I've learnt a lot of my banjo playing (and now building) from your patreon and I'm forever grateful! Very excited by this course, I'd never tried to sing before playing the banjo and Id love to do both together but have no confidence in my voice yet so it's hard for it sound musical. Hopefully I'll get there! Thanks for everything though.
Don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no banjos…but I sure do want to learn! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. At 61, I am seriously thinking of getting one and see what I can do with it.
I have a long-neck banjo. Standard "true" tuning is with the capo on the third fret. But if I'm not comfortable singing there, I can drop it up to three frets--or raise it up to five frets--and I can almost always find someplace within my singing range. However, I often play with other musicians, so my capo positions and tuning skills have to be adjusted to the other musicians' capabilities and preferences. I also play fiddle, and I have had to relearn some tunes in keys with very awkward fingering with no capo or frets to assist me.
I've been doin a lot of watching and even more listening, some looking at Banjos too. Not been sure enough of what to buy but its definitely time to pick one and get it now.
I know exactly what you mean ; I did quite a bit of research and bought a Deering Goodtime and I'm really pleased with the build quality and it sounds great... all I have to do now is learn how to play! I believe that learning from Clifton Hicks is the way to go, Oh yes!!
The best cheap beater-grade banjos right now that you can buy new for less than $400 are the Recording King "Dirty 30s" models. Before Corona they were going for $199 (shipped) on eBay.
@@CliftonHicksbanjo I own one of the $199 Good Tone open backs (even though I principally play Scruggs style 3 finger. The gold tone is my "beater banjo," but it is no beater! It's frets are perfectly placed and I use it more and more for my practice banjo. I am 72 and still play. Started at age 58!
Here’s how to retune assuming standard open ( not double C):: say your lowest singable note is C on lowest string (heaviest guage string), tune all remaining strings down by two pitches ie G to F, B to A and D to C. Also change drone to an F. Problem is if you play with others say n key of A you will have to capo up to fret 4 to use your usual chord positions. Pete seeger tuned his long neck banjo to open E but capoed up to fret 3 for key of G. Hope this helps.
This is an excellent tip! Also without trying to be funny, if you clip a digital tuner onto your nose and hum in your natural voice, then pull it off your nose real fast you will be able to see what your natural key to sing in is! Seriously it works great!
I think what I'll try is tune the low string to 'singing' voice and tune to relative open G, but for double-C. capo up 2 frets since the first thing you do is lower the bass string by 2 frets. Less re-tuning on other strings when going back and forth.
Didn't John Hartford use some lower tuning on his banjo? John Pearse even makes a set of John Hartford strings for lower tunings. His voice had a lower range and he tuned to match it.
This is a cleaver method of learning how to sing easily with your banjo, but it presupposes that one sings mostly in “g” with the open “g” tuning. You can sing in most any key on the banjo if you learn the chords along with the corresponding tuning.
I almost gave up on singing until I tried this tip. Thanks Clifton. Apparently I can sing in E. I was trying to sing in G and G modal and feeling like an idiot 😂
That was great loved it I wish I had my dad's old banjo I don't know what ever happened to it I may go get one so when I'm sitting at the camp I can strum on it some lol I really would love to learn to play I'm 58 and afraid I'm a little short on learning skills lol
Hey Clifton have you ever done the differences with 5, tenor and irish tenor? There are so many tunings and more strings and less strings. Have been an enthusiast doing some pieces for projects here in South Africa since 2010 (roots are in 3 chord music and keep learning always). I enjoy your channel! There is a form of music here thats been around for centuries as well. Boere music. My late uncle left me a one of a kind pre war gibson 5 string, which led me to learning further. He removed the 5th peg and only used the bottom 3 strings in an open G tuning. Some say only the bottom 2! Nothing else. It was the way it was done in the old days here. Very crude and simple for that style of music. Always interested in the history and thanks for an awesome channel!I Inspiring stuff! Im digressing but the differences with the C tuning to GDAE with tenors and irish banjos to the open G with 5 string variants. Would love to see a piece on this. Keep up the great work!
It works great! My only issue is, from an open C, my voice takes me down to a G, where things get pretty loose and buzzy. I could put on thicker strings I suppose but I'd also like to be able to play in jams. 😬 So I guess there needs to be a compromise somewhere. Or a new banjo just for singing? 🤔
You'll have to experiment with different tunings, strings, bridges, banjos. Thicker strings, taller bridge, and/or long neck banjo will reduce string buzz/looseness.
@@CliftonHicksbanjo I've been tempted by longneck banjos to be honest. There seems to be some prejudice against them, though that's not really my concern at all. Finding one that I can afford, and that will also hold up over time, is a bigger deal.
I had a lot of problems singing and playing at the same time, I play bass. One night our singer didn't show up and, since I was the only one that knew all the lyrics to our songs, I just jumped in and did my best. After the first set and no one walked out I got more comfortable with it.
I struggle with the fact that when I tune my banjo low enough to be comfy with my singing voice, the strings (especially the 3rd one) becomes very wobbly and loose, and it doesn’t sound good, what should I do? I use medium gauge strings…
@@CliftonHicksbanjo I’ll try heavy gauges first, thank you. My voice is not very deep, that’s the point, I find it pretty weird since I’m not playing THAT flat. But my 3rd string is always a bit of a pain. My banjo is cheap, maybe it’s just that 🤷🏼♀️
Oh, sounds like just a set-up issue then. You should not need anything heavier than medium to play buzz-free in G, F, or E. Try a slightly taller bridge.
I have a question. I have barely an octave in range. I got down to g3 once but comfortably only to b3. I got to f5 once but comfortably only to e5. If my entire range already fits within the range of a 5 string banjo in just about any tuning, would I still raise it so our (mine and the banjo's) bottoms are the same, or do I just not worry about it? If the latter, and this magic trick can't help me, does anyone have a time machine so I can go back to 1983 and ask my music teacher if she realizes when she said "when I told you to try harder, I didn't mean try harder to sing badly" it was going to echo in my head for life?
I just started playing banjo and I really enjoy it but I don’t really dig the fast picking and strumming type of playing. What is there I could do to better learn a more slower style of banjo? Any players or resources?
Hey Clifton, love your videos, cool technique. Is this technique useful for guitar players as well? My vocal register is lower than average and I often find it difficult to sing many songs. Thanks
Works the same way on the guitar. I recently recorded a guitar accompanied song for a friend's podcast, and I used this exact method to pair the guitar's 6th string with my lowest singing voice.
@@CliftonHicksbanjo well that’s certainly looking at the bright side, but i guess you’re right. I just have to accept it and get over the fear of being stuck with that droopy fentanyl sound. Ofcourse no disrespect to mr Boggs. I
Yes Sir....I feel very lucky to literally, ... crap these kids these days ...I apologize...they have me saying literally...lol..sir my grandfather was from outta a holler just outta modern Corbin Kentucky...so as I have grown older , ...older members of my family have let me know personally that ole' papaw of mine was a banjo pickin' man...and so I would like to thank you ,and To let u know that I'm in process of getting my own banjo... and look forward to any Banjo tutorials that you create on your channel...my papaw was/is a W.W.2. Veteran...I was 4 when he left us...but I am now 47...and this music,...bluegrass, folk, just all the songs that I'm sure my papaw knew well...😁... that b anjo plays my heart
I imagine it would! You just can't detune all the strings on an instrument by multiple whole steps without changing the string gauges to match, or you'll have problems! The lighter tension can cause intonation problems as strings will have a tendency to go sharp as you fret them. You might suddenly have buzzing issues, and the strings will sound "twangier" as they go out of pitch for fractions of a second before settling into a pitch.
Kind of dont understand tuning the rest of the strings relative to the top string, which you set to your voice??? Not very good explaination in this video. If you are gonna show a technical specific or more explaining to what relative to that string please be more specific.
Agreed. Of all the comments above, yours is the only one that brings this up. I still have no idea how the rest of the strings are tuned....by ear? Did you ever figure it out?
I've learnt a lot of my banjo playing (and now building) from your patreon and I'm forever grateful! Very excited by this course, I'd never tried to sing before playing the banjo and Id love to do both together but have no confidence in my voice yet so it's hard for it sound musical. Hopefully I'll get there! Thanks for everything though.
Clifton I think I'm about to find my singing voice, I feel you are a gift from God, bless you
Such a generous spirit.
God bless you! I knew there was a way I could sing along with my banjer! G
Don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no banjos…but I sure do want to learn!
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. At 61, I am seriously thinking of getting one and see what I can do with it.
I've never even seen a banjo in person but this was super interesting and I love your music until next time
I really want to learn how to play a banjo. I own two of them.
You are at the right place then
Playin' the banjo is a life changer! :)
I have a long-neck banjo. Standard "true" tuning is with the capo on the third fret. But if I'm not comfortable singing there, I can drop it up to three frets--or raise it up to five frets--and I can almost always find someplace within my singing range. However, I often play with other musicians, so my capo positions and tuning skills have to be adjusted to the other musicians' capabilities and preferences. I also play fiddle, and I have had to relearn some tunes in keys with very awkward fingering with no capo or frets to assist me.
I've been doin a lot of watching and even more listening, some looking at Banjos too. Not been sure enough of what to buy but its definitely time to pick one and get it now.
I know exactly what you mean ; I did quite a bit of research and bought a Deering Goodtime and I'm really pleased with the build quality and it sounds great... all I have to do now is learn how to play! I believe that learning from Clifton Hicks is the way to go, Oh yes!!
The best cheap beater-grade banjos right now that you can buy new for less than $400 are the Recording King "Dirty 30s" models. Before Corona they were going for $199 (shipped) on eBay.
@@CliftonHicksbanjo I own one of the $199 Good Tone open backs (even though I principally play Scruggs style 3 finger. The gold tone is my "beater banjo," but it is no beater! It's frets are perfectly placed and I use it more and more for my practice banjo. I am 72 and still play. Started at age 58!
I'm looking forward to your next piece of mosaic to see whole picture behind banjo heritage
Here’s how to retune assuming standard open ( not double C):: say your lowest singable note is C on lowest string (heaviest guage string), tune all remaining strings down by two pitches ie G to F, B to A and D to C. Also change drone to an F. Problem is if you play with others say n key of A you will have to capo up to fret 4 to use your usual chord positions.
Pete seeger tuned his long neck banjo to open E but capoed up to fret 3 for key of G. Hope this helps.
Genius, great vid thanks
Very cool!!! Thank you sir!!!
This is an excellent tip! Also without trying to be funny, if you clip a digital tuner onto your nose and hum in your natural voice, then pull it off your nose real fast you will be able to see what your natural key to sing in is! Seriously it works great!
Innovation... cool 😎👍🍻🇦🇺
Your ideas are intriguing to me, and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. 😁
I think what I'll try is tune the low string to 'singing' voice and tune to relative open G, but for double-C. capo up 2 frets since the first thing you do is lower the bass string by 2 frets. Less re-tuning on other strings when going back and forth.
Astonished I haven't seen you before but kudos my fellow banjolier. You got a lot to teach all banjologists.
That cut after you hear the car honking 😂
I'm excited to see what's coming. Been a supported for a few years now and I've learned a lot from the content you share. Thank you!
Excellent tutorial Clifton!
Since watching your vids I've been tuning down to E so i can sing and play. G is far too high. Even F is too high for me, E is perfect. Cheers buddy 👍
That's great!!!
Same
Didn't John Hartford use some lower tuning on his banjo? John Pearse even makes a set of John Hartford strings for lower tunings. His voice had a lower range and he tuned to match it.
Both Pete Seeger and John Hartford tuned to E. You're in good company.
This is a cleaver method of learning how to sing easily with your banjo, but it presupposes that one sings mostly in “g” with the open “g” tuning. You can sing in most any key on the banjo if you learn the chords along with the corresponding tuning.
Well ain't that a slick little trick.
Brilliant. Thank you...
I almost gave up on singing until I tried this tip. Thanks Clifton. Apparently I can sing in E. I was trying to sing in G and G modal and feeling like an idiot 😂
1:25 just when you think you are away from civilization a car honks 😆
That was great loved it I wish I had my dad's old banjo I don't know what ever happened to it I may go get one so when I'm sitting at the camp I can strum on it some lol I really would love to learn to play I'm 58 and afraid I'm a little short on learning skills lol
Cant wait 😁
Can't wait!
Cool idea
Great tip!! Gonna try it
Nice shirt!
Hey Clifton have you ever done the differences with 5, tenor and irish tenor? There are so many tunings and more strings and less strings. Have been an enthusiast doing some pieces for projects here in South Africa since 2010 (roots are in 3 chord music and keep learning always). I enjoy your channel! There is a form of music here thats been around for centuries as well. Boere music. My late uncle left me a one of a kind pre war gibson 5 string, which led me to learning further. He removed the 5th peg and only used the bottom 3 strings in an open G tuning. Some say only the bottom 2! Nothing else. It was the way it was done in the old days here. Very crude and simple for that style of music. Always interested in the history and thanks for an awesome channel!I Inspiring stuff! Im digressing but the differences with the C tuning to GDAE with tenors and irish banjos to the open G with 5 string variants. Would love to see a piece on this. Keep up the great work!
Hot damn that works!
I imagine doc boggs using this technique afte ra long day in the mine
It works great! My only issue is, from an open C, my voice takes me down to a G, where things get pretty loose and buzzy. I could put on thicker strings I suppose but I'd also like to be able to play in jams. 😬 So I guess there needs to be a compromise somewhere. Or a new banjo just for singing? 🤔
You'll have to experiment with different tunings, strings, bridges, banjos. Thicker strings, taller bridge, and/or long neck banjo will reduce string buzz/looseness.
@@CliftonHicksbanjo I've been tempted by longneck banjos to be honest. There seems to be some prejudice against them, though that's not really my concern at all. Finding one that I can afford, and that will also hold up over time, is a bigger deal.
Do you use this tuning technique for playing solo or with fiddle, mandolin, and guitar?
All of the above.
This is so cool, thanks Clifton!! I’m enjoying these new vids. 🤟
Hmmm, what do you do if you can’t coordinate the singing and the playing? Yikes! 😆
I had a lot of problems singing and playing at the same time, I play bass. One night our singer didn't show up and, since I was the only one that knew all the lyrics to our songs, I just jumped in and did my best. After the first set and no one walked out I got more comfortable with it.
I struggle with the fact that when I tune my banjo low enough to be comfy with my singing voice, the strings (especially the 3rd one) becomes very wobbly and loose, and it doesn’t sound good, what should I do? I use medium gauge strings…
Look into longneck banjos you can drop them down to D on metal strings and there’s no wobble
Silvius, for a voice that deep you'll want to experiment with heavier string gauges and perhaps a longneck banjo.
@@CliftonHicksbanjo I’ll try heavy gauges first, thank you. My voice is not very deep, that’s the point, I find it pretty weird since I’m not playing THAT flat. But my 3rd string is always a bit of a pain. My banjo is cheap, maybe it’s just that 🤷🏼♀️
Oh, sounds like just a set-up issue then. You should not need anything heavier than medium to play buzz-free in G, F, or E. Try a slightly taller bridge.
I have a question. I have barely an octave in range. I got down to g3 once but comfortably only to b3. I got to f5 once but comfortably only to e5. If my entire range already fits within the range of a 5 string banjo in just about any tuning, would I still raise it so our (mine and the banjo's) bottoms are the same, or do I just not worry about it?
If the latter, and this magic trick can't help me, does anyone have a time machine so I can go back to 1983 and ask my music teacher if she realizes when she said "when I told you to try harder, I didn't mean try harder to sing badly" it was going to echo in my head for life?
So you tune the base string to your voice, and the rest of the strings to double C?
I just started playing banjo and I really enjoy it but I don’t really dig the fast picking and strumming type of playing. What is there I could do to better learn a more slower style of banjo? Any players or resources?
Here's a beginner banjo playlist: ua-cam.com/play/PL07R2cMG4rBzAtYkXsb6esopqMBqDgwpU.html
How did you tune the other strings?
Neat idea, but if im at jam at a campfire It is not possible to get everyone to tune to my different voice matched tuning.
Sure it is! They all agree to tune to A or D; they can just as easily agree to tune to a singer’s voice.
Hey Clifton, love your videos, cool technique. Is this technique useful for guitar players as well? My vocal register is lower than average and I often find it difficult to sing many songs. Thanks
Works the same way on the guitar. I recently recorded a guitar accompanied song for a friend's podcast, and I used this exact method to pair the guitar's 6th string with my lowest singing voice.
Hoooo-mooooo? I feel intimidated.
But for real i wish i had a voice like you. I sound like Dock boggs on fentanyl.
"Dock Boggs on fentanyl" is something.
@@CliftonHicksbanjo well that’s certainly looking at the bright side, but i guess you’re right.
I just have to accept it and get over the fear of being stuck with that droopy fentanyl sound.
Ofcourse no disrespect to mr Boggs. I
What’s the chune at the very end of the vid ?
Sounds deadly
Deadly means gud where I come from
Forgot to say Hi ✋
Wait a sec could you just move the bridge on the drum and drop the tuning that way? That would be brilliant
This is already brilliant thanks so much
Yes, one could do that. It works better on a fretless banjo, though.
So does this eliminate other instruments like guitar or mando to play along?
Not at all! Instruments are easily tuned to each other.
Almost all the times I respond to one of your great post it tells me you are not excepting any response ?
Yes Sir....I feel very lucky to literally, ... crap these kids these days ...I apologize...they have me saying literally...lol..sir my grandfather was from outta a holler just outta modern Corbin Kentucky...so as I have grown older , ...older members of my family have let me know personally that ole' papaw of mine was a banjo pickin' man...and so I would like to thank you ,and To let u know that I'm in process of getting my own banjo... and look forward to any Banjo tutorials that you create on your channel...my papaw was/is a W.W.2. Veteran...I was 4 when he left us...but I am now 47...and this music,...bluegrass, folk, just all the songs that I'm sure my papaw knew well...😁... that b anjo plays my heart
I think you opened the door for more people than can be counted.
Agggh!!! I tried that but everything sounds HORRIBLE!!!
I imagine it would! You just can't detune all the strings on an instrument by multiple whole steps without changing the string gauges to match, or you'll have problems! The lighter tension can cause intonation problems as strings will have a tendency to go sharp as you fret them. You might suddenly have buzzing issues, and the strings will sound "twangier" as they go out of pitch for fractions of a second before settling into a pitch.
@@dereknolin5986 Do you think changing my strings would help?
I like Josh brainjo
Get urself a long neck banjo and ur set.
Kind of dont understand tuning the rest of the strings relative to the top string, which you set to your voice??? Not very good explaination in this video. If you are gonna show a technical specific or more explaining to what relative to that string please be more specific.
Agreed. Of all the comments above, yours is the only one that brings this up. I still have no idea how the rest of the strings are tuned....by ear? Did you ever figure it out?