hello,
a good friend says she wants to play country music on her 4 string.
I'd like to help her but I am from the 5 string world;
- could please anyone suggest a teaching book preferably with CD
(sth like "Janet Davis bluegrass melodic Style" but for the 4 string)
to help her take a good start playing her banjo ?
I know this post may not be easy to reply to since, for me, country means 5 string, jazz or celtic means 4 strings but I might/must be wrong
extra question : detailled resource where I / she could learn prefered 4 string tuning(s) and chords
thank you in advance for your help
Francois
A tenor banjo can be tuned the same as a mandolin (GDAE) and so anything mandolin related can be used. "Country" is not the term, bluegrass is the term. But perhaps she also means anything from the American old time folk tradition as well.
Like what Graham said . A std tenor is tuned in 5th just like a mandolin. Any tune. Any tune at all can be played on her banjo just as it is. For example: youtube.com/watch?v=UGZl5AentSw&t=2s She plays a traditional fiddle tune at the end. Cheers!
Edited by - tonehead on 01/18/2022 05:38:31
You can find mirek patek istructional material, three is plenty on YouTube, he is also here in the hangout
There isn't really any specific instruction book for country music for tenor - is she an absolute beginner and what tuning is she using? Jack Ray has some good beginner videos on playing chords in CGDA: youtube.com/watch?v=BGOt-l_b_As&t=6s That might be helpful if she wants to use the tenor for back-up for singing. He also does zoom lessons and could probably show her how to play backup chords and do some leadbreaks. If she wants to play fiddle tunes she probably would be best using mandolin books for GDAE tuning for the common fiddle keys of A and D.
Edited by - hobogal on 01/18/2022 11:51:40
Tuning a tenor GDAE is only convenient for violin or mandolin players because same notes for same fingerings, but you can play the same tab on a CGDA tenor, off course it will sound in a different key. I just say that because I find CGDA tuning sounds much better, and allows chords.
thank you for your replies guys; lots of interesting things to check and look for :D
best
Francois
I am slowly coming to grips with the tenor (Irish tuning) and once I learned the basics (down up picking and the basic scale) I found the below to have quite a diversity of tunes, some of which may be what your friend is looking for
tenor-banjo-tabs.com/
Edited by - JSB88 on 01/23/2022 02:25:08
