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| Best Beginner Banjo - Beginner Questions - Banjo - Banjo - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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mattbrown521 Approved
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Hi everyone - nice to meet you. I am a long-time musician (piano, saxophone / woodwinds, guitar, bass) who has been looking to expand my musical horizons. I have been interested in banjo for a while now, primarily because of Bela Fleck (I love jazz). I recently had a birthday, and received an antique Paramount Style A tenor banjo (at least I'm pretty sure it's a tenor - four strings, 19 frets). It's in really good shape considering that it dates back to the early 1900s, the only permanent damage is a "minor" crack in the headstock, other than that it just needs some general TLC. Here's a picture that matches what I have: http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/aprilskies/264/banjo/paraAhd.jpg But, another family member didn't realize that I was getting the antique banjo, and bought me a Rogue B-30 courtesy of musician's friend. From what I've read, it may have some tuning issues, but otherwise is a great banjo for a beginner. Now this other family member thinks that they should send back the B-30 because, why would I need two banjos (especially since I'm not really a banjo player yet). My dilema is, should I keep just the antique tenor banjo, or tell my family member that I also want to keep the B-30. With the tenor, I will likely re-string it for "Chicago" style tuning (thanks to other posts on this board, I know how to do this) and use a flat pick similar to with my guitar. This would play off of my guitar experience, and avoid having to re-learn a new tuning method. With the rogue, I would probably want to learn the more traditional banjo style, tuning it to gDGBd and using finger picks (which would also strengthen my ability to finger pick the guitar, which is lacking). But this would be an uphill battle, since I have zero experience with a traditional banjo. Thoughts? Comments? Am I overthinking this?
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Will Approved 
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I took the tenor banjo (tuned DGBE) route myself. Working 2 jobs leaves me very limited time to learn new tunings and instruments, so learning the tenor banjo was a good choice for me after learning to play guitar. I learned to play my tenor banjo well enough to play it with The Earth Tones, at the suggestion of our fiddle player. I'm still no good at fingerpicking (I only use my thumb and a Herco thumb-flatpick). Keep both of your banjos. Have the 5-string handy for eventually learning a new tuning and style.
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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| ezFolk Forums > Banjo > Beginner Questions - Banjo > Best Beginner Banjo | |
