Bela is an incredible player (duh). His licks are as fast as they are complicated. He also is incredibly good at playing with other people. He is able to make the banjo work with marimbas, saxophones, tablas and the list goes on. So all of this makes transcribing Bela very difficult. You’ll notice that in the altbanjo archives there are only two Bela songs and 10+ Sufjan songs. In order to play some of his songs you’ve got to be an incredibly adept transcriber or you could buy his banjo books.

I, being a cheap (and lazy) college student, have gone and found third way to learn his songs: flecktonesrock. He is an incredibly talented musician and he takes the time to walk you through many Bela Fleck songs. He has some very helpful instructional videos, on songs like Big Country, See Rock City and more!

So if you have ever had any inclination to learn Bela Fleck on the cheap or just would like to listen to a great banjo picker, go check out flecktonesrock. You won’t be disappointed.

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.