Cheat Sheet
Banjo For Dummies
The five-string banjo is making a comeback in American music these days. If you want to learn how to play the banjo, starting with the basics of banjo chords, clawhammer technique, and some bluegrass roll patterns will have you pickin' and grinnin' in no time.
Banjo Chord Diagrams and Tablature
If you want to play banjo tunes from sheet music, you need to be able to read the chord diagrams and tablature to translate them to positions for your fingers on the neck of the banjo. The following illustrations show sample chord diagrams and tablature:
Basic Banjo Chord Diagrams
Playing the banjo often means reading banjo chords, which generally are complete with suggestions for which finger to use to press the string: i = index, m = middle, r = ring, p = pinky, and t = thumb. You can play a wealth of tunes with the basic chords shown here:
Banjo Clawhammer Technique
The clawhammer method of banjo playing is all about the direction of the strum. In clawhammer, you always down-pick, hitting the strings with the back of your fingernails. The position you adopt to do this curls your fingers into a claw, hence, part of the explanation for the name. In the following example of basic clawhammer technique, i indicates the use of your index finger, t indicates your thumb, and b indicates that you brush the strings:
Bluegrass Roll Patterns for Banjo
Bluegrass may be the music style most closely associated with banjo playing. Certainly the banjo captures the spirit of bluegrass and its roll patterns. Those roll patterns for various techniques are illustrated here:
i = index finger; m = middle finger; t = thumb
