Banjo Help

The banjo is one of the easiest instruments to play because of the few number of strings it has (most banjos have four primary strings and an additional shorter one for special use) and the versatility of the tuning. However the neck is long (most banjos have twenty-two frets) so the spacing between the notes takes a getting used to if you play guitar. The chords however are especially easy with the standard tuning. The standard tuning is called “Open G” and with it a G major chord can be played just by strumming the open strings. From there an A major is just a bar across the second fret and the other chords are also very easy. I’ll include a chord chart shortly with additional notes but for now I’ve made a tuning guide for the Open G tuning and a neck fret chart to show the placement of the whole notes with that tuning. If you are a guitar player have no fear. Banjo is EASY! Just remember that the highest pitched string is a D so your E note is not open, but rather on the second fret. And remember that the short string on the side isn’t an A. It’s another G. Other than that the D G and B strings are the same as on the guitar so if you play guitar a lot in the middle range you should have no problem adjusting to the banjo. Just stretch out those fingers and reach for the notes.