Banjo: For Mandolinists

Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2004 20:23:44 EST

Greetings,

Im 14 years old and I play Mandolin and Bass but I want to try something that sounds like a banjo but I dont won't to use finger-picks.

There are other traditional approaches to the banjo that do not require fingerpicks: such as frailing and clawhammer styles...this of course is an entirely different technique from flatpicking...and there would be a learning curve transitioning from the mandolin to this style...the most seamless transition from mandolin to banjo woudl be to the Tenor Banjo...which has been played in Irish settings effectively...if you want to play bluegrass, there's only one accepted approach: playing with fingers and fingerpicks...

I've seen that there are 4 string banjos and 5 string banjos that you use with a flat-pick and that sounds nice. I recently learned about the strumstick and im very interested in it. I know they have 3 stringed ones and ones with 4 strings and a chromatic scale. I also heard that it sounds like a banjo. I also want to play
bluegrass. I like to be different and I think that is the way, please mail me back and tail
me if the banjo or strumstick is good for me?

Your easiest instrument, after playing mandolin, would be the Tenor 4-string banjo...they are tuned in fifths just like a mandolin only a fourth down: C G D A...you'll still have the banjo sound, only you'll not have to relearn the fingerboard since the Tenor is relative to the mandola.

Sorry, I do not know much of the strmstick..

Hope this helps, Mickey