The Dark Side (Banjo)

[Relio]

I rented a banjo on Monday and am having a blast. First song I learned was Bury Me Beneath The Willows using forward, alternating, and forward/backward rolls. I guess all my years of classical guitar will finally be put to use with the focus on right hand technique with banjo. Anyone else pick up banjo later in life and turn into a solid player? I decided to rent for three months instead of buy and sell after no passion sets in, which happened with me with dobro and fiddle.

[Harold The Barrel]

Interesting, I've found myself wanting to get my hands on a banjo as well. I'm trying to resist, as I've only been playing mando for a few months and I'm afraid the novelty of a new instrument might cause me to lose focus. Still, been scouring Craigslist every morning in spite of myself. Got my eye on a Fender that looks great, barely used, for $150. Perhaps I'll succeed in holding off on it for a while, and renting sounds like a great option if, as you say, the novelty wears off. What did it cost for a 3-month rental?

[Tobin]

Yes, sadly, I recently leaped off the cliff to banjo doom. I'd been wanting to learn clawhammer banjo for a while but didn't have a banjo. I found a great deal on an old Ode resonator banjo at an estate sale and bought it. That started the addiction. But what I really wanted was an open-back with a scooped fretboard for frailing. So I bought a new Ome custom Jubilee (it was built as a special prototype for taking to trade shows). Walnut rim & neck, aged brass hardware, vintage brass tone ring ... mmm, tasty!

I've been playing maybe a month or so. Starting at the ripe old age of 41. But it sounds great and I'm having a lot of fun with it. And to be honest, this is the easiest instrument I've ever learned to play. Obviously, I'm nowhere near mastery. But it doesn't take much to get a full musical sound out of a banjo, as opposed to other instruments that are more for single-note leads or chords. The banjo does both at the same time, with the perfect combination of rhythmic drive and melodic/musical notes.

Maybe one of these days I'll delve into Scrugg-style finger picking. But for now, my heart's set on clawhammer style melodic playing with drop-thumbing. It's easy to switch back and forth between just playing rhythm/chords and going to full-on melody. And it sounds great playing duos with a fiddle, mandolin, or even a mandola.

Yes, this may be the start of another addiction.

[Tezzerh]

You can always try a mandolin banjo. Same fingering as mandolin, but gives a banjo sound and LOUD if you want it to be! I recently bought a new one, made in the UK, but I hear there are plenty of used ones going the rounds. I'm enjoying it and have by no means abandoned the standard mando. There are a few of us mandolin banjo fans on here, but I know they are not to everyone's taste! I love mine, though.

[LittleBlue]

I play banjo a lot in my band but we do play a bit of ragtime. Leave mandolin to the more folky stuff. For the strumming rhythmic stuff, I find them a blast!

[Harold The Barrel]

As a matter of fact, I have a mandolin banjo as well! I don't know why but in my mind it's more mando than banjo (could be the short neck). I inherited it from my grandmother, and it's what started me down this road in the first place. I had always wondered how she managed to get the surface of the head so dirty, but now I'm beginning to understand why. I'm told she played it all the time when she was young, shame I never got to hear her play. Anyway, it is a nifty little instrument and plays nice enough, perhaps I should try some clawhammer on it or something.

[LittleBlue]

Or you could be this guy:

[WJC4]

I play pretty good clawhammer banjo. I can play scruggs/three finger, but only from tabs. For me, being a Merle Travis style thumbpicker, clawhammer came naturally - Travis was a two finger banjo picker before he became a three finger (but often two finger) guitar picker. Learning banjo was somewhat revelatory... leik "Oh, that' why he did that!" It is interesting that a classical guy would be drawn to Scruggs style.... makes sense. Have you checked out the old classical style banjo? Guys like Van Eps were really amazing, and so were some of the minstrel style pickers.

[Relio]

Interesting, I've found myself wanting to get my hands on a banjo as well. I'm trying to resist, as I've only been playing mando for a few months and I'm afraid the novelty of a new instrument might cause me to lose focus. Still, been scouring Craigslist every morning in spite of myself. Got my eye on a Fender that looks great, barely used, for $150. Perhaps I'll succeed in holding off on it for a while, and renting sounds like a great option if, as you say, the novelty wears off. What did it cost for a 3-month rental?

I rented a Recording King RK-15. It costs $49 for every 3 months. If I decide the buy it, the rental money goes towards the purchase price.

Or you could be this guy:

LOL - This is probably my favorite banjo joke picture. Thanks for posting!!!

[catmandu2]

... interesting that a classical guy would be drawn to Scruggs style.... makes sense.

I find it thus; while I no longer play classical gtr, I do still like to grab the (nylon especially) strings and pluck - a whole bunch of fingerstyle can be deployed on the --jo ... I like to play the classic rags, joplin, jelly roll and that - I guess a lot like folks did in the 'parlor' room 100 years ago, but ultimately my favorite is stroke-style/minstrel-style - fun .. I go about entertaining with this sort of thing - folks enjoy it

Anyone else pick up banjo later in life and turn into a solid player?

Yes, and I got into TB and PB too - PB is really kind of an artifact, but of course like everything, becoming 'popular' again -

[Hudmister]

? I decided to rent for three months instead of buy and sell after no passion sets in, which happened with me with dobro and fiddle.

Keep us posted and let us know if some magic sets in. I gave the banjo a try more than once,
so... good luck.

[Steve Jeter]

I guess I was slow, but it took me almost a year to claw and drop thumb good. But once you got it you got it. Tried 3 finger,didnt like it. ymmv

[DavidKOS]

I went down that dark path too, forever will it dominate



Banjos are fun!

[Ivan Kelsall]

If you get the urge to try your hand(s) at playing the banjo,go for it. It's a truly remarkable instrument capable of great musical textures & many styles of playing. You might actually find yourself liking it so much that mandolin takes a back seat - i did it the other way around. After 50+ years of banjo playing,mandolin's taken over.
Here's a great tune played in 'double C tuning' gCGCD & capoed at the 3rd fret with the 5th string raised accordingly - 'Stephen' by Tony Ellis. For me,that's just about as 'banjoey' as you'll ever get.
I met Tony over in Owensboro in '92 & had a nice long talk with him - what a terrific guy !,
Ivan

[Petrus]

My local used book & music store currently has a Rover ($225), a '60s Kay with resonator ($275) and a no-name with a reso back ($100.) Cheap way to get started? I'm tempted ....

[Carl Robin]

I got a Irish Tenor Banjo just a few weeks ago, and have been having fun with it. It's tuned like mandolin GDAE. The purpose was to be able to hear myself play, and to be heard at a session where fiddles, and accordions were drowning me out. Banjo is the last instrument that I ever thought I'd play. The tone and resonance is surprisingly complex and expressive. If you are considering it, I'd say try it you'll like it.

[UsuallyPickin]

Banjo is a great instrument. And a solid banjo player is great fun to play with. Clawhammer or Scruggs , either way makes for excellent music. The only drawback is it's like the fiddle in that it is very loud and not really musical until the player gets a good hold on it. When first learning there are so many rhythmic pitfalls and playing one quietly is in fact quite difficult.... hence all the banjo jokes and cartoons ......... here is one of my favorites . R/

[Paul Busman]

Or you could be this guy:

That banjo player looks a LOT like Noam Pikelny. I'd happily be trapped with him and his banjo in an elevator or anywhere else. We saw him the other night with The Punch Brothers and he's simply astounding.

The first time we saw The Punch Brothers, Noam's playing inspired me to get a banjo. I bought an Epiphone MB-100 which is an excellent, inexpensive openback. I learned some clawhammer and a little bit of Scruggs and had fun for a while. I play 90% Irish music and I didn't find the 5 string very useful for that. Now I'm playing and loving a Gold Tone CC-IT Irish Tenor which I got used at a great price. With the same tuning as mandolin, the transition has been easy and the wider finger stretch has aided my octave mandolin playing.

[Steve Jeter]

My local used book & music store currently has a Rover ($225), a '60s Kay with resonator ($275) and a no-name with a reso back ($100.) Cheap way to get started? I'm tempted ....

Ive seen the Rovers and they aren't bad. I used to spenf a lot of time over at Banjo Hangout, and saw fellows with Romero 3K banjos that still couldn't play. and guys with GC epiphones that could tear it up. If your gonna claw, my preference for old time,,you will have to sit on that couch watching tv,, and do your bum ditty until you can watch tv and still the claw be natural. Im not trying to be against the BG players ,, but if you get a open back and stuff a old diaper or pair of socks under the dowel,, you can get a tone that you can play for hours and nobody will shoot you LOL unstuffed resos, not so much . I have a couple short banjo lessons on my YT if you can use them. good luck,, I quit playing banjo cause I hurt my rt hand and the striking motion sends a pain up the nerve in my forearm usind a flat pik doesnt

[Tobin]

Banjo is a great instrument. And a solid banjo player is great fun to play with. Clawhammer or Scruggs , either way makes for excellent music. The only drawback is it's like the fiddle in that it is very loud and not really musical until the player gets a good hold on it. When first learning there are so many rhythmic pitfalls and playing one quietly is in fact quite difficult....

My short experience with the banjo has been the opposite. I find it to be very easy to be "musical" in a short period of time with clawhammer style playing. The easy chord shapes and basic bum-ditty rhythm come alive very quickly with minimal learning. It produces a full sound with catchy rhythmic groove. Then turning it into melodic playing is very simple, using open strings with just one or two fingers fretting. If I'm playing by myself, I find myself gravitating towards the banjo because it's just so easy to make full musical sounds, compared to other instruments.

I can see how Scruggs-style playing would require more in the way of technical development before sounding good, but clawhammer gets musical very quickly.

[Tobin]

For example, this is Old Mother Flanagan on clawhammer. I learned to play it recently, and it's a very simple tune that sounds great.

This is Josh Turknett playing it. Even a beginner can sound like this within a few weeks.

[BBarton]

I play mainly folk and Celtic styles of music and jumped off the cliff about 6 years ago. The mandolin wasn't cutting it in sessions, so I opted for a tenor banjo, and for jams and sessions, it's my main instrument now -- 'lovin' it!!

[Ivan Kelsall]

From Paul Busman - "..We saw him the other night with The Punch Brothers and he's simply astounding.". Noam's one of the current banjo 'greats' & i really do enjoy his playing - however,as much as i like the 'melodic or 'Keith' style of playing,nothing gets my motor running like Scruggs style. Almost as many variations in it's sound as there are players & for me,it always was & always will be 'the' sound of Bluegrass music. Zoom along to 20.58 mins.to hear the very first Bluegrass i ever heard back in 1963. An 18 year old banjo 'strummer' with 4 strings on it & the brother of a friend played me this on an old reel-reel tape recorder. That was it for me, & 52 years later,it still knocks my socks off !,
Ivan
PS - It's the late Benny Martin on Fiddle.

[Petrus]

Thing is I'm noticing ... I want to expand my musical repertoire (such as it is) but clearly that's not happening when all I do is buy more mandolins and just noodle the same pieces on all of them. They may sound better on a better mandolin but it's still the same structure. So I'm looking at maybe banjo or guitar to force me out of my rut. And I'll have to resist the temptation to retune into 5ths, which just puts me back into the same familiar place. It's comfortable, but too much like a comfy old security blanket.

[Tom Coletti]

Relio, I wouldn't consider the banjo to be a resident of the "Dark Side;" it's more of a chaotic neutral, very much dependent on what a person does with it. I usually keep a five string around in double-C tuning and use it extensively for composing themes, drawing a bit of guidance and inspiration from Jens Kruger's methods:



--Tom