Newcomers to 5-string banjos may be confused as to why some models feature resonators while others do not. Resonators increase volume and project the sound – it is ideal for louder music genres such as bluegrass.
Open back banjos tend to be less forceful instruments, making them suitable for supporting roles such as claw hammer playing or old time styles that do not require competing with other instruments for volume.
Basics
Learning a new instrument can be daunting, with its unfamiliar terminology and parts. That’s why beginner banjo players often struggle to get started! Keep in mind that if your banjo sounds off-key it could be due to tuning issues rather than poor playing technique.
One of the first decisions a banjo player faces is which type of banjo to purchase. There are various options available, such as open-back banjos and resonator banjos; your selection largely depends on your genre of music as well as whether or not you wish to accompany other instruments in a band setting.
Bluegrass banjo players often favor resonator banjos as these instruments lend themselves well to their musical genre. Clawhammer players may feel less inclined towards using one due to the need for quieter solo performances requiring open-back models instead.
Melodies
Once upon a time, many non-banjoists associated the banjo with bluegrass music. Films like Bonnie and Clyde and Deliverance featured it heavily; television shows such as Hee Haw also frequently utilized it. Today however, five-string resonator banjos are experiencing something of a revival, lending its distinct plucky sound to rock, folk and country genres alike.
Resonator banjo players can create melodies by sweeping their thumb across the strings with an upward motion, using finger tips or picks as needed, but be careful to not pick too hard as this may create harsh sounds.
Or you could use fifth string capos to shorten and alter its pitch without altering its overall tone of your banjo, especially when playing melodies that require fingered playing on its fifth string. There are various kinds of capos available – even ones built directly into instruments!
Chords
Resonator Banjos produce a more subdued sound than their open back counterparts, making them suitable for rhythm playing or clawhammer styles of music where volume considerations don’t factor into playback.
Like its 5-string counterpart, a resonator banjo can be used to play chords and melodies. Start by learning simple songs before practicing playing chord progressions until they come out without errors.
Once you can play basic chords, try adding hammer-ons and pull-offs to your strumming pattern for added flavour in your melodies. This will add extra dimension.
The fifth string can also be played as a drone string on 4-string and tenor banjos to add bass notes into chords and creates depth to old time and bluegrass music styles, where banjos may play alongside fiddles without competing for volume. This technique is especially helpful in these genres where volume control may not be required from them all the time.
Scales
For bluegrass music, 5-string resonator banjos are the instrument of choice. Additionally, these instruments can also be found used for fingerstyle, ragtime, country and folk styles of playing; and some players even employ Irish Tenor Tuning which lowers an octave below standard tuning banjo.
Bluegrass music’s most prevalent styles employing the five-string resonator banjo are Scruggs style (after Earl Scruggs), melodic Keith style (formerly Keith style) and single string picking – in these playing styles your right hand picks the strings with arpeggiated eighth notes called rolls – your left hand then follows this pattern on every string to pick them.
To sharpen your finger placement skills, practice basic roll patterns. As soon as these become second nature to you, explore other scale patterns on the fretboard. Exploring different scale patterns not only teaches where various sounds reside on the neck but can also create more musical soundscapes.