I saw Bela Fleck’s film “Throw Down Your Heart” sometime ago and have ever since been interested in the banjo. Fleck travels to Africa to trace the roots of the Banjo, discovering a rich culture of music, and a history that eventually brought an African instrument to the South that eventually evolved into the Banjo.
I found myself in the South and was lent a banjo by a neighbor to the farm I am working at. I decided it was time to learn this thing. I didn’t want to take on too much, just wanted to learn a few chords, how to pick it (what I would later learn is called a “roll”) and how to tune it.
Here are a few videos that I used to learn the basics, which I thought I’d share with you:
Tuning A Banjo
First, let’s tune this thing. What makes this video so special is that it was the only video I could find that taught “relative tuning.” That is, how to tune the banjo to itself. I have a horrible ear, and sometimes trying to tune to an audio file or video, can be difficult for me. I do much better when I can tune each string to each other. On the guitar this is pretty simple, but as the strings are different on a banjo I wanted to find out how to do this (I tried to figure it out on my own, but was a little off).
How To Tune a 5 String Banjo from Mark Bridge on Vimeo.
Finger Picking = Roll
Now, let’s learn some basic Rolls. Rolls are the progression of strings played that give the banjo its distinct flavor. This is very similar to what people call “finger picking” on a guitar. I’ve heard that the job of a banjo player is to hit the bottom string (the off-set G) as much as possible. Most rolls will start with the G string, or use it frequently.
Chords
Now, let’s learn some chords. I’ve been recycling these for days, they never get old playing, and it has helped me get a feel for the instrument so that it feels natural in my hands:
Jack Wagner is the Editor of The Free Independent-Sun. Born in Sonoma, California and currently residing in San Francisco, Jack set up The Free Independent-Sun on July 4th, 2009, after sleeping in and not making his usual trip up north for his hometown festivities. He figured he'd do something revolutionary to make up for it. In the Summer of 2010 Jack registered Seraf Media with the City and County of San Francisco as a Sole-Proprietorship. He is dedicated to articulating the finer points of the Revolution in order to bring about a Global Renaissance and Abundant World Economy. He also isn't afraid to get his hands dirty transplanting succulents. 
