Kookaburra - Posted - 01/14/2021:  17:02:23

Hi,
In the book for banjo O Brother Where Art Though it has the music for Down To River To Pray. I can’t find the subject tuning and wonder how to get into it. It says Key of E and that is about it.

If someone could suggest the best way to get into this tuning I would be grateful.
Cheers
Kookaburra

deestexas - Posted - 01/14/2021:  17:48:39

I'd capo up four frets and use key of C chords.

banjered - Posted - 01/14/2021:  18:47:34

From regular G tuning just lower the strings down 3 half steps to open E – eBEG#B. Depending upon your banjo/set-up, you may need heavier strings. However, since that is a song, does the key of E match your voice? You might type "singing with the banjo" in the "Q" search engine to the left of this page. banjered

Old Hickory - Posted - 01/14/2021:  21:30:29

Capo 2 and play as if in D. Capo 5th string at 9.

mmuussiiccaall - Posted - 01/14/2021:  21:39:52

quote:

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Originally posted by deestexas

I'd capo up four frets and use key of C chords.

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This is the best answer for this song if you want to play the melody but if you just want to play backup you can take your pick.

Ks_5-picker - Posted - 01/15/2021:  05:42:31

Everyone on here has posted a viable way to get E. You can also play an E chord pattern in G tuning but I don’t find that very satisfying to the ear.
I have an old banjo,I mean a 90 year old Slingerland Maybell with five string neck added that is dedicated to the key of E. It uses the Hartford gauge strings 12,14,20w 24w 11. It’s a lot of fun and a good excuse to own another banjo.

Ira Gitlin - Posted - 01/15/2021:  07:24:35

The tuning mentioned in the title to this thread is basically the same as standard D tuning (where the long strings are DF#AD, low to high), but capo'd up two frets. In the bluegrass world (my frame of reference) the 5th string would normally be tuned to the 3rd or 5th of the chord (F# or A for D; G# or B for E), but there's no reason you couldn't tune it to the root, as your original post suggests.

Kookaburra - Posted - 01/15/2021:  23:10:30

Thank you all, most helpful and illuminating. Proving once again that there is more than one way to skin a cat. To make banjo strings?!



Cheers

Kookaburra

Edited by - Kookaburra on 01/15/2021 23:14:03