How to Learn to Play the Bluegrass Banjo
Upbeat and fast-paced bluegrass music combines elements of folk and country styles. Banjo is one of the key instruments in bluegrass music, often providing both the melody and a rhythmic foundation. Banjo players use picking techniques and chord strums to drive bluegrass music. Learning to play bluegrass banjo well can be challenging. but with practice and a little patience, you can master the techniques that make this music come alive.
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Instructions
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Tune your banjo. Learn the "G" tuning. It's the most common tuning for bluegrass banjo. This means the strings of your banjo, when strummed open (no fingers on the frets) form a G major chord. The strings should be tuned (from thinnest to thickest, with the fifth string being the short string) D-B-G-D-G. Use a digital tuner or reference tones to ensure you're tuned correctly. The digital tuner is best for beginners because the tuner lights up in green when you are in tune. A properly tuned banjo is essential for learning to play.
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Hold the banjo properly. When you begin playing, it's best to sit comfortably and place the body of the banjo in your lap, with the neck titled at a slight angle. Later as you become more comfortable, you can put a strap on the banjo and stand. While you learn, sitting is typically more comfortable and allows you to focus on playing techniques.
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Experiment with picks. Bluegrass banjo players do a lot of picking techniques. Buy a pick for your thumb and at least one pick for a finger. Most bluegrass players wear a pick on at least two fingers in addition to the thumb pick. To help you get used to wearing picks and using them, put picks on your first, second and third fingers while you're learning.
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Familiarize yourself with banjo tablature. Many bluegrass banjo players prefer this method of reading and writing banjo songs. You can find most banjo music notated with this method, so learning it will allow you to communicate with other banjo players. Banjo tablature is simply a graph featuring four or five horizontal lines (depending on the type of banjo it's written for), with numbers placed on the lines to indicate which frets you should play.
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Learn chords. Purchase a banjo chord book or use one online at no charge. There are many different chords and you won't learn them all at once. The more you play, the easier memorizing chords becomes, but in the beginning, a chord dictionary can be helpful. To start with, focus on simple chords such as C, G (which can be played by strumming the strings of your banjo open) and D. You'll add more chords to your repertoire later.
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Practice the roll technique. You can do this technique on every chord change to create one of the signature sounds of bluegrass banjo. To perform a roll on the banjo, form a chord and pick the strings of the chord individually. You can strike all of the notes in the chord or just the first, third and fifth notes. The roll may be a forward roll or a reverse roll, depending upon which order you strike the notes. To get familiar with the roll, play a chord progression featuring the basic chords you're familiar with, but instead of strumming the chords, play a forward or reverse roll pattern on each new chord you play. Perfecting the roll technique immediately enhances the bluegrass feel of your playing.
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Play as much bluegrass as you can. You can purchase bluegrass music books or find bluegrass sheet music online at no charge. Playing is the best way to increase your skills. Focus on the roll technique as you practice new songs. You'll notice the more songs you play and the more you practice the roll technique, the smoother your chord changes and rolls will sound. You may need to start off playing slowly, but as you increase your speed, you'll find your bluegrass skills improving quickly.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit banjo image by michael langley from Fotolia.com
