rkdjones - Posted - 02/20/2026:  09:03:53

I am struggling with how to tune my banjo.
I just started going to OT jam sessions, where I am mostly just playing chords, but I want to start improvising some which means working on my scales. I have a few memorized melodic pieces that I play at home with a computer backup. I haven't decided how to best learn new melodic pieces: I can use the immense library of tabs, or work out my own arrangements based on listening to the melody, standard notation, or mandolin arrangements I find online.

I think my go-to tuning will either be gDGBD or gDGBE. I can see the argument for open G, and the argument for DGBE, which gives me an extra note in the range in the first position. Has anyone here really explored both and can tell me what they've concluded.

banjo bill-e - Posted - 02/20/2026:  11:26:52

gDGBE aka "Old G". Well, you "gain" an extra note in Old G, but you also lose that open D on first string, which comes in very handy sometimes. It has a brighter sound and works great on some tunes, less well on others. If going into the OT world you may as well get comfortable with a variety of tunings, and that is part of the charm, so don't try to stick to just one.

Edited by - banjo bill-e on 02/20/2026 11:27:29

carlb - Posted - 02/20/2026:  13:01:28

quote:

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Originally posted by banjo bill-e

gDGBE aka "Old G".

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I disagree. Old G is gDGde. You can find chords for that thing in my chord charts.

banjo bill-e - Posted - 02/20/2026:  14:06:44

^^ correcto! This thread title even gets the names wrong (dDBGE instead of gDBGE) so we are way in the weeds here! Sorry, Robert, and yeah just start with standard G tuning--gDGBD-- and then go discover all the cool variations.

rkdjones - Posted - 02/20/2026:  14:22:13

I asked about gDGBE, not dDGBE. That was not a mistake.

rkdjones - Posted - 02/20/2026:  14:31:15

I will ask my question again and try to get this thread back on topic.

Has anyone here really explored both gDGBe and gDGBd and can tell me what they've concluded. It sounds like banjo bill-e has played tunes in gDGBe and found it useful on some tunes, not so on others. Can you elaborate?

Rusty - Posted - 02/20/2026:  16:06:28

Explore the standard OT keys, you will like it.

rkdjones - Posted - 02/21/2026:  09:24:45

I've played baritone ukulele in both of these tunings: DGBE and DBGD. Chord shapes seem equally easy or difficult. But melodic clawhammer relies on different techniques than an instrument played with a plectrum or fingerpicked. The second note in a pair of eighth notes is sounded by the thumb on a lower string, or with a pull-off or hammer-on. It is a great sound but not as versatile as a melodic instrument as something like the IT banjo or mandolin.

I spent a lot of time memorizing and forgetting clawhammer tabs. It does not seem to be a path that leads to much progress for me. So I am taking a fresh approach to the instrument, using it in jam sessions as backup, trying to figure out how to improvise breaks. And I would still like to learn melodic pieces to play in my parlor with backup track. It just isn't practical to keep retuning my banjo every time there is a change in key at a jam session.

I haven't gotten much of a reply to my question, so maybe I'll let this one drop and move on to another question in another thread.

Robert

Rusty - Posted - 02/21/2026:  12:58:09

Tune to the key they are playing in at the OT jam. It’s that simple, I learned and play in the standard OT keys. It’s that simple, I think the reason no one has given a solution is because it’s not how OT works.
Best of luck on your OT banjo journey.