Picking a Banjo
One of the most common questions that I have received is: what kind of banjo should I buy? Well, I am no banjo connoisseur. If you are looking for advice on which model to buy I can’t really help there. You may want to post a question like on BanjoHangout.com. This article will show how the differences in banjos will affect your playing. We’ll look at the differences between 4 and 5 strings, open back or resonator and how long the neck should be.
4 or 5 string
Go with a 5 string. A 5 string banjo will allow you play more music. There are some songs that Sufjan plays that can work on a 4 string banjo. But if you want to play Iron and Wine, any Bela Fleck or you will need a 5 string banjo. Any music that is sounds more like country or bluegrass will use the 5th string.
Four string banjos were traditionally used to be a backing instrument like a guitar or piano. Most modern musicians don’t really play them anymore. They were originally used in ragtime music because they were louder than a guitar (before the invention of the electric guitar) and more portable than a piano. For more info just look it up on the web 
.
Open Back or Resonator
Most of the banjos you see in stores are banjos. with a resonator on the back. This will give you a twanging banjo sound (think deliverance). It is loud and able to hold its own when played in a band. It also gives it a little more weight.
A open back banjo produces a much softer and mellower sound. It’s open back allows the sound to dissipates. It also isn’t as loud as a banjo with a resonator. This should be something to consider if you are playing with other people.
I have a banjo with a resonator and it seems to be the type that is used by most indie artists (but i could be wrong). It seems to be a little more versatile because you can do various things to muffle the sound. But I would recommend going to your local banjo shop and just playing both types. If you can’t look around the internet for sound clips.
Here are clips of people playing both types:
Open back banjo (claw hammer style)
Banjo with a resonator (bluegrass style)
Length of the neck
I believe most banjos are 22 frets. I know that this is the length of Bela’s banjo because he doesn’t ever go higher than the 22nd fret.
We’ll I hope this helps. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them because I have not had to much experience picking a banjo.
Comments
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Hallock January 6th
Is it called a claw hammer banjo? I thought claw hammer was a style of playing. Forgive my ignorance if I’m wrong.
mike January 7th
Actually I think that’s right. I’ll change it to open back. Thanks!
Tony February 19th
A quick mention: 4 string banjos aren’t quite as simple as you make out. There’s two types, the plectrum and the tenor. The plectrum is the one that is rarely played these days, but the tenor’s still quite common in various types of music – because it’s tuned like the mandolin (GDAE), it’s pretty good for lead/melody work, fiddle/irish tunes, and still works pretty well when strummed.
I don’t think a tenor would be too great for Sufjan songs, but I wouldn’t disregard it. I plan on getting one at some point soon; it’s a whole different kettle of fish to the 5 string, and I reckon it’d be a pretty solid replacement to lead guitar in an indie rock band.
And while we’re at it, what about 6/12 string guitar banjos? Or banjo mandolins?
mike February 27th
Ah, thanks for the info. I probably should done a little more research on the 4 string banjo.
I would have mentioned the 6 string banjo or the banjolin but they just really aren’t that prevalent. The 6 string is like the banjo for lazy guitarist (I can say that, I am a guitarist
. It’s tuned the same way and the techniques are all the same as a guitar. But that said, they are still much to fun to play around with.
Tony March 3rd
It’s true, banjitars and banjolins are both somewhat few and far between, but that said, the 5 string is somewhat a rare instrument in “alternative” music, so who are we to judge? I’ve been tempted by both, really. I love the banjo tone but miss the extra bass strings of the guitar for playing on my own and the small size of the mandolin for lead/fiddle tune work.
And then, of course, there are banjo basses, banjocellos, etc. Even banjo dulcimers. And what about electric banjos? There’s a lot of interesting things you can do with the banjo tone.
As an aside, I have a frailing tab for a Flogging Molly song, if you’re interested. The chorus might need a look, though.
mike March 4th
True, the banjo is really quite diverse. Have you ever heard a banjo orchestra? Check it out: The amazing Heftones! The electric banjo is actually one of the coolest instruments I have ever heard. I don’t know if you are familiar with Bela Fleck’s Big Country. It’s incredible.
But yes I would love to see the Flogging Molly tab. You can just send it to alternativebanjo at gmail.com and I’ll take a look at it. Thanks!
Jim June 10th
The tenor (CGDA) is the instrument that was heard to be the major backup sort of instrument. The Irish tenor (GDAE octave mandolin tuning) is considered by the Irish tenor community to be a highly lead type of instrument without any interest in backup.
scott cornwell June 22nd
Had to put my two cents in here. Love the site, great to have access to these tabs, thanks ! As regards the tenor ,plectrum, six string conversation, there are also six string banjos that have an additional low string added, typically tuned to an octave below the third string G. Gold tone offers one of these they call a Low Jo. I play a six string banjo in this configuration as I enjoy the lower range for chord roots , bass runs etc. To hear an acoustic six string I built check out my web site , an electric version I built as well is fetured on my bands site sweethook.net. keep up the good work !
Emily August 3rd
i have a question reguarding the tabs on here.
how do i play them? i learned how to play the banjo from books and on the “Lakes of Canada” tab page i see that i play chords but then there are “^” and “v”. what does this mean?
is that a forward backward roll?
i don’t understand the way of tabbing on the internet. could someone shed some light? i’m very confused and would love to learn the songs on here.
mike August 19th
The “^” is an upstroke and the “v” is a down stroke. A quick Google search turned up several results on tablature guides. Here’s a pretty good one: http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/lessons/the-basics/how-to-read-guitar-tab/ (albiet it’s for guitar)
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