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This particular page was created 18/03/2004 and last updated 17/05/2005
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| | Various banjo types used in Irish music(This page is about which of the many members of the banjo family you should choose for Irish/Celtic music. If you want more specific tips about brands and models, you should take a look at the Buyer's guide instead.)All banjos can be used for Irish music. Irish banjo playing is mostly about playing either tunes or basic chords, and any banjo can do that. So if you already have an instrument you can safely use it.
Some banjos are definitely more common and more suitable for this music though, so if you're going to buy an instrument, you should read on.
Solo banjosMost people who want to play Irish banjo are inspired by solo banjoists like Barney Mckenna from The Dubliners. In that case you definitely should get yourself a four-stringed tenor banjo. There are a lot of different tenor banjo tunings, but you'll probably want to use the "Irish" tuning for Irish music. Five-string banjos mandolin-banjos and guitar-banjos are used from time to time, but for common Irish solo playing the tenor is definitely the king.
Harp style soloingHarp style solo playing is more a guitar than a banjo thing, but if that's what you want to do, you're better off with more strings and a closer tuning than a tenor banjo has to offer. The five-string banjo should work fine, but the style is perhaps most suitable for a guitar-banjo.
Guitar style soloingThe a guitar-banjo is of course the most obvious choice for guitar style solo playing, but the plectrum banjo and the tenor banjo can be very effective too. I'm a bit more in doubt about the five-string banjo. It's tempting to overdo the thumb string, turning it into something more like bluegrass than Celtic.
Dulcimer style soloingYou probably don't want to build you banjoist career on the dulcimer style. It's more something you use to get some variety from your usual playing style. So buying a banjo specially for dulcimer style playing may not be a good idea. Fortunately just about any banjo you may have should work well in as long as you're prepared to try some alternative tunings.
Rhythm banjosIf you're mainly going to play chords it's a different matter. It seems most Irish rhythm banjoists prefer to use five-string banjos. The tenor can be a bit to loud for backup playing if you're not careful, and it's also harder (but far from impossible!) to get good chord voicings and fingerpicking patterns on it.Both the six-stringed guitar-banjo and the four-stringed plectrum banjo are good accompaniment instruments too, but they aren't much used by Irish banjoists for various reasons. (Of course, if you want to really play Irish properly, you ought to get a good old-fashioned zither banjo for rhythm playing, but they're hard to find these days, and most players settle for modern banjos instead.)
Other banjosThe tiny banjolele and the big bass banjo are both specialist banjos rarely if ever used in Irish music - or anywhere else for that matter. It's a pity really, since they're both fun instruments that can be very effective when used properly.
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