Banjo For Dummies. Bill Evans
Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу Banjo For Dummies - Bill Evans страница 11

Название: Banjo For Dummies

Автор: Bill Evans

Издательство: John Wiley & Sons Limited

Жанр: Музыка, балет

Серия:

isbn: 9781119731405

isbn:

СКАЧАТЬ is also the highest in sound (or pitch). The 5th string on a banjo lies within easy reach of the right-hand thumb, which you use to play this string in all kinds of banjo music. Having the highest-pitched string next to the string with the lowest pitch is unusual in comparison to how pitches are arranged on the strings of a guitar (as you can see in Figure 1-1), but this is one of the things that makes the banjo sound so great! This characteristic of the banjo is also one part of the instrument's ancient African ancestry (for more on this, see Chapter 11).

      Illustration by Wiley, Composition Services Graphics

      FIGURE 1-1: Comparing strings and pitches on a guitar (left) versus a five-string banjo (right).

      Tenor and plectrum banjos: Look for another book

      Tenor and plectrum banjos are examples of this phenomenon. These four-stringed instruments are commonly used in traditional jazz, Dixieland, and Irish music. They don't have the short 5th string and are usually played with a flatpick instead of with the fingers. Although these banjos make the same kinds of sounds and look a lot like the five-string banjo, tenor and plectrum banjos use other tunings and playing techniques and are viewed as different instruments by banjo fans.

Don't confuse these tenor and plectrum banjos with the five-string variety. The bodies of these instruments are the same, but the necks reveal the difference (see Figure 1-2). You can't play five-string banjo music on a four-string tenor or plectrum banjo — these instruments aren't interchangeable! You need a five-string banjo to play five-string banjo music.

Photos depict comparing a five-string (a) and a tenor (b) banjo.

      Photographs courtesy of Elderly Instruments

      FIGURE 1-2: Comparing a five-string (a) and a tenor (b) banjo.

      BANJOS OF ALL SORTS

      In the early decades of the 20th century, America was mad for anything that sounded remotely like a banjo. (Amazing, isn't it? Just like it is today!) Instrument makers took guitar and mandolin necks and attached them to banjo bodies, creating new kinds of instruments of all sizes that had that great banjo sound but could be played using guitar and mandolin techniques.

      Banjos with mandolin necks usually have eight strings and are called mandolin banjos or mando-banjos. These instruments are smaller than most five-string banjos. Banjos with guitar necks have six strings and are called guitar banjos. These instruments are perfect for guitar players who want that banjo sound (and maybe are too lazy to actually learn to play the banjo — but you didn't hear that from me!). Guitar banjos have six strings instead of five and can be a bit larger than most five-string banjos.

      

Five-string banjos come in three different basic styles: open-back, resonator, and electric. Musicians select the kind of banjo they play based on their musical style and their personal tastes. Chapter 13 explains the differences between these kinds of banjos, along with tips for making an informed purchase.

Photos depict comparing open-back and resonator five-string banjos.

      Photographs courtesy of Elderly Instruments

      FIGURE 1-3: Comparing open-back (a and b) and resonator (c and d) five-string banjos

Photo depicts the parts of a banjo.

      Photograph courtesy of Gruhn Guitars

      FIGURE 1-4: The parts of a banjo.

      Looking at the neck

      The neck is one of the two main sections of the banjo (the pot being the other; see the section “Checking out the pot”). The neck is the long piece of wood that supports the strings and tuners. Necks are usually made of maple, mahogany, or walnut.

      To get a better feel for the banjo, take a look at the parts of the banjo neck:

       Frets: The thin, metal bars on the banjo neck that are positioned at precise intervals to give you the various pitches needed when fretting a string. (Fretting is what you do when you move a left-hand finger into position behind a fret to change the pitch of a string.) In the world of fretting, you use the term up the neck to refer to moving the left hand toward the pot and down the neck when you talk about moving the left hand toward the nut and peghead.

       Fingerboard: A thin, flat, wooden strip glued to the neck that holds the frets and is the surface upon which the left hand produces notes and chords.

       Peghead: Also called the headstock, the peghead СКАЧАТЬ