Hi all
Hope you are well. Looking gor some advice on what my issue could be please.
When playing my 3rd string sounds out when going up 1 fret.
I'm practicing cripple creek and there is a slide from 2nd to 3rd fret if I follow this it sounds flat but if I slide 2nd to 4th fret it's more in tune with the video I'm following. It's only happening on the 3rd string though the others seem OK. Any ideas what this could be?
Thanks in advance
Simon
If you are a new player, I am going with a technique issue rather than the banjo itself. Just fret the offending fret and string without sliding and check it against the tuner to see what it shows there. If it notes true, your sliding technique is the issue. Be sure you hold the string down all the way through until the note rings as true as it is going to when doing a slide. But that being said, a slide will sound a little different just because it's a slide. Not necessarily a bad thing.
Bobby
Edited by - BobbyE on 12/04/2024 06:52:36
Thanks Bobby. New to Banjo but been playing guitar for 30 years. It's definitely something around the note at the fret. Even if I play the notes individually it doesn't sound quite right.
You may just need to check your bridge placement. If the (moveable) bridge is not precisely placed it doesn't take much deviation for intonation to be off. To check bridge placement, any of the four normal-length strings should produce exactly the same note when playing a harmonic at the 12th fret as when fingering the note with the left hand at the 12th fret. Chromatic electronic tuners help.
In the video you're following are they bending the string at all?
For that roll in cripple creek you either want to slide all the way to the 4th fret or slide to the 3rd fret and bend it a half note to match the B note that comes next. If you slide just to the 3rd fret and don't bend it it'll play a Bb which won't sound quite right with the open 2nd string (B).
What Louie said!
It is acceptable to play a 2-4 slide or a 2-3 slide bend, your choice.
Here is a video:
youtube.com/watch?v=7NXGRIuR660
Edited by - Pick-A-Lick on 12/04/2024 10:09:27
Thanks all for the replies so far.
I'm using the video below. In the video and tab it shows the slide at the 2nd to 3rd fret. It's this that is the issue. They note on my banjo on the 3rd fret does not match the note in the video at the 3rd fret
It's at 1min 22sec in this video
youtu.be/JlPf6U-XH9Q?si=Tt_QXSfHS7ZJiaEJ
I watched the video and I see where the confusion is coming from! It's odd because he's not bending and yet you don't hear any dissonance. My guess is that he's lifting up on the string after the slide, effectively muting it, so you're only hearing the open b string. It could be a result of the recording as well.
As mentioned before I would slide to the 4th, or better yet slide to 3 and then bend it up to a b note.
This video gives a good example of that technique:
youtube.com/watch?v=LhbI3pnq1gQ
Here’s another video that explains it even better. The goal is to bend the string up but only to the point that it is still a bit flat. That gives it a Bluesy sound for which the Bluegrass banjo style of play is famous.
youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&...OA&t=421s
Edited by - Pick-A-Lick on 12/04/2024 12:56:12
You might want to
1. Change the strings, if they are a bit worn.
2. Check the 12th fret intonation and adjust the bridge.
3. If those things don’t help, look at the nut. Does the 3rd string sit higher on the nut than other strings? If so, fretting near the nut will produce a greater change in string tension. Get a nut file or small triangular file and file the nut (just a bit at a time obviously), sloping the slot down slightly toward the headstock.
