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This particular page was created 23/11/2004 and last updated 17/05/2005
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| | This page is about the tenor banjo in standard and other high-pitched tunings. The Irish tuned tenor banjo is a slightly different matter, so I have given it a page on its own.
Solo playingThe standard tuned tenor banjo was specially designed for playing fiddle style with a pick. The fifths tuning encourages single note playing, and the tone of the tenor is loud and clear. The only problem is that the tuning makes some of the keys commonly used in Irish music rather awkward to play. You can comepnsate for that by using DGDA instead - or with the second fret capo trick, but it seems most high-pitched Irish tenor banjoists don't bother.Dulcimer style seems to work less well with a standard tuned tenor than with other banjos. The high string tension gives lots of extra power, perhaps too much for drone playing. Don't rule it out completely though. Harp style and guitar style are also a bit tricky to get right, but again: don't rule the alternatives out completely.
The second fret capo trickA capo on the seond fret gives you the tuning DAEB which is extremely suitable for most fiddle tunes, at least from a pure technical point of view. Effectively this is the same as the Irish tenor 7th fret capo trick, but with more power and ring to the tone.
The seventh fret capo trickWith a capo on the seventh fret you end up with the standard fiddle/mandolin tuning GDAE, effectively transforming your tenor into a banjolele.
AccompanimentBe careful! Be very careful!!!The standard tuned tenor banjo is by far the most powerful banjo and can easily kill off a poor innocent soloist. Soft strumming can be effective, but unless the tenor is the only chord instrument at hand, plucking a few background notes here and there is usually a much better aproach.
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