There are relatively few true “giants” among players of the 5-string banjo in the 3-finger fashion. Most notably, Earl Scruggs stands out as the one player who has done more than anyone else to shape a style of playing and so popularize it that his name is practically synonymous with the instrument. And there are a few other greats – Bill Keith, Ralph Stanley and Doug Dillard come immediately to my mind. The other name I feel belongs in this very elite group is Béla Fleck.

Béla is still a young man, yet I feel he has done more to expand the horizons of this humble instrument than anyone. His playing is rooted in the traditional bluegrass style that many of us learned from the playing of Earl, Bill, Ralph, Doug and a myriad of other proponents. But early in Béla’s development, he studied with an inventive and experimental banjo player named Tony Trischka, and perhaps Tony’s influence spurred Béla into looking for new and unusual ways to branch out from the traditional. His work with The Newgrass Revival demonstrated Béla’s ability to innovate within the loose confines of bluegrass, blended with a rock sensibility.

In recent years Béla has produced his own brand of music that defies classification. He leads a group called the Flecktones, and their music is unique and unusual to say the least. I can only describe it as “5-string banjo meets jazz, funk, hard rock and world music.” Frankly, I am not all that fond of most of the Flecktones’ music, although no one can deny that it is extremely creative and executed with a great deal of skill. But through it all, Béla has kept a hand in the more conventional bluegrass domain, and has produced or appeared on several great albums working with such veteran bluegrass icons as Sam Bush, Tony Rice, Jerry Douglas, Roland White, Stuart Duncan, and many others. He has also teamed up with musicians specializing in other genres, such as Chick Corea, Branford Marsalis, and, very notably, Edgar Meyer.

Which brings us to the principle topic of this review, the Perpetual Motion album. Edgar Meyer is a renowned classical bassist. Béla and Edgar have formed a strong friendship, and at Edgar’s urging, Béla has developed an incredible repertoire of classical pieces arranged for the 5-string. This might sound an unlikely match, although it is worth noting that a great deal of classical music was played on the banjo back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There are some practitioners of this craft playing today, but I dare say nothing in my experience prepared me for what I felt the first time I played this album.

Perpetual Motion includes 20 tracks ranging from a delicate rendition of Bach’s “Two-Part Invention No. 13″ through a dizzying, bluegrass-driven version of “Moto Perpetuo,” the intricate tune by Paganini from which the title of the album is derived. Most of the cuts are duets or trios; Bela is joined by Chris Thile (mandolin), Evelyn Glennie (marimba), Joshua Bell (violin), Gary Hoffman (cello), John Williams (classical guitar), Edgar Meyer (bass and piano), and James Bryan Sutton (steel-string guitar) in various combinations. Two of the tracks are solo Béla on the banjo.

This is one of the few banjo-centric albums I don’t hesitate to play for people who are not aficionados of bluegrass or old-time mountain music. It is breathtaking, and haunting, and intellectual, and gloriously emotive. You owe it to yourself to give this album a listen. I actually purchased a second copy so that I can keep one in my office at work, and for the last year or so, this has been my most-played CD. Even though I know virtually nothing about classical music, I know a masterpiece when I hear one.

As I promised in my Banjo Basics Lesson, I will now give you the closed major chord positions that will allow you to play comfortably up and down the neck. When you master these, you will free yourself from being tied to the low-neck, open chord positions introduced in the prior lessons.

When I refer to “closed chords,” what I mean is that no “open” or unfretted strings are used. This is powerful, because as you will see, closed chord shapes can be moved up and down the neck freely to create different chords without changing the basic shape your fretting hand makes. When you master this concept, you will be able to play just as easily way up the neck (above the 12th fret) as you can down in the low positions below the 5th fret. Maybe easier, since the frets get closer together further up the neck and your fingers don’t have to stretch as far. You will also be able to play in any key just as easily as G or C. Now that’s what I call powerful!

It is not my intent to provide full-blown lessons in chord theory – there are plenty of resources that do that. For our purposes, it is only necessary to understand that a Major chord consists of the first, third, and fifth notes of a Major scale, and that the first note of the scale (known as the root) names the scale and the chord. So, for example, a G Major scale consists of the notes G, A, B, C, D, E and F# (F sharp). Therefore, a G Major chord consists of the notes G, B and D, which are the first, third, and fifth notes of the G Major scale. When referring to Major chords, the term “Major” is often dropped for simplicity. So when someone refers to a G chord, they are implying G Major, OK?

Interestingly, if you look at the most common tuning of the 5-string banjo (at least as played in the bluegrass style), you’ll notice that the strings are all tuned to notes in the G Major chord: gDGBd. That’s why this tuning is called G tuning (or Open G tuning). That’s also why you can strum or pick the open strings together and get a nice harmonious sound. Amazing, huh?

The Barre Chord Shape

Now, lay the index finger of your fretting hand across the first four strings at the second fret, forming a “barre” across the neck. This forms an A Major chord, and this makes sense if you know that an A note is two half-steps (frets) higher than a G note. What do you do about the funny short 5th string, you ask? Well, for the time being, we are going to focus all of our attention on the first four strings and essentially ignore the existence of the 5th string. Further down the road we will deal with some of the special problems and opportunities presented by the 5th string.

Strum slowly across the first four strings and make sure you can hear each string clearly. If one or more of the notes is muted or dead, you may be holding your barre finger on top of the fret, or too far away from the fret. The barre should be held just behind the desired fret. You may also want to try extending your finger a little further across the neck, or less far, until you find a position that creates a clean sound on all four strings. You can also put your middle finger on top of your index to help push down on the fretboard. The pad of your thumb should be directly behind the neck, opposite your barre, providing the leverage to squeeze the neck and fret all four stings firmly.

Slide the barre up two more frets to the 4th fret. What chord does this form? If you answered B Major, you get a gold star. In fact, if you know the repeating twelve-tone Chromatic Scale, you can now play every Major chord on the banjo neck – with one finger!

For those of you who have not yet seen or understood the Chromatic scale, take a look at this:

If you’re not already aware, the note between G and A can be referred to either as G# (G sharp) or Ab (A flat). It may help in learning the chromatic scale to note that there is no note between B and C and no note between E and F.

This shows you the sequence of half-step intervals of the Chromatic Scale, starting at the arbitrary but banjo-centric starting point of the G note. It will serve you well if you will take the time and effort to memorize it.

Think of that piece of plastic, bone or ivory (the nut) that holds the strings in position near the peghead of your banjo as fret number zero. Now think of the chord the nut forms as a barre at the 0th fret. That’s a G barre chord, got it? Slide the barre up to fret 1 and you have a G# barre chord, fret 2 gives you an A, and so on, all the way up to fret 12 where you get to G again. From there, the chords repeat in the same pattern. Theoretically this could go on orever, but the frets would get awfully close together and your fat fingers wouldn’t fit anyway, so the clever designers of the banjo decided enough was enough and ended the neck at around fret number 22 (some banjos have a few more or a few less than 22 frets).

I have another favorite name for the chord shape I’ve been calling the Barre. I call it the “root 3″ shape because the root note of the chord, for which the chord is named, is the third string note. Consider the open G chord at “fret 0.” The third string is a G note, right? So the root 3 shape at the 0 fret is a G Major chord. The root 3 shape at the 7th fret is a D Major chord. And so on. Make sense? Take another hard look at the Chromatic Scale above if you’re not sure.

This would be a good point to take a break and grab a cold one, before we dive into the next topic.

The “F” Chord Shape

You have to admit, the barre shape is pretty simple to master – too simple, in fact. If playing the banjo was really that simple, all of us world-famous banjo teachers wouldn’t be as fabulously wealthy as we are. So now I want to make life much more difficult for you (Just kidding!).

Take a look at this chord diagram:

i = index finger
m = middle finger
r = ring finger
l = little finger (pinkie)

This particular chord shape, when played at the first, second and third frets as indicated, creates an F Major chord. Therefore, it is commonly referred to as the “F Shape.” You may find it difficult to get your fretting hand to cleanly fret all four of these notes, but it will get easier with time and practice. Trust me. (Where have I heard those words before???)

A couple of pointers, to help you get clean sounds and prevent the development of bad habits:

• The palm of your fretting hand should generally be held almost parallel to the side of the neck, with the base of the index finger only a little closer to the side of the neck than the base of the little finger.
• The pad of your thumb should be near the back (rounded) part of the neck or slightly up the side of the neck nearest your face, but it should not stick up above the fretboard. Think of squeezing the neck between your fingertips and your thumb.
• The fretting fingers should generally be pressing straight down on the strings with the tips of the fingers, unless a finger is fretting more than one string as with the barre shape.

This combination of details will help you avoid touching more than one string with each finger and allow for each string to sound cleanly. It should be noted that these are general guidelines only and many techniques will require modifications to your hand position. But it is best to start with these ideas in mind and develop good habits as the basis of your overall technique.

Here’s a picture of my left hand in proper position making the F chord:

Again, strum the first four strings slowly and make sure each note is clean and clear. Repeat this over and over, SLOWLY. Relax your fretting hand between strums, so that your hand does not get tired and cramp up. Don’t lift your fingers from the strings, just let them relax briefly, and then “squeeze” the chord again just before beginning the next strum. This squeeze-relax-squeeze-relax rhythm will become the basis for some good back-up techniques a little later.

I sometimes call the F Shape the “root 1-4 shape.” Any guesses why? You got it. Because the root note of the chord is the note found on the 1st and 4th strings. At the position we’ve been discussing, the 1st string 3rd fret is – guess what – an F note. The same is true for the 4th string 3rd fret, since they are both tuned to the same note an octave apart.

Slide the shape up a fret, and it becomes an F# (F Sharp Major). Slide it up another fret and it becomes a G Major. It is worth focusing on this shape at this position because you will be using it a lot. Here’s a chord diagram for this important G Major position:

Memorize this “F shape” G chord as applied at the 3rd fret position, and think about how it is related to the F chord at the first fret position. Slide it up two more frets (to the 5th fret position) to make an A chord. Move it along two more (7th position) to make a B chord. And one more fret (8th position) to make a C chord. In this manner, you will be able to transpose to different keys and play in different voicings up and down the neck.

Got the F shape down pat? Grab another cold one, and when you’re ready let’s tackle one more shape.

The D Chord Shape

Now consider this chord diagram:

This chord shape, when played at the 2nd fret position as indicated, creates a D Major chord. Review the fretting hand techniques I outlined above, and strum the first 4 strings, checking for clean, clear tones. Repeat over and over, using the squeeze-relax-squeeze-relax technique, and get used to the “feel” of this chord shape.

Here is my left hand playing the D chord:

For whatever reason, many people find this to be the hardest of the three shapes we have covered. It is admittedly somewhat of an awkward shape to put your hand into, but again I ask you to trust me – it will become very easy after a few million iterations. ; ^ )

I call this shape the “root 2″ shape because the note on the 2nd string defines the chord. In this position, the 2nd string fretted on the 3rd fret is a D note, and therefore this is a D Major chord.

Slide the shape up a fret, and it becomes a D#. Slide it one more, and it is E. Are you getting the idea? This ability to slide the closed chord shapes up and down, using the Chromatic Scale as a reference, gives us the ability to create any Major chord we need using these same, soon-to-be-familiar shapes.

And the best news of all is. . . we’re done! There are only three Major chord shapes on the 5-string banjo neck, using open G tuning, and one is a simple barre. If you grok what has been presented here, and become comfortable with it, you have come a LONG way toward mastery of the neck. Of course applying this to make good music is an infinite pursuit, but you already have a powerful set of tools toward that end.

Pulling It All Together

If you have been able to work through the lesson successfully to this point, you can create each of the three Major chord shapes and get reasonably clean 4-string chord sounds with each. And if you understand how to apply the shapes to the Chromatic Scale, you can move the shapes up and down the neck to get any Major chord you might need, with each of the three shapes.

The next step is to develop proficiency in moving between the shapes smoothly. This can be quite a challenge, and will likely be frustrating at times. I will present some exercises to help you work on this important, essential skill.

Bump – Chick

The “bump – chick” is my name for a basic rhythm picking pattern that I find terrifically useful. In fact, it is the foundation for backup picking in most situations. I confess that I use this simple pattern almost all the time when I am singing, since I find it very difficult to pick anything at all intricate while singing.

Place your fretting hand in position to play the 3rd position G chord I described above. Let your fingers relax, just touching the strings but not squeezing the neck yet. Now, squeeze the chord momentarily and pick the 4th string with the thumb of your picking hand, and as soon as the note sounds, relax your fretting hand to dampen the sound quickly. Next, squeeze the chord again with your fretting hand and pick the third, second and first strings simultaneously with the thumb, index and middle fingers of your picking hand. Again, relax your fretting hand to dampen the sound once the notes are sounded. Repeat this pattern over and over, alternating between the single note on the 4th string (“bump”) and the three-note chord on the 3rd, 2nd and 1st strings (“chick”). Go slowly, and make the interval of time between each bump and chick as perfectly equal as you can.

This sound complicated as I see it written out verbally, but it is actually quite easy to execute once you get the idea. Here is an MP3 clip that will help you get the idea:

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

And here it is written out in tablature:

After you have practiced this simple picking pattern with the G chord, change to the C chord (barre at the 5th fret) and do the Bump-Chick with that for a while.

Then do the same thing with the D chord in the 2nd position.

If you have been following along successfully to this point, you are making GREAT progress! Here is another exercise to further solidify what you’ve learned so far.

Using the same three closed chord positions and Bump-Chick picking pattern, play two measures of G, then two measures of C, then 2 measures of D, then 2 measures of G, repeating the sequence over and over at a slow, smooth rhythm. If you’re quite comfortable, speed it up just a bit.

Here’s an MP3 demonstrating what this sounds like:

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Now try a different, but very useful sequence. Play two measures of G, then two measures of C, then back to G for two measures, then two measures of D, and repeat this sequence.

Finally, do these same exercises but changing chords each measure.

Here is a final MP3 showing how this sounds, and then some “noodling around” with some variations to the picking pattern to give you a hint of what’s to come.

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

I hope you are getting as much out of reading and practicing these lessons as I am writing them. I apologize for the delay between lessons, but my real job and other activities limit how much time and energy I have been able to devote to this. Please feel free to write and give me your reactions, suggestions, etc.

If you have these basic changes down, you are ready to tackle some real picking and some closed-position, movable chords. Let’s begin by reviewing the tablature system as it applies to the 5-string banjo.

Banjo Tablature

Tablature for the banjo isn’t much different than guitar tablature, in concept. The big difference is that we use five lines to represent the five strings of the banjo, with the top line representing the first string and the bottom line representing the fifth string:

Note that the tablature indicates the tuning of the five strings, as discussed in the first column. Just as with guitar tablature, notes are indicated by showing the fret number to be played on the particular line or string. A zero indicates playing the open string, and you’ll find there’s a lot of that in banjo picking.

Five-string banjo, played in the bluegrass style, uses the thumb, index finger, and middle finger of the picking hand to pick the strings. Almost invariably, bluegrass banjo pickers use a thumb pick (usually plastic) and two fingerpicks (metal). There are lots of lively discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of particular brands of picks, but I won’t get into that here. The main message I have at the outset is to get used to wearing picks at all times when picking the banjo. If you’re not used to them, it may be tempting to play with naked fingers, but the sound and feel you get is entirely different and this won’t help you get where you want to go.

Another important aspect to discuss at this point is anchoring your picking hand by placing the tip of your pinky and/or ring finger on the surface of the banjo head. This stabilizes your hand and gives you a point of reference to help you hit the correct strings. Many players recommend anchoring with both the pinkie and the ring finger for maximum stability. But many others are quite successful anchoring just one or the other. Here’s a photo showing my hand in place on the banjo as I am preparing to pick:

Another tip for you: always use a strap, even while playing seated. Because of the round shape of the banjo, the neck has a tendency to slide down toward the floor due to gravity, and if the strap doesn’t support the neck you end up having to support it with your fretting hand. This creates tension and bad hand position. I repeat: ALWAYS use a strap. Adjust the strap so that the banjo is in the same position relative to your body whether you are sitting or standing.

Picking Patterns, or “Rolls”

Here’s a simple picking pattern using open strings:

Here’s an MP3 file so you can hear what this sounds like.

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Note that I have indicated which finger to use to pick each note (Thumb, Index, Middle). This is useful at first, but before long the finger to use will be apparent, and the letters won’t be needed. Most of the tablature you are likely to encounter won’t show the picking fingers unless there is a particularly tricky passage.

These picking patterns, which banjo pickers generally call “rolls,” are often given names to characterize the pattern and aid in communication between players. For example, the roll above is called the “alternating thumb roll” because the thumb bounces back and forth alternating between playing a melody note on the third (or fourth) string and a drone note on the fifth string.

This might be a good time to give you some general guidelines about how the picking fingers behave. For starters, the middle finger generally picks the first string only, and is usually the only finger used on the first string. The index finger typically picks the second, third, and occasionally the fourth string. The thumb tends to play the third, fourth and fifth strings, occasionally going down to the second or first string. The thumb is the only finger that picks the fifth string.

Dynamics

One of the most difficult aspects of learning bluegrass banjo is bringing the melody (or other important) notes out and making them heard above the barrage of other notes that typically accompany the melody. This is widely neglected in the teaching materials I have seen. I want to help you relate to this from the outset by showing you which notes to emphasize. In standard music notation, an accent mark is placed above a note to be emphasized, and I like to follow that convention. Here is the simple alternating thumb pattern with the appropriate accents shown:

Play this pattern over and over at a slow and steady pace, putting a little extra “punch” on the first note of each four-note group. Because the thumb is the strongest finger, we try to use the thumb whenever possible to play melody notes to make it easier to bring the melody forth. But there is a paradox here. The thumb is also used to play the fifth string exclusively, and you generally want that fifth-string drone note to be subdued. So you need to concentrate to make the melody notes stand out, and yet maintain a delicate touch on the fifth string.

Here’s an MP3 file illustrating what we’re after:

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Incorporating Chord Changes

Once you have this pattern working smoothly, try changing chords while keeping the pattern going. Start with the open G, then switch to C, then back to G, then D7, over and over. Here’s what this looks like in tab:

And here’s what it should sound like:

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Play it nice and steady, at a pace you’re comfortable with, over and over. Remember to keep your picking hand anchored and don’t forget to practice wearing your picks – you’re only cheating yourself if you don’t. When you have it down slowly and smoothly, pick up the pace a bit. Here’s what it sounds like at a medium speed:

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Of course you can vary this basic roll in numerous ways. As a simple example, take a look at this:

Notice that we are introducing some melody notes that are not in the chord – for example the fourth string second fret (E) note in the first measure. There is also an example of altering the basic roll to introduce extra melody notes. Look at the fourth measure. You are holding a C chord at that point, but to get the melody note on the third string second fret (A), move your middle finger over from the fourth string to the third string just long enough to play that note. Be prepared to return it to the fourth string in time to play the extra melody note, which is the second-to-last note in the measure.

The seventh and eighth measures are interesting. This is a common descending run in D. To get the fourth string fourth fret (F#) in the second half of the seventh measure, you need to stretch down with the pinky. Then to get the fourth string second fret (E) in measure eight, move your middle finger over from the third string.

We end the tune with a pair of half-notes – the third string open, and then a “pinch” where you simultaneously pick the fifth string with your thumb and the first string with your middle finger.

Practice this piece over and over until you can play it smoothly and steadily. It should sound something like this:

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Although it is a lot of work, I am enjoying putting these lessons together, and very much appreciate the feedback I’ve already received. Please drop me an email at banjoruss@adelphia.net if you have any comments, questions or suggestions. Next time, I’ll show you how to play simple rhythm backup, and introduce you to the all-important closed major chord positions that will allow you to play all over the neck in any key.

Let me close this lesson with an improvised bit of musical doodling based upon the information in this lesson, just to stimulate your imagination. I encourage you to experiment to see if you can incorporate similar sounds into your own playing. Listening and stealing bits of what you hear is an extremely valuable element of your musical education, and certainly a part of the “oral tradition” of folk music and bluegrass.

Download mp3 (Right-click and “Save as”)

Banjos, banjos, and banjos

There are several kinds of banjos, so we should begin by making sure we understand the specific instrument we are going to be discussing. Most banjos you are likely to see fall into one of two types: the 4-string, or tenor banjo, and the 5-string banjo. The tenor banjo typically has a 17 fret scale length and is usually played with a flatpick in primarily a strumming style. You might associate this type of banjo with Dixieland jazz bands – remember Eddie Peabody?

The 5-string banjo is an entirely different animal. It typically has a 22 fret scale length, give or take a couple of frets. The 5-string can be played in a wide variety of styles. A few of the more popular include classical (believe it or not), old-timey (also known as frailing, clawhammer, traditional, and other names), bluegrass (with variations referred to as Scruggs-style, melodic, chromatic, single-string and others) and jazz. I started out playing old-timey style but quickly fell in love with bluegrass. That’s the style I will be focusing on in this series of columns.

The banjo consists of a round body (often referred to as a pot or shell) typically around 11 to 12 inches in diameter, with the neck attached to the pot with lag bolts, truss rods or some other mounting hardware. Some banjos have an open back, while others have a resonator attached to the pot acting as a reflector to provide a louder and brighter sound. Old-timey players generally prefer open-back banjos, while bluegrass and jazz players usually use resonator-equipped banjos.

The 5-string is unique in that the first four strings run the entire length of the neck much like a guitar, but the 5th string is shorter, ending at the 5th fret, where a tuning peg is mounted on the side of the neck. The high-pitched, droning sound of the fifth string (it is rarely fretted) has much to do with the characteristic, recognizable sound of the 5-string.

Tuning

Various tunings are utilized to create different voicings and harmonic possibilities, with open G being the most commonly used tuning. Let’s see how to get the banjo in tune.

From the 5th string to the first string, open G tuning is: g-D-G-B-d

Unless you are one of those rare individuals who have mastered perfect pitch, you’ll need a point of reference such as an electronic tuner or pitch pipe, or another in-tune instrument such as a piano or guitar. In fact, the 4th, 3rd and 2nd strings (D-G-B) of the banjo are tuned the same as the 4th, 3rd and 2nd strings of the guitar. (We can explore some interesting implications of this fact at a later time. You may already know more about playing the banjo than you realize!)

The 1st string (d) is tuned an octave higher than the open 4th string D. You may want to use the 12th-fret harmonic on the 4th string as a reference. Finally, the 5th string (g) is tuned an octave above the open 3rd string G. Again, the 12th fret harmonic on the 3rd string can serve as a reference for tuning the 5th string. You can use this fretboard diagram showing the relative tuning between the strings to check your tuning:

The 4th string fretted at the 5th fret should match the 3rd string open. The 3rd string 4th fret should match the 2nd string open. The 2nd string 3rd fret should match the 1st string open. And the 1st string 5th fret should match the 5th string open.

First chords

You should concentrate your early studies on mastering chord basics. This will pay off in a big way as your studies advance. To make it easy to learn the first few chords, we will not attempt to do anything fancy with the right hand. Just strum strings 4-3-2-1 downward with your thumb or the back of one of the fingers of your picking hand to sound the chords, so you can concentrate on forming the chords with your fretting hand. (Since our good friend David is a lefty, I’m avoiding referring to the right or left hand – we wouldn’t want to confuse him, would we?)

The tuning we are using is called open G for a good and obvious reason – you don’t need to do a thing to form a G major chord. Strum the first four strings open a few times, and assuming you were successful in getting your banjo in tune, you should hear a nice harmonious G major chord.

Since G tuning is so widely used, it isn’t surprising that a great many folk and bluegrass songs played on the banjo are played in the key of G. Therefore, the chords you should master first are the I – IV – V7 chords in the key of G: G Major, C Major and D Dominant Seventh (G – C – D7). Here are the chord diagrams for these 3 fundamental chords in the open position:

I strongly recommend that you spend plenty of time simply strumming in regular rhythm while bouncing back and forth between these three chords, in various sequence, until you can make the changes smoothly, effortlessly, and reasonably quickly. After you have the chord changes down reasonably well, continue the exercise but avoid watching your fretting hand – you will eventually need to be able to hit the chords without looking so you may as well get in the habit from the outset.

When you have accomplished the above, you will be in good position to tackle some real picking and some closed-position, movable chords. Next time, I’ll show you how to read banjo tablature and we’ll get your picking hand involved. I look forward to it!