another – mismatches between technique and style could prove detrimental to learning so be wary when trying this approach!
Materials
Material used in making banjos can have a dramatic effect on its sound output, from assembly and tunings, through tunings and string configurations, as well as tuning configurations. A banjo comprises of three parts: its wooden pot or head with metal tone ring, its neck that contains frets which can be pressed by strings to produce different notes and chords, its fretboard made of either ebony or maple and any inlaid designs in its fretboard to serve as position markers;
Wood choice for pot and resonator can also influence its sound; harder woods like maple and mahogany tend to create brighter, sharper tones with faster response than their soft counterparts; mahogany tends towards warmer tones with gentler response while cherry is known for producing rich, full sounds with soft response characteristics.
Maple necks tend to add brightness and clarity to a banjo’s sound due to maple’s amplifying properties; mahogany absorbs some of this energy which creates darker or duller tones from its soundboard.
Other components that can contribute to sound include the nut and bridge of a banjo. The former serves as the endpoint where strings attach, often featuring sharp grooves along its edge to help grip them as they pass over it. Bridges come in all sorts of materials such as ebony or maple.
Homemade banjos can be assembled using basic shop tools and inexpensive materials. The neck can be constructed out of two 2X4s cut to 24 or 26 inches (61.0-66.0 cm), tapered from one end to the other for a slight bend; its heel may be made of wood or plastic while its drum head stretched with fabric, natural animal skin or another material.
Tuning
The banjo has traditionally been tuned with open strings that do not press against a resonator, similar to guitar. This helps give it its unique sound and feel while enabling finger-picking or flatpicking styles of playing – popular choices among old-time styles like bluegrass. While modern banjos may feature resonators instead of open back design.
Most banjos are tuned to G tuning, wherein all five open strings are tuned to the notes of a G major chord. This tuning style is sometimes known as an open G tuning although many musicians also utilize other tunings depending on musical genre.
C, G, D and F tunings (also referred to as Chicago Tuning) offer different tonal qualities than standard G tuning. Furthermore, these tunings open up new traditional songs for use.
Tuning a banjo involves turning its tuning pegs located on its headstock, or by using piano, guitar or tuner clip-on tuners that enable players to hear each string and its relationship to one another. Tuning an out of tune banjo can make playing it challenging as other instruments and voices struggle to remain in harmony with its sound. Keeping the banjo in tune is of utmost importance because an untuned instrument becomes difficult to play while making other sounds difficult to match up with it.
Though you might think otherwise, professional musicians usually embrace an independent streak and create their own tunings for their banjos – for instance Adam Hurt plays many classics out of gEADE tuning instead of standard open G tuning which creates an amazing sound and can bring new life to any old tune!