Long youtube video about dissonance.
youtube.com/watch?v=tCsl6ZcY9ag&t=87s

I started a similar topic a while back---it flopped--The back ground sound on the majority of screen casts uses dissonance --when trying to evoke confusion or chaos--
dissonance is the opposite of harmony--harmony is used for happy scenes
songwriting does not stick to this so much but does sometimes
my opinion --But I ask no agreement

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Originally posted by rkdjones

... I now ask myself how much dissonance is the right touch and how much just sounds bad.

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I think this is just up to the listener. A lot of dissonance used to bother me (I didn't get modern jazz at all), but my appreciation of it has expanded over time. It adds excitement, motion, and surprise. Otherwise music would be quite boring. I also enjoy a straight melody played well, with good tone and timing. 

But not all dissonance is the same. It needs to occur in the right place, and is usually resolved at the end of a musical phrase. That is something you learn how to do over time, and is probably key to what you are talking about here.

Love this topic!

I come from a chorale background and have seen lots of ways to use dissonance. Some of my favorite pieces were nearly entirely ‘dissonant’ in the traditional sense. In that context, the dissonance adds color and isn’t as much about resolution.

For banjo, certain things like bending can verge on micro-tonal, not necessarily landing perfectly on any one note, which adds a lot of character to the music.

One thing that I always liked on banjo was what you described, the lovely dissonance between the fifth string and the first string when rolling over D or Bm. But, I think the more one uses dissonance, the more masterful their composition must be in order to stay musical and have a sense of direction.

Ultimately, I think the appropriate amount of dissonance is entirely dependent on context. A better musician than I could probably write a brilliant banjo piece that was almost entirely dissonant. And another could play a very consonant piece so brilliantly that I don’t really miss the dissonance.

Wes Corbett has a song from his Drift album called Shapeshifter. There is a part during the bridge where it almost feels like everything is falling apart, then it all comes back together in a really cool way. One of my favorites.

Correct me if I’m wrong and I am most likely. Perhaps trying to play everything out of G is expecting too much (?).
Being an oldtime player, I take the time to retune and avoid such (by design) pitfalls.
If I’m speaking out of turn and/or incorrect please ignore me as I’m too lazy to read the entire post or to educate myself.

Thelonious Monk used to say: ‘wrong is right’ I’m with him ;-)

The two most common 5-strings styles--Scruggs and and clawhammer--don't have a lot of playing dissonant notes at the same time. Generally you're not playing the 5th string G at the same time that you're playing D, F#, A. They're not strumming styles.

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Originally posted by earlstanleycrowe

The two most common 5-strings styles--Scruggs and and clawhammer--don't have a lot of playing dissonant notes at the same time. Generally you're not playing the 5th string G at the same time that you're playing D, F#, A. They're not strumming styles.

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I think the OP is referring to dissonance within the sound of the instrument. As in overtones not matching the fundamental note. 

Exactly on both counts.

Banjo gotta resonate.

quote:

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Originally posted by rkdjones

I have always found it challenging to get music out of a 5-string banjo. Put aside keeping it in tune, and the strange overtones associated with the parts, there is something fundamentally dissonant about the banjo. Some people love that, and to some it is like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Playing in open G tuning, and play a D chord. The high G of the fifth string is dissonant by any definition. That used to confuse me and bother my sense of propriety, not to mention rattle my auditory senses. And I was concerned about playing with others who would find my dissonance to be out of place. But now I see I can embrace the dissonance. I now ask myself how much dissonance is the right touch and how much just sounds bad.

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Sense of propriety, is often what confuses people. What might have read somewhere, some rules taught, or did some math to want to make "right". The term "dissonance" itself also might play misleading role... perhaps false dichotomy.

Playing in open G tuning, and play a D chord. The high G of the fifth string is dissonant by any definition. 

Depends on how defining things, one definition of high g note over a D chord, as sus4 chord; hardly describes as what comes to mind as clashing inharmonious dissonance.

Perhaps another terminology, description or concept is more tension and release; or unstable unresolved suspension and then lead to sense of resolve; with it a sense of movement, push/pull. Rather than binary either/or... comes in degrees of tension/resolve, stable/unstable; can depend on context, placement of notes, horizontal vs vertical, spacing in octave, weak/strong in meter... can play a role. 

Music is full of this. One aspect, melody itself are not just chord tones... nor require changing chords for each note; rather combine with accompanying chord tones, form non-triad sum at any given moment. Can apply to within chord structures as well.

Should note that the D chord key of G is the function of  V chord, and that in itself has feel of unresolved; esp as dom V7.  The g note is part of extension of V7 becomes a 11 chord.

Also to note, typically using the fifth string on banjo is not used same just any other string (melodic or chords); but along idea of drone note, or pedal point; in how all the harmony/chords relate and revolve around it that single tone. Considered an inherent feature, not a bug of 5 string banjo music; more to be embraced rather than need work around/avoid.