How hard is the banjo?

[guitar344]

I'm interested in playing the banjo someday. I struggle playing fast. If you are good with guitar how hard is banjo. Do you learn chords or do fingerstyle.

[asweet22]

Before being able to answer that question, a few other questions need to be answered. What kind of banjo do you want to play? A four string, five string, six string? What style do you then want to play?

[guitar344]

Originally Posted by asweet22

Before being able to answer that question, a few other questions need to be answered. What kind of banjo do you want to play? A four string, five string, six string? What style do you then want to play?

Five string. With the short hi g. Bluegrass

[Steve DeRosa]

Very hard (and heavy, too ) - makes a great defensive weapon when the audience gets ugly...

FYI if you're going to be playing in odd keys they make special capos for that high-G string, that make tuning up in pitch unnecessary - so don't even think about it...

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by guitar344

I'm interested in playing the banjo someday. I struggle playing fast. If you are good with guitar how hard is banjo. Do you learn chords or do fingerstyle.

I would suggest that you have a look at old time frailing and clamhammer banjo style on a 5 string open back banjo, rather than bluegrass picking style on a 5 string resonator banjo.

The frailing technique is totally different from any right hand technique you will have done on guitar. It will feel really strange at first and usually takes a couple of weeks for folks to "get it". There are loads of beginner YouTube lessons to get you going.

The advantages of this right hand style (which is derived directly from the banjo's roots in North Africa) is that it is really easy to play tunes. And because of the use of drones within the tuning it's quite hard to hit a bum note!

Unlike bluegrass banjo which basically sticks with one open G tuning, old time banjo is retuned for different songs to make them easier to play.

This sounds far more complex than it is in reality. Get that right hand technique going and you'll be playing simple fiddle tunes in no time (Cripple Creek, Old Joe Clark, Shady Grove, June Apple, Buffalo Gals, Cluck Old Hen and the like). So if your aim is to be a solo porch player just entertaining yourself playing tunes then I would say go for a cheap 5 string open back old time banjo and learn to frail.

The banjo accompanying dulcimer in the Cadair Idris Sessions clips in my signature below are in this frailing playing style.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by guitar344

I'm interested in playing the banjo someday. I struggle playing fast. If you are good with guitar how hard is banjo. Do you learn chords or do fingerstyle.

I would suggest that you have a look at old time frailing and clamhammer banjo style on a 5 string open back banjo, rather than bluegrass picking style on a 5 string resonator banjo.

The frailing technique is totally different from any right hand technique you will have done on guitar. It will feel really strange at first and usually takes a couple of weeks for folks to "get it". There are loads of beginner YouTube lessons to get you going.

The advantages of this right hand style (which is derived directly from the banjo's roots in North Africa) is that it is really easy to play tunes. And because of the use of drones within the tuning it's quite hard to hit a bum note!

Unlike bluegrass banjo which basically sticks with one open G tuning, old time banjo is retuned for different songs to make them easier to play.

This sounds far more complex than it is in reality. Get that right hand technique going and you'll be playing fiddle tunes in no time. So if your aim is to be a solo porch player just entertaining yourself playing tunes then I would say go for a cheap 5 string open back old time banjo and learn to frail.

The banjo in the Cadair Idris Sessions clips in my signature below are in this playing style.

[guitar344]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

I would suggest that you have a look at old time frailing and clamhammer banjo style on a 5 string open back banjo, rather than bluegrass picking style on a 5 string resonator banjo.

The frailing technique is totally different from any right hand technique you will have done on guitar. It will feel really strange at first and usually takes a couple of weeks for folks to "get it". There are loads of beginner YouTube lessons to get you going.

The advantages of this right hand style (which is derived directly from the banjo's roots in North Africa) is that it is really easy to play tunes. And because of the use of drones within the tuning it's quite hard to hit a bum note!

Unlike bluegrass banjo which basically sticks with one open G tuning, old time banjo is retuned for different songs to make them easier to play.

This sounds far more complex than it is in reality. Get that right hand technique going and you'll be playing fiddle tunes in no time. So if your aim is to be a solo porch player just entertaining yourself playing tunes then I would say go for a cheap 5 string open back old time banjo and learn to frail.

The banjo in the Cadair Idris Sessions clips in my signature below are in this playing style.

That is some nice sound.

[Nymuso]

Originally Posted by guitar344

Five string. With the short hi g. Bluegrass

There is a forum called The Banjo Hangout, where you’ll definitely want to go.

[Silly Moustache]

How hard is the banjo ?

The Tech that was setting up my new IT system last year moved my chair back too hard and knocked my banjo off the wall, it fell right on his head.

He thought it was VERY hard!

[rick-slo]

I got interested in playing banjo originally from watching the "Beverly Hillbillies"
and listening to the Dillards .
Guitar is more involved than the banjo as far as the different things you can play but the banjo is mainly about as hard as you make with the stuff you play on it.

[Rumblefish]

If you know how to fingerpicking, basic five string is fairly straightforward. It’s an open cord. Like most things you can get really complicated and difficult but I found just picking it up and making some noises was pretty easy.

[Bluemonk]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

I would suggest that you have a look at old time frailing and clamhammer banjo style on a 5 string open back banjo, rather than bluegrass picking style on a 5 string resonator banjo.

The frailing technique is totally different from any right hand technique you will have done on guitar. It will feel really strange at first and usually takes a couple of weeks for folks to "get it". There are loads of beginner YouTube lessons to get you going.

The advantages of this right hand style (which is derived directly from the banjo's roots in North Africa) is that it is really easy to play tunes. And because of the use of drones within the tuning it's quite hard to hit a bum note!

Unlike bluegrass banjo which basically sticks with one open G tuning, old time banjo is retuned for different songs to make them easier to play.

This sounds far more complex than it is in reality. Get that right hand technique going and you'll be playing fiddle tunes in no time. So if your aim is to be a solo porch player just entertaining yourself playing tunes then I would say go for a cheap 5 string open back old time banjo and learn to frail.

The banjo in the Cadair Idris Sessions clips in my signature below are in this playing style.

Speaking as someone who loves frailing/clawhammer style banjo and used to play in that style (when I owned a banjo), I think this advice is a little like telling someone who wants to learn to play guitar to play ukulele instead. If the OP is interested in bluegrass banjo, IMO that is the direction he or she should take. Now, exploring old time style IN ADDITION TO bluegrass style, is not bad advice.

On the subject and slightly off topic at the same time, while I was proficient at clawhammer at one time in my life, current efforts to pick it up again are not succeeding. It ain't like riding a bicycle, at least in my case. I suppose if I bought a banjo and put in the time, that might change.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by Bluemonk

Speaking as someone who loves frailing/clawhammer style banjo and used to play in that style (when I owned a banjo), I think this advice is a little like telling someone who wants to learn to play guitar to play ukulele instead. If the OP is interested in bluegrass banjo, IMO that is the direction he or she should take. Now, exploring old time style IN ADDITION TO bluegrass style, is not bad advice.
.

Well the Op didn't specify any particular style, just an interest in the banjo. I can't think of any bluegrass resonator banjo players that I know who are not band focused - it's a band instrument and band style of playing and was so from its inception.

Whereas, as a solo instrument to play tunes or self accompany songs, well I know lots of open back banjo players who take the frailing/clawhammer direction.

EDIT: Ahh. I missed post 3.

[rick-slo]

Yes, I'm guessing next is "how hard is it to break banjo strings?".

[Bob Womack]

Rockwell hardness of the frame: 168.53 BHN or 86.13 HRB
Janka harness of Genuine Mahogany resonator: 830
Janka harness of Amazon Rosewood fingerboard: 2620

Bob