“The Black History of the Banjo”
I heard a fascinating account of the history of the banjo, from its African origins. If you haven’t heard it I highly recommend it. https://afropop.org/audio-programs/the-black-history-of-the-banjoSee More
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“The Black History of the Banjo”
I heard a fascinating account of the history of the banjo, from its African origins. If you haven’t heard it I highly recommend it. …Continue
Started Oct 18, 2021
Did “A” tuning actually sound like “C”?
7 Replies
Hello,I’m brand new to classic banjo, and I understand a typical American tuning in the late 19c was eAEG#B, while in England banjo was gCGBD (which was ultimately adapted in America). That said, I…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Jason Cornwell Jul 14, 2021.
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"Hi Dante,
My name is Jason and I’m 53 years old! I too am learning how to play classic banjo, although I’ve never played banjo before (I do play classical guitar). I’m learning on a Deering Goodtime Americana which I…"
"Thanks again! The explanation of the rising pitch relative to notation goes a long way. I’ve been learning in C so far but I will plan to learn how to read in A at some point. I really appreciate all the help!"
"Sort of what Jody wrote, just do what all the banjoists did in the US before 1900, read in A and ignore the actual pitch. It is simple. If you lean to read in A, the relative pitch of the banjo can be anything. Think of it as…"
"Jason: If you want to play zither-banjo then I think you are better off with C tuning because as far as I know all the zither-banjo published notation is in C notation. I don't think zither-banjo will sound very good tuned low either. However…"
"Thanks Joel for your very thorough explanation!
It seems to me that I have three options when it comes to exploring the “A” repertoire today: 1) learn to transpose at sight, 2) have a dedicated banjo in A (or retune) and learn to read…"
"Yeah, it is actually an unfortunate series of events which I believe largely contributed to the decline in popularity of the regular 5 string banjo.
By the time that the change to C notation started being debated (about 1900) fretted instruments in…"
"Thanks very much! "
"The short answer is "Yes there was such a time". Banjo players were accustomed to reading A notation. As the actual pitch rose over the decades, they continued to read the notation they were used to. And to use the fingering they were used…"
Did “A” tuning actually sound like “C”?
Hello,I’m brand new to classic banjo, and I understand a typical American tuning in the late 19c was eAEG#B, while in England banjo was gCGBD (which was ultimately adapted in America). That said, I came across a farcical article in a Stewart’s Journal (“A.D. 2000”), which seems to suggest that banjo music written in “A” tuning actually sounded in “C”. …See More
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