Beginning banjo players may find it daunting to choose between resonators or open back instruments; ultimately this decision depends on which style of music resonates most strongly with them.
Many bluegrass musicians utilize resonator banjos to stand out in a band and can help cut through during solo sections of songs. Resonators banjos can also be louder, helping their instrument stand out more strongly against other instruments in a band.
1. Count on Me
Count on Me is an inspiring song with an uplifting message to bring hope and positivity. The track features country elements including banjo and vocals for an added country flair. Perfect for crowds or special events.
Resonator banjos feature a metal ring attached to their back that amplifies and projects sound, making it louder than traditional open-back banjos and popular among live performers and recording engineers alike.
Resonator banjos, also referred to as parlor banjos, are an ideal choice for beginners looking to learn the banjo without spending a large sum of money. Tuned to an open G chord and designed for easy playing, these instruments require regular practice to ensure string tension is balanced as well as clean and lubricated conditions in which it should operate.
2. The Devil Made Me Do It
Five-string resonator banjos are the standard instrument used in bluegrass music, being preferred by legends such as Earl Scruggs and Flatt & Scruggs. Furthermore, this instrument plays an integral part in other styles including melodic (Keith style) and three-finger single string work (Reno style).
The Devil Made Me Do It explores moral responsibility and external influences on individuals. In particular, its narrative follows an individual being seduced by an attractive woman and asking for guidance to resist her charms.
The song’s narrator employs the phrase, “the devil made me do it”, to express his moral dilemma – an allusion to an often-used excuse for immoral actions: human nature has an inclination to blame external sources or people for our wrongdoings; Paris implores his listeners to accept responsibility for their own actions rather than using external factors as an excuse for wrongdoings.
3. The Last Goodbye
Gold Tone offers beautiful banjos for the discriminating buyer, but also has a line tailored specifically towards beginner players. This model belongs to this latter series and makes an ideal first banjo purchase from an American-made resonator-style banjo manufacturer.
Resonator banjos feature a metal ring that amplifies and projects the sound of the banjo, making it much louder than traditional open-back banjos. Due to this increased volume, resonator models have quickly become the choice of bluegrass and country musicians who perform for large audiences.
Resonator banjos endured in folk-rock bands such as Poco and the Eagles for some time before disappearing completely from most people’s radar. Thanks to electronic music producers however, this instrument has made a comeback as an essential instrument in electronic productions.
4. The Love of My Life
Arthur Smith first recorded The Love of My Life in 1954 and made it famous with its appearance in Deliverance with Burt Reynolds and Ned Beatty in 1965. This fingerpicking banjo song can also be played using plectrum.
Folk musicians such as Pete Seeger continued to use five-string banjos; however, as Rock & Roll became popularized it became less common; gradually more and more folk instruments fell out of use and began gathering dust.
Bluegrass banjo players can get by with inexpensive banjos that feature a solid metal pot with radiating points that serve as fastening points for the resonator flange (technically called “resonator flange,” though most manufacturers refer to it as the tone ring). Or you could purchase a Deering Goodtime Parlor banjo and remove its resonator; I do this when traveling.