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You Want to Play What?: Banjo Basics
IN THIS CHAPTER
Before you begin any trip, you probably like to know where you're going. If you're new to the banjo and don't yet own an instrument or if you're wondering about your eventual musical destination, this chapter is definitely the place to start your Banjo For Dummies excursion. The key is in the ignition, so put this thing in drive!
In this chapter, you spread out your banjo road map and start planning what I hope will be a wonderful, lifelong musical journey with the five-string banjo. You see what makes the five-string banjo different from other kinds of stringed instruments, and you get to take a look at some of the various kinds of banjos available today. I name the parts of the banjo and preview the musical skills you'll master in this book on the way to becoming a great banjo player.
Getting into Banjo
There's something about the five-string banjo that brings out strong feelings in people. Folks who like the banjo usually really like it, sometimes to the mystery, confusion, and even chagrin of those loved ones around them. What is it about this instrument that inspires such passion, and how can you tell if you've been bitten by the banjo bug? This section explores some answers to these questions.
Loving that amazing sound
You know the sound of the banjo when you hear it: the bright, rhythmic waterfall of short, cascading notes that can conjure up just about any emotion (but happy is usually the first to come to mind for the typical guy or gal on the street). The banjo is usually associated with folk, country, bluegrass, and old-time music, but these days, you can also hear the instrument in rock, jazz, and even classical settings.
Over the years, I've asked hundreds of amateur and professional players why they initially got interested in the banjo, and the usual answer is “I fell in love with the sound.” I think an equal attraction is the lure of hearing a lot of notes compressed into what seems like the smallest of musical spaces. In the hands of a skilled player, the banjo is an instrument that's capable of amazing virtuosity.
Becoming a true believer
Banjo players usually remember well the precise moment in time that they became hooked on the instrument. For me, growing up as a suburban teenager far from significant hills of any kind, that moment arrived when I was watching Roy Clark play banjo on Hee Haw and thinking to myself, “If I can somehow sit through this show every week, I think I can eventually learn ‘Cripple Creek.’” I didn't especially like country music at that time, and I'd never heard of bluegrass music — but I really loved the sound of the banjo.
Growing up in the 1970s, I could also hear the banjo as a background instrument on hit songs from the Eagles, the Doobie Brothers, Neil Young, and James Taylor. Hearing the banjo in these contexts made me believe that the banjo must be cool if those musicians used it on their recordings, despite what my friends thought about this disturbing turn in my musical tastes.
Today, you can hear the sound of the banjo in just about any style of music, short of Gregorian chant (although I bet there's a monk in a monastery somewhere in the world learning “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”). More than ever, the banjo is an integral part of contemporary music, showing up on stage with Mumford & Sons, Taylor Swift, the Avett Brothers, and most of the biggest hat and hair acts in country music.
The path-breaking banjo player Béla Fleck has performed with jazz artists Chick Corea and Marcus Roberts, and he has composed a concerto for banjo and orchestra. The actor/comedian/writer Steve Martin is bringing the banjo to thousands of new listeners who come to his concerts for the jokes but leave humming Steve's original banjo music. In addition, thousands of banjo players come together every year at their favorite bluegrass and old-time music festivals, camps, and workshops to make music together, as they have for many decades.
My own youthful enthusiasm for the banjo evolved into a wonderful, lifelong relationship that's still going strong. I get a joyful feeling every time I play a tune on the banjo. I'm also amazed at how my love for the instrument has opened the door to many new and wonderful experiences (such as graduate school, international touring and teaching, and this book!) and is at the basis of many of my most cherished friendships. When you play the banjo, you're not just playing a musical instrument; you're opening a door to new life experiences, such as the joy you'll experience playing music with others. Even if you never become as obsessed about the banjo as I am, I believe that the banjo can improve your life and make you a happier person if you give it the chance.
There's no doubt about it: The banjo is hot right now — and it's time for you to join in on the fun!
Identifying Different Kinds of Banjos
Although the five-string banjo is by far the most popular type of banjo being played today, decades ago the most popular banjos in the first half of the 20th century were four-string tenor and plectrum banjos. These banjos are really different instruments and shouldn't be confused with the five-string banjo. Understanding the differences between banjos is important, because before you begin your adventure, you need to make sure you're traveling with the right kind of equipment.
In the following sections, I compare and contrast the different instruments in the banjo family, so you don't mistake one type of banjo for another.
Five-string banjo: The subject of this book
The short 5th string is what makes the five-string banjo different from other types of banjos and from just about every other instrument in the known universe. Most of the time, you know immediately that you're looking at a five-string banjo when you see a tuning peg (a geared mechanism that keeps the string in tune) sticking out almost halfway up the neck (the long, narrow piece of wood where you fret strings with the left hand; for more on these terms, see the later section “Knowing the Parts of a Banjo”). This tuning peg holds the 5th string of the banjo (see Figure 1-1).
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