What Are the Different Types of 4-String Banjos? : Banjo Basics
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- Опубліковано 7 лип 2024
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The ukelele is just one of the many different types of 4-string banjo rods in existence. Find out about the different types of 4-string banjos with help from an experienced music professional in this free video clip.
Expert: Peter S. Kohman
Contact: www.retrofret.com
Bio: Peter Kohman became interested in old banjos and guitars at the age of 16.
Filmmaker: B. Michael Sullivan
Series Description: Owning a banjo requires you to both know how to play it and know how to take excellent care of it to preserve it for the future. Find out about banjo basics with help from an experienced music professional in this free video series. - Розваги
Great presenter. I have a nasty suspicion I’d walk away with a banjo if I ever met him. He’s probably an amazing salesman.
right, i only went in to ask him where the petrol station was.and i came out with 3 banjos.
Another use of the tenor banjo is in traditional Irish music, where you mostly pick the tune's notes rather than play chords.
I recently purchased an Irish Tenor Banjo with 4 strings. I need to learn how to play it.
About a year ago I put Irish Tenor Banjo strings on my Banjo Ukulele and tuned it BGDE like my Baritone Ukulele. This lets me play it the same way as the Baritone Uke. It has a much better sound now particularly when fingerpicking. The scale length is 16.5 inches and the tensions involved are very close to the tensions with nylon strings so there was no risk of it breaking.
Love the magic trick at 5:52 where the banjo ukulele is replaced by a banjo mandolin, with no explanation. Mandolin banjo has four unison pairs ("courses") of strings tuned in fifths like a mandolin or fiddle, and with the fingerboard about the same size as a mandolin or fiddle. Very loud. Tuning gg-dd-aa-ee.
There is yet another variation called a Melody banjo, which is basically a mandolin banjo with single strings instead of pairs. It can also be very loud, but sweeter, without the jangle and overtones you can get from the doubled strings.
My father bought me a SS Stewart short banjo for $40 in 1960. It was the folk craze, but I found it drowned everyone out, so I switched to a stand-up Bass. Your explanation answers a lot of questions I had. Still have the banjo.
Wonderful video. Funny how he switched the banjo uke for a banjo mandolin right there at the end without explicit mention.
Maybe he didn't want to explain mandolins and double strings before lunch... And the even more confusing "melody banjo," essentially a mandolin banjo with single (steel) strings instead of pairs.
Possibly designed to confuse Banjolele players.
@@stepno The Mando-Banjo is good for Violinists who wanna start picking on a Banjo.
@@stepno He actually forgot about those Mando-Banjos because they're popular.
@@RockStarOscarStern634 ... Smakula.com and jakewildwood.com frequently seem to have a few for sale
@@stepno Gold Tone has them, & they're actually very adorable.
Love his enthusiasm. I could hangout in his store all day.
FYI_ the earliest 5 string banjos were played as a legitimate instrument. They were played with bare fingers, with gut strings, a skin head, and played mostly classical and ragtime pieces, done in the same way that Segovia would have played them. The fifth string as a drone came much later. And the idea that tenor banjo "cuts" better is based solely on the fact that the top string is tuned high. In truth, there are 3 strings tuned exactly the same for plectrum and tenor (CGD). He uses the term long neck tenor. Most folks know tenors as 17 fret and 19 fret. Both are considered short neck banjos (compared to 22 fret plectrums). Notice also that his strumming style is only on the neck, not much on the head - that will not give you the varieties of tone possible with a banjo. The main thing that he neglected to mention is what the strengths of the different types of banjos. Tenor banjos (17 & 19 fret) excel at single string lines. They can play chords but the voicing is very wide, equivalent to playing a chord on piano with all your fingers stretched out. Plectrum banjos can play chords voiced closer, thus allowing ease of playing prettier chords with less effort. Playing single string lines on plectrum is not as precise as tenor, but playing band key melodies with chords is easy on plectrums. A good compromise for guitar players is a tuning called "Chicago." It's the top 4 strings of a guitar, usually done on a 22 fret banjo. It too has close voicing but melodies are a bit more difficult to get.
I just got a 20 fret resonator 4 string banjo, I haven't got new strings yet but I've got it tune dGBE so re entrant Chicago tuning mostly resembling the ukulele.
Thank You for explaining this!!! I play both 5 & 4 string, & i start to feel like a complete nerd, trying to make people understand the difference.
Really informative, as a guitar player (12-6-3 string) I always wanted to expand to banjo, thanks for the info
My mother played a tenor banjo. I never knew the history. This was great! Thanks.
This is incredibly informative. Really enjoyed this!
Another variation is Irish Tenor Banjo. It's the same as a plain Tenor Banjo, but with different strings, and tuned lower, not like a viola, but like a mandolin, or violin. Can be heard over the loud flutes and fiddles.
I accidentally bought irish tenor strings when I should have gotten regular ones. 😂
Oh well, guess a little more bass can't hurt.
@@JBergmansson It never hurts to have those low notes especially if you wanna star picking the Bachs Violin Sonatas and Partitas on the Tenor Banjo since that lower tuning is good for Violin pieces.
@@RockStarOscarStern634 Yeah, I've also tried the prelude from cello sonata number 1 (transposed from G to D), sound pretty cool!
You miss out on the really high register a bit though. That piercing, sparkling chordwork that dixieland banjo players can do.
@@JBergmansson Yeah, the Banjitar also was used in Dixieland Jazz because back in the 1920s and 30s before we had amps, we used Banjitars to compete with the Horns. The Tenor Banjo tuned CGDA (along with the Tenor Guitar in the same tuning) is what you'll hear in Dixieland Jazz.
@the mountain man The Irish Tenor's tuning is the same as a Violin so it's also good for playing Violin pieces on the Banjo.
Absolutely great, thank you for such a wonderful informative and fun explanation! You have inspired me to buy a tenor....I play a ukulele banjo but I fancy a tenor!
Super informative, thanks for taking the time.
Those riffs are amazing! I enjoyed this quite a bit
Excellent Video, very informative and well done. I tried playing some Christmas songs this year, flanked by a Trumpet and Clarinet and when we played the video back, My Banjo was Totally Drowned out by the two wind instruments, Couldn't hear a Note coming from my Banjo! Now I understand why thanks to your video. It would be cool if you could do a video demonstrating this.
Great vid!! Thanks for sharing the knowledge!!
Nice clear explanation, i enjoyed checking out the varieties of banjos and sounds. Love looking at the store too.
Thank you Peter! Great playing.
Great presentation on banjo types. Thanks for this video.
Learnt so much! Thank you!
Wonderful --I'm so glad to see this video posted! But I do wish the camera person backed up a couple steps so that we could see the entire instrument each time as he was talking about it!
thanks for sharing your obvious passion Peter.
Great walk through! Thanks for sharing 🙂👊
Very nice! Thank you for this introduction.
This was great! Been looking at a 4-string on Craigslist, and think I may pull the trigger after watching this.
Excellent, clear video. Thanks.
Very informative and fun video. Working on an old inexpensive Kay four stringer
ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS VID.
Have an antique banjo uke that I'm busting to refurbish.
Have a five sting that I have no idea how to play then just today picked up (although I like vintage this isn't) a six string sx that I think I'm gonna try Nashville tuning on after I clean it up.
As an avid Tenor Banjoist trying to learn chords for my new Plectrum Banjo all I can say is you mailed it when you said 'It's really hard to play a sad music on a Banjo...' Hear Hear !
Just to prove, knowledge is truly a wonderful thing ... cheers !!
Absolutely fantastic info Thanks !
I honestly thought there were only 3 types. Wow. Thank you!
A great little corner of Brooklyn. Hang out at Retrofret for an hour in the afternoon, then a quick couple of blocks over to Jalope Theatre for some good food and a great show.
I have yet another variation. I own a 1929 Paramount Melody banjo. Scale slightly shorter than a mandolin. Resonator, bell brass tone ring, and the same body as a Lange model 'B'. I'm not sure of the original tuning, so I have mine tuned as a mandolin. I've never seen another quite like it. It was on the wall next to its big brother, a Paramount plectrum banjo, and it just followed me home. I'll post video sometime soon.
Very cool. I have a Washburn Melody 4-string from the early 20s. Possibly the loudest unamplified string instrument I've ever heard!
It's the same as a Mandolin
Great Video and playing
Thanks for the video
I learned a whole lot from you teaching session ..... thank you.
Very interesting and informative. Lovely guy - did a great job. Many thanks.
Great vid
Even in those years they wanted more volume....
Just like the 60s with the who...
Townshend & Marshall...
Excellent....
Nothing changes...
We love to party loud...
Well done. Thank you
The banjos keep sounding better the further along he goes in the video 🙌
Very useful. Many thanks
Im usually not a fan of mutton chops, but man they fit this man perfectly...
Very helpful. Thanks.
Thank you very much for that great video!
Thanks a lot for this!!
I had a Epiphone 5 string banjo. The extra peg being on the kneck was my main issue. I play 6 string guitars, 4 string Bass. so did my dad, he thought my first banjo should be closer to those in amount of strings, so it would be easier to start. He was so wrong it made things so much harder. I sold it to Guitar Center, and baught a Bass. I sold my bass not long before i got the banjo, regreted it. I only got a banjo because i wanted to play folk songs like some folk, Sea Shanties i was really into, still into. the chords i managed to learn was easy, i picked them up rather fast. Sadly my fingerpicking was too crude and not precise enough, i am uncapable of understanding how to play wt the lessons was throwing at me. Now i know that there actually are 4 string Banjo's. I'd love to get one. Although, If i could get a Lute. I'd possibly choose the Lute😂 Thankfully wt i got from that Banjo had improved my Guitar, Bass skills. I currently own 8 Guitars, 1 Bass. Fender Malibu CE, Stargazer
UPP.6, Starcaster Strat single coil by Fender, Jackson JS 10 Dinky, a Jackson Flying V, Epiphone Les Paul Special, Fender Stratocaster Blacktop HH, a Vintage Harmony Acoustic Guitar, Yamaha RBX260 Bass. 4 Amplifiers. Marshall
MG 15 CD Series Guitar Amp, Peavey Rage 158 Transtube series Guitar Amp, Crate MXB10 Combo Bass Amp, Roland MicroCube 225 COSM Guitar Amp. Of course i have some more gear but i'm just going to end it here for now.
Very interesting. Thank you. ❤
"..just to confuse everybody.." haha love it
I've always loved the sound of a Vega. $$$
Great video! What kind of 4 string Banjo would you suggest for a banjo newbie? (not knowing where I'll end up)
Good job.
A friend of mine has a bass banjo. I have an old Vega Deluxe about '25 with a short neck and slightly larger pot. It's all gold plated and engraved, but that doesn't make it sound any better. I don't really play it much since I play 5-string.
What are the different types of 4-string banjos? Trick question!!! Real banjos have five strings!!!
Only kidding! GREAT video!!!
Banjitars also exist because back in the 1920s and 30s before we had amps, Guitarists used these Banjitars to compete with the Horns.
They are real Banjos that you strum.
Excellent video .. Thanks :0)
I must admit I've had a hankering after a 4 string tenor banjo, just too skint to have one at the moment. I used to have a nice Framus 6 string Guitar banjo and like a plonker sold it when I needed some cash. Only got £56 for it too :0(
Hey everyone! Just wanted to ask for advice: should I get a 5-string or a 4-string tenor banjo? I don't even know notes really, but the thing is, when I tried the guitar it felt completely off to me, the sound of a banjo is just so much brighter and more joyful. Kinda inspired by wander over yonder a little bit on top of just liking the sound in general, what do you guys think?
1:05 The first thing that Banjo makers started to realize is that if you take off the 5th String, then you have Banjo that instead of playing with your fingers you can use a Pick which they call it a Plectrum Banjo. The lack of a Drone String on the Plectrum Banjo (Tenor Banjo, Banjitar, etc) made it alot easier to play in Jazz players keys.
Oh, I can play sad banjo music for sure!
Wow Peter! Great overview! Good to see you, good to hear you, and - well, I'm still playing sixties garage, but... right at this moment I'm struggling with a banjolin tone ring, to see if I can put a veggie head on it... can you believe it??
And if the photo and name don't ring a bell - it's Eric from the Netherlands :-)
Hey, I was doing some research on the internet and found people playing the tenor banjo like a 5 finger 3 finger, 2 finger or frailing on the 4 string banjo.
Very cool
I'm a ukulele player, and someday I want a ukulele banjo so I can tap into that sound without having to learn a whole new instrument.
I have a 4 string base dubliner's banjo. How can I convert it to a standard tenor banjo? Any advice appreciated
Great history info from a player/collector. Tenors have their place in many genres (Dixieland, The Mummers, ) but not in Bluegrass. Check out plectrum virtuoso Buddy Wachter.
BARELY a mention, of the Banjo Mandolin?? Guess I’m at least lucky that you showed one (at 5:50), though nary a mention of it (let alone it’s history/derivation). Sheesh!! Gonna go play mine now.
Noticed your First tenor with the short neck is an Orpheum. I own a No 3 Special, that I am learning on. Curious as to the tune use used on that.
Something I immediately noticed when I got my resonator tenor banjo was... that it doesn't have an "indoor voice." It wants to be heard... by neighbors... in other counties. And dammit, it will not be ignored!! It's a banjo that screams, "HEY! LOOK AT ME!!" :)
I am curious as to what strings you have/had on the ukulele banjo. The only uke strings I ever see are nylon. Are you using steel strings from another instrument or what? If so, which instrument and which size strings? Only asking because I'm tempted to try and make one from a cigar box or something.
Thanks for your professional information.
Are there also three sizes of banjo ukuleles like we have by the ukulele, sopran, concert and tenor?
Greetings from The Netherlands
0:58 This is why I'm getting a Banjitar soon. It was really inconvenient to have that 5th String Ringing away out of key, especially cause horn players like to play in Flat keys. So the 1st thing that occurred to Banjo makers was you could take the 5the String off the Banjo & only have the 4 playing Strings. If you take the 5th String off the Banjo, & only have the 4 Playing Strings, then you have a Banjo that instead of playing with your fingers, you can play with a Pick which they called it a Plectrum Banjo about 100 years ago, & this makes it easier to play in flat keys. There are also 5 String Plectrum Banjos played famously by Scargold that add on a Low F String which broadened the range. Banjitars had that same idea.
He sure knows his stuff.
What about the Alto banjo ? Is this the same as the long necked tenor with CGDA tuning ? Thanks
I have a gretch 4 string banjo it has real skin 4 dots on the neck no brand name or markings on the visible outside body, but it has a gretch simbol on the top which is maybe abalone or mother pearl the 4 dots on the neck also are shell material.Not sure what year it is so would appreciate some kind of info. Thankyou
*such beautiful instruments...what about the larger 1929 Gibson base style banjos i've seen pictures of?*
[La 09 OP poopoopooooqoaq
Good morning. I enjoyed your video. I would like to learn more about the history of soprano banjo ukes. Apparently they were popular in the 1930s. A survivor in excellent condition costs more today than new Chinese-made concert banjo ukes. Seems as if a market may exist for new inexpensive soprano banjo ukes, but what do I know? Thank you. Rick
Nice.
🌞Excellent. It took somebody from New York to explain it to me. Now let me tell you about a Chicago hot dog. lol Thank you very much.
I'll take a hot dog.
Hey Sir! Nice video! I'd like to know if it's possible to play a tenor guitar tuned in DGBD. Could you please tell me? Thank you!
A tenor Banjo can do it too.
yes!
Awesome video! So can you tune a standard tenor to viola tuning or mandolin tuning? Your choice? I'd rather play in GDAE since I know the chords but my grandpa's old banjo I have is tuned CGDA. I'd play jazz and Irish trad stuff both.
The late, ever-lamented Barney McKenna single-handedly made the GDAE tuning the standard one. For keltic picking, anyway. If you listen to one of his soloes it won't be hard to understand why.
I have the same question, and can't find an answer. I play the 5 string, and mandolin, but inherited a Challenger 4 string tuned in CGDA, and tried to tune it to GDAE, way off. I believe your have to buy the Irish tenor strings.
Well made, fully planned and informative video easy enough for anyone to understand. Well done sir!
It's all based on the volume before amplifiers. The 6 string guitar banjo?
Hi I have a Deering banjo ukelele. I wanted to tune it like the main 4 strings of a 5 string DGBD banjo. Because it has that nice quirky banjo sound. Is it ok to do that and adapt songs for 5 string where possible. Or, can you suggest an alternate tuning that will give me a good banjo sound. Thank you
I actually just uploaded a video on my channel that shows using classical guitar strings in my Banjo Ukulele to tune it with standard DGBD, and now it has become one of my favorites banjos to play in terms of tone.
i like this videos
What is a good banjo to start off with
Another type is banjo mandolin, 8 strings, 4 pair, EADG, tuned like a fiddle, but with less of a stretch for the fingers as compared to Irish tenor.
Where do i buy a tenor or plectrum banjo at please reply with a link to a website or name of a store
I
Have a antique fourth string banjo I want to learn to play
Really appreciate this video, thank you,Sir!
I will be 80 tomorrow. I have played a uke and guitar since 14 years old. My dad and author Godfrey played often i just learned 3 cords on the trenor......
Excellent presentation and very informative. What about the piccolo banjo? Are these always 5-string? I ask because my banjo-ukulele which has never had more than 4-strings on it, has been called a piccolo banjo by some. It pre-dates all the banjo-ukes I know of, as it must have been made before the end of 1904 when William Temlett its maker, died, so some have claimed it cannot be a banjo-ukulele. What's the difference between a banjo-uke and a piccolo banjo, apart from the number of strings?
Black Jake of Norwich, England.
Nice job. Perhaps tuning the instruments would have helped sweetened the sound a tad. Sorry, I have relative pitch. My brother tunes my banjos! Lol
I understand the very firs t Tenors were produced around 1908-1910.
The best dressed banjo player in America !..And that snot intended as a joke ...
what about the zither banjos such as the windsor or cammeyer?
Remember, this presentation is about FOUR string banjos, and most Windsor or Cammeyer zither banjos are five string.
Black Jake.
The Cello Banjo comes in both four string and five string models.
Is it hard to learn to learn to play the ukulele banjo❓thank you ‼️
The chords are the same but you have to "attack" the ukulele banjo. I first taught myself to play the uke in my teen years (1950s) when skiffle was all the rage. Much later in the 1980s I discovered George Formby and his ukulele banjo playing. I first found a 1940s GH&S Melody uke, but it had severe limitations and sounded quite dull. My fortune changed in 2003 when I bought a 1927 Gibson UB4 and the sound was astonishing. I never looked back. I still play my wooden uke at home but for any gigs I use the Gibson. The main adjustment when playing either one is that you need to really strike the UB4 with gusto. I grow my first finger and thumb nails long so the nails strike the strings hard and give a lovely "ring" as a banjo should.
I play all three types of tenor banjo the short neck the open back long neck and the resonator tenor
Shannon Carter, l've read on your comment that you play long neck banjo,can you tell me the scale lenght? Do you think that would be possible to play it ( from the thinnest to the thickest string) tuned A D G C ? I have an Hora Bouzouki, 66 cm. scale lenght, 8 strings, and i'm playing it with the reported tuning. I apologize for my bad english, i hope to having been understandable. Thank you so much, Patrick from Italy
Imagine how much better they would sound if he'd actually tuned them up before playing them.