How is Irish tenor banjo tuned?

How is Irish tenor banjo tuned?

The tenor banjo is tuned using a symmetrical tuning. This relates to the tenor banjo because standard tuning for a tenor banjo is tuned the same as a viola/mandola (C, G, D, A). Irish players often tune their tenor banjos also in fifths, but one octave below a violin/mandolin (G, D, A, E).

Can you tune a tenor banjo like a 5-string?

I think the scale length of a standard 5-string banjo is a little too long to safely tune like a shorter 17 or 18 fret jazz tenor (CDAE)….with regular tenor strings. However, you could easily remove the 5th string and tune it as a plectrum (CGBD).

How is a 4 string banjo tuned?

The 4-String Plectrum banjo has four strings and a neck with 22 frets. Same as a 5-String without the 5th string. Standard tuning is “C” (CGBD). Other popular tunings include “G” (gDGBD) and “Guitar” (DGBE).

What is the standard tuning for a banjo?

open G
The most common banjo type is a 5 string banjo and has a standard tuning in open G – the notes from the 5th string to the 1st are G, D, G, B, D.

How is a 4-string banjo tuned?

Can you play Irish music on a 5 string banjo?

A 5-string banjo can participate in all of these but the techniques required are different for each. For the Irish, it’s pretty much as others have said- a mix of melodic with some single string and the occasional scruggsy section (used sparingly, only where it fits and is not leaping all over the other players).

What is the difference between Irish tenor and standard banjo tuning?

The standard tenor banjo tuning is exactly the same as the viola and the Irish tenor banjo tuning is exactly the same as a violin/mandolin, but an octave below. The Irish tenor tuning (G, D, A, E) today is the standard and uses a special set of Irish tenor banjo strings.

Why is the Irish banjo tuned like a fiddle?

The famous Irish banjo player Barney McKenna is most often credited with making this tuning popular. This tuning makes sense since Irish players are playing a lot of fiddle tunes, and it being the same tuning as a fiddle (but an octave below) makes the tunes layout on the fingerboard much better.

What does an extra Plain Jane tenor banjo look like?

Please try again later. This extra-plain-Jane tenor banjo is unmarked but identical to student-level Slingerland, Concertone, or MayBell tenor banjos. It has a fast, thin neck with no fretboard and a slightly-undersized (10 3/4″) rim with no tonering.

What is a 17-fret tenor banjo?

Using a 17-fret tenor banjo makes the scale of the instrument shorter. This shorter scale makes it easier to play those quick fiddle tunes which often use many triplets in the phrases. This scale is closer to that of a violin scale (although still quite a ways away), so you can use much of the same fingering a fiddle player might use.