BRbanjer - Posted - 03/06/2026:  15:24:22

I'm beginning to play more plectrum banjo after years of playing tenor in Chicago tuning. The more I do it, the more I like it!
However, I have found very little in the way of performance videos featuring a player who is playing rhythm in a band. It's mostly the flashy soloist stuff, which is great but not what interests me. Any suggestions?

Compass56 - Posted - 03/06/2026:  15:50:50

If want to see plectrum banjo in a band context, look for videos of Cynthia Sayer. She’s easily my favorite plectrum player, and she really shines in a band context.

BRbanjer - Posted - 03/06/2026:  17:01:20

Yes, she's the main player I find online who's consistently featured playing good solid rhythm in a band. She does that very well, too! I also like that she offers lots of video tips. She's a great all-around player!

mb4me - Posted - 03/06/2026:  17:10:48

Cynthia’s book with cd “you are in the band” could be a good practice tool for you

Compass56 - Posted - 03/06/2026:  17:11:44

quote:

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Originally posted by BRbanjer

Yes, she's the main player I find online who's consistently featured playing good solid rhythm in a band. She does that very well, too! I also like that she offers lots of video tips. She's a great all-around player!

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She has great improvisational skills, and like you said, she does play "good solid rhythm in a band." I would also recommend a double CD set called Cynthia: The Jazz Banjo of Cynthia Sayer, Vol. 1/More Jazz Banjo Vol. 2.  There is some really nice playing on those recordings.

Nopix - Posted - 03/06/2026:  19:30:12

Do a search on "Tuba Skinny."
Right up there with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

jdeluke137 - Posted - 03/06/2026:  19:50:44

quote:

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Originally posted by Nopix

Do a search on "Tuba Skinny."

Right up there with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

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I agree.  Tuba Skinny is outstanding.  The banjo player used to be a member here.  Not sure if that's still the case.

guitarbanjoman - Posted - 03/07/2026:  09:29:13

IMHO, the all-time greatest plectrum playing in a jazz band... Eddie Condon 1929

youtube.com/watch?v=j5kzjvQOGbE

What a shame that Condon's playing declined into mediocrity in the 1950's...

Will

Tim Jumper - Posted - 03/07/2026:  09:29:30

Another vote for Tuba Skinny. Their rhythm section includes various combinations of tenor banjo, guitar, and banjo-guitar, depending on who is available for the gig, I assume.

BRbanjer - Posted - 03/08/2026:  15:20:57

quote:

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Originally posted by guitarbanjoman

IMHO, the all-time greatest plectrum playing in a jazz band... Eddie Condon 1929



youtube.com/watch?v=j5kzjvQOGbE



What a shame that Condon's playing declined into mediocrity in the 1950's...



Will

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I'm also an Eddie Condon admirer. He never meant to be a soloist, but there are a few YouTube examples of him playing some really sharp but brief banjo breaks. It seems to me that when he switched over to plectrum guitar, he became a lot harder to hear in the overall band sound. On the one occasion (NC Jazz Festival, many years ago) I got to play guitar with Kenny Davern, he spoke very highly of Eddie. And Kenny was not generally one to issue spurious praise.

TB4 - Posted - 03/12/2026:  04:04:26

quote:

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Originally posted by BRbanjer

I'm beginning to play more plectrum banjo after years of playing tenor in Chicago tuning. The more I do it, the more I like it!

However, I have found very little in the way of performance videos featuring a player who is playing rhythm in a band. It's mostly the flashy soloist stuff, which is great but not what interests me. Any suggestions?

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I suggest you check out banjoists Bob Gillette and Howdy Quicksell, who played plectrum in the Bix' Band.    youtu.be/s-FlO6YFXx4?list=RDs-FlO6YFXx4

Edited by - TB4 on 03/12/2026 04:07:01

BRbanjer - Posted - 03/12/2026:  08:58:50

Good suggestions, thanks! I'd overlooked Bix's band, but those are two great players. I especially like Gillette's work.

tdennis - Posted - 03/13/2026:  20:09:59

The yearly Mummers Parade of Philadelphia offers a large variety of string/marching bands with lines of banjos strumming out the rhythm, mostly from plectrum & tenor banjos. (Videos are available on YouTube from many decades ago to the present).

Edited by - tdennis on 03/13/2026 20:14:04

sethb - Posted - 03/14/2026:  09:46:14

Take a look at Buddy Wachter’s video, “Learning Plectrum Banjo," available from Homespun.com. He discusses chords, chord fingerings, and also demos some right-hand strums as well.

If you’re going to play rhythm accompaniment, I suggest you also work on your chord inversions up the neck, if you're not already doing that. Sometimes a chord will sound/work better if you play it in the second or third position; it may also be better/easier from a fingering standpoint. 

The “riverboat” strum that Buddy discusses emphasizes the 4th string (the highest note in the chord), and  is a great one to have in your toolbox.  It’s a nice melodic strum that doesn’t involve always strumming across all four strings (a’ la Eddie Peabody).  So it takes less effort but is a clean strum that sounds very good, at least to my ear.  And it’s different that the usual “four downstrokes to the bar” strum, so you can have another strum to vary your playing with.

Good luck with it, we need more plectrum players!  SETH  

Edited by - sethb on 03/14/2026 10:00:52

BRbanjer - Posted - 03/14/2026:  16:56:53

Thanks for the suggestions, Seth. Much appreciated! I'll check out that video.
I agree - plectrum banjo should have more practitioners. That tuning was made for what I want to do with a banjo. I've been playing guitar for 60 years and first approached banjo by playing Chicago tuning on a tenor, especially since I was in a lot of reading situations back then. I was reluctant to take on another tuning. But once I took the plunge and heard those chords ringing out, I was hooked!