Tuning the banjo head

Picture from Music123

There are a lot of different methods to find the optimal tension. Here's the one I use:

1. Remove the strings and the bridge.
2. If you suspect the head is unevenly or too high tuned, loosen all the tuners until they barely hold the head in place.
3. Tighten all the tuners evenly, no more than a quarter of a rotation.
4. Tap the head lightly and listen. You should get a distinct, sustaining note.
5. Repeat #3 and 4 until you get the right tension (se below). If you have a brand new natural skin head, you have to do this slowly in stages over a couple of days.
6. Refit the string and the bridge.
7. Readjust the bridge.
8. You can fine-tune head tension with the strings in place, but be careful!

Head tension

• As you tighten the head, the resonant tone (the one you get when you tap it) will increase in pitch and become harder to hear properly. With the right tension you should get a barely audible note somewhere between a G and a G sharp with a distinct high pitched overtone somewhere between a D and an E flat.
• When the banjo is tuned up to pitch, the bridge should barely make a dent in the head. If the bridge pushes the head considerably down, the head is too loose.

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