Banjo FAQ

Questions, Answered

Why is the fifth string short, and why is it tuned so high?

Because it is a drone, not a bass. On a 5-string in gDGBD the fifth string sounds a g above the other four open strings and starts partway up the neck, so it is almost never fretted — it just rings. That single design choice is why banjo harmony gets chosen partly for what sounds good against a fixed g, and why the picking hand has a constant pitch to lean on. The fretboard explorer shows it lighting up in exactly one place.

What actually is a roll?

A fixed right-hand sequence — which string the thumb, index, and middle finger each take, in what order, eight notes to the bar. The left hand supplies a chord shape and the roll picks through it. That is why the chord pages here name which strings each voicing puts under the picking hand: the shape and the roll are two halves of one decision.

Clawhammer or bluegrass — which should I learn?

They are two different right hands on the same instrument: clawhammer strikes downward with the back of a fingernail and the thumb catches the drone; bluegrass three-finger picking uses picks and rolls upward through the strings. Neither is a beginner version of the other. Most players start with whichever music they actually want to make, and plenty end up doing both.

The open strings make a G chord. Does that mean I only play in G?

No, but it explains why so much banjo music is in G, C, and D. The 5-string’s open strings spell G–B–D, so G is free and everything else is work — which is exactly what a capo and a fifth-string spike are for. The progression pages show every key’s chord family so you can see what a key costs before you commit to it.

What’s different about the tenor, plectrum, and Chicago four-strings?

All three are played with a flat pick and have no drone. The tenor is four strings in fifths (CGDA) — a genuinely different system, and the banjo of Irish trad and early jazz. The plectrum (CGBD) is a long-necked banjo whose top three strings are the 5-string’s own, with a low C added underneath. The Chicago-tuned four-string (DGBE) is pitch for pitch a guitar’s top four strings, which is why guitarists reach for it first.

Is any of this paid?

No. Every chart, drill, and tool on Banjo Warrior is free, with no ads and no account.