Any banjo players in the house?

[dudemeister]

Last year my student brass band went to a kind of get together for all of swedens highschool's orchestras and bands. For two evenings the bands play their songs, listen to other bands, drink beer and meet a lot of funny people. One of the evenings I found two guys from two different bands (probably never met each other before) playing really swinging and up beat neworleans jazz on tenor banjo. They knew loads of tunes and took turns soloing and singing. The energy and their joy of playing made this by far one of the coolest jamsessions I've ever seen. I'm hooked!

Since then I've wanted to buy a tenor banjo and start playing but listening a lot to the Flecktones has also made me thinking of getting a fivestring instead. What would you recommend?

Is it easy to learn how to play banjo if you already know how to play bass?

Are there any banjoplayers around who could give me any advice?

[Tschomotsche]

The only real thing that is similar between bass and banjo in that you play with your fingers. I had a banjo, but sold it for a 6 string.

[Aaron Saunders]

Originally Posted by Tschomotsche

The only real thing that is similar between bass and banjo in that you play with your fingers. I had a banjo, but sold it for a 6 string.

Yep. Incredibly different instruments.

I have seen several fretless banjos though!

[dudemeister]

Of course I know they're very different instruments, but are they easy to learn?

I've had MUCH easier to learn to play guitar than my non bassist friends have had, and guitar and bass are quite different instruments to...

[bassteban]

..then maybe banjo won't be as hard as it is for me. I got a cheap banjo years ago(5 string), & it's very awkward- completely un-basslike. It is kind of neat to just plunk on, almost like wind chimes. My kids love it, but I won't annoy anyone else with it. It sounds to me like you would be able to adapt.

[Eyescream]

Originally Posted by dudemeister

Of course I know they're very different instruments, but are they easy to learn?

I've had MUCH easier to learn to play guitar than my non bassist friends have had, and guitar and bass are quite different instruments to...

the hardest thing to learn is the different types of finger rolls. My dad just recently started playing, and looking in the books he's learning from there are a few different kinds of rolls that one may be required to use depending on the song and whatever, and I imagine that can get confusing. The tuning is different than what you expect, as well.

Also: There are a bunch of different kinds of banjos out. Standard 5 strings, there are 4 string and 6 string banjos out, as well as bass and tenor banjos.

It's a really cool instrument, though. It's got a neat sound and when it's played well it can be very expressive.