HELP! I am a band teacher. I picked up cello cuz my kid played cello. Then I learned ukulele for fun. Now I teach at a school where I inherited a "band" with traditional band instruments... and two cellos. I like to play with the kids so they know what they are aiming for. I do not want to drag a cello with me. Could I get a 4-string banjo and tune it to C, G, D, A? If so, what would I look for?
Suggestions?
The standard, 19 fret tenor banjo is generally always tuned to the standard of C G D A and has been since its inception. There are some players who use other tunings, but CGDA is the standard for that instrument. (I would have thought you already knew that given your background.) By the way, if you take a standard five-string banjo with 22 frets and try to tune it up to CGGA, you'll break the A string every time. The A string is a part of the tenor banjo set of strings for the 19 fret neck with its shorter scale length.
Which octave do you want to play in? There are cello banjos set in the same octave as the cello, and there’s the standard tenor banjo which is tuned up an octave.
By all means you can get a tenor banjo and tune it to CGDA. That is the most common tuning for a tenor banjo. It is sometimes called jazz tuning as opposed to Irish tuning which is lower.
Tenor banjos come in two varieties, the 17 fret, and the 19 fret. Either one will work. Old tenor banjos are usually easy enough to find but many of them need a little work to make them playable. Be sure about what you are getting into. Also, don't assume that a four string banjo is a tenor banjo. Plectrum banjos have four strings but they have long necks like a five string banjo and can't be tuned the way you want to tune. Omeboy mentioned the reason why.
