{"appState":{"pageLoadApiCallsStatus":true},"articleState":{"article":{"headers":{"creationTime":"2016-03-26T13:42:15+00:00","modifiedTime":"2016-03-26T13:42:15+00:00","timestamp":"2022-09-14T18:06:15+00:00"},"data":{"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Academics & The Arts","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33662"},"slug":"academics-the-arts","categoryId":33662},{"name":"Music","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33730"},"slug":"music","categoryId":33730},{"name":"Instruments","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33731"},"slug":"instruments","categoryId":33731},{"name":"Banjo","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33732"},"slug":"banjo","categoryId":33732}],"title":"Reading Banjo Chord Diagrams","strippedTitle":"reading banjo chord diagrams","slug":"reading-banjo-chord-diagrams","canonicalUrl":"","seo":{"metaDescription":"The vertical lines on a banjo chord diagram represent the 4th through the 1st strings of your banjo, moving from left to right — as if you were looking down on ","noIndex":0,"noFollow":0},"content":"<p>The vertical lines on a banjo chord diagram represent the 4th through the 1st strings of your banjo, moving from left to right — as if you were looking down on the fingerboard of your instrument from above. The horizontal lines are the frets on your banjo, with the top line corresponding to the banjo nut. The dark circles represent fretted positions, with left-hand fingering indicated at the bottom of the diagram.</p>\n<p>Check out the following chord diagram for the C chord, with parts labeled.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/407390.image0.jpg\" width=\"228\" height=\"288\" alt=\"image0.jpg\"/></p>","description":"<p>The vertical lines on a banjo chord diagram represent the 4th through the 1st strings of your banjo, moving from left to right — as if you were looking down on the fingerboard of your instrument from above. The horizontal lines are the frets on your banjo, with the top line corresponding to the banjo nut. The dark circles represent fretted positions, with left-hand fingering indicated at the bottom of the diagram.</p>\n<p>Check out the following chord diagram for the C chord, with parts labeled.</p>\n<p><img src=\"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/407390.image0.jpg\" width=\"228\" height=\"288\" alt=\"image0.jpg\"/></p>","blurb":"","authors":[{"authorId":9174,"name":"Bill Evans","slug":"bill-evans","description":" <p><b>Bill Evans</b> has helped thousands of people to play the five-string banjo through his instructional workshops, music camps, DVDs, books, and recordings. He has performed on stages all over the world, his recordings have topped folk and bluegrass charts, and he has mentored many of today's top young professional players. Bill shares the shortcuts and secrets he has developed in more than 35 years of teaching to help all banjo players sound their best. ","hasArticle":false,"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/authors/9174"}}],"primaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":33732,"title":"Banjo","slug":"banjo","_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/categories/33732"}},"secondaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"tertiaryCategoryTaxonomy":{"categoryId":0,"title":null,"slug":null,"_links":null},"trendingArticles":null,"inThisArticle":[],"relatedArticles":{"fromBook":[{"articleId":207778,"title":"Banjo For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"banjo-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/207778"}},{"articleId":158526,"title":"Fretting Essential Banjo Chords","slug":"fretting-essential-banjo-chords","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/158526"}},{"articleId":158525,"title":"Essential Right-Hand Patterns for Bluegrass and Clawhammer Banjo","slug":"essential-right-hand-patterns-for-bluegrass-and-clawhammer-banjo","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/158525"}},{"articleId":158494,"title":"Understanding Banjo Tablature","slug":"understanding-banjo-tablature","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/158494"}},{"articleId":158455,"title":"10 Essential Jam Session Tips for Banjo Players","slug":"10-essential-jam-session-tips-for-banjo-players","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/158455"}}],"fromCategory":[{"articleId":207778,"title":"Banjo For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"banjo-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/207778"}},{"articleId":207528,"title":"Bluegrass Banjo For Dummies Cheat Sheet","slug":"bluegrass-banjo-for-dummies-cheat-sheet","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/207528"}},{"articleId":203251,"title":"10 Essential D Licks on the Bluegrass Banjo","slug":"10-essential-d-licks-on-the-bluegrass-banjo","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/203251"}},{"articleId":203250,"title":"12 Essential Fill-In Licks on the Bluegrass Banjo","slug":"12-essential-fill-in-licks-on-the-bluegrass-banjo","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/203250"}},{"articleId":203249,"title":"10 Essential G Licks for the Bluegrass Banjo","slug":"10-essential-g-licks-for-the-bluegrass-banjo","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"_links":{"self":"https://dummies-api.dummies.com/v2/articles/203249"}}]},"hasRelatedBookFromSearch":false,"relatedBook":{"bookId":281975,"slug":"banjo-for-dummies-book-online-video-and-audio-instruction-2nd-edition","isbn":"9781119731382","categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"amazon":{"default":"https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1119731380/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","ca":"https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/1119731380/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","indigo_ca":"http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-9208661-13710633?url=https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/product/1119731380-item.html&cjsku=978111945484","gb":"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1119731380/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20","de":"https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/1119731380/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wiley01-20"},"image":{"src":"https://www.dummies.com/wp-content/uploads/banjo-for-dummies-book-2nd-edition-cover-9781119731382-203x255.jpg","width":203,"height":255},"title":"Banjo For Dummies","testBankPinActivationLink":"","bookOutOfPrint":true,"authorsInfo":"<p><p><b><b data-author-id=\"9174\">Bill Evans</b></b> has helped thousands of people to play the five-string banjo through his instructional workshops, music camps, DVDs, books, and recordings. He has performed on stages all over the world, his recordings have topped folk and bluegrass charts, and he has mentored many of today's top young professional players. Bill shares the shortcuts and secrets he has developed in more than 35 years of teaching to help all banjo players sound their best.</p>","authors":[{"authorId":9174,"name":"Bill Evans","slug":"bill-evans","description":" <p><b>Bill Evans</b> has helped thousands of people to play the five-string banjo through his instructional workshops, music camps, DVDs, books, and recordings. He has performed on stages all over the world, his recordings have topped folk and bluegrass charts, and he has mentored many of today's top young professional players. Bill shares the shortcuts and secrets he has developed in more than 35 years of teaching to help all banjo players sound their best. 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Category","mainCategoryUrl":"/category/articles/level-0-category-0"}}},"navigationCategoriesLoadedStatus":"success"},"searchState":{"searchList":[],"searchStatus":"initial","relatedArticlesList":{"term":"158492","count":5,"total":385,"topCategory":0,"items":[{"objectType":"article","id":158492,"data":{"title":"Reading Banjo Chord Diagrams","slug":"reading-banjo-chord-diagrams","update_time":"2016-03-26T13:42:15+00:00","object_type":"article","image":null,"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Academics & The Arts","slug":"academics-the-arts","categoryId":33662},{"name":"Music","slug":"music","categoryId":33730},{"name":"Instruments","slug":"instruments","categoryId":33731},{"name":"Banjo","slug":"banjo","categoryId":33732}],"description":"The vertical lines on a banjo chord diagram represent the 4th through the 1st strings of your banjo, moving from left to right — as if you were looking down on the fingerboard of your instrument from above. The horizontal lines are the frets on your banjo, with the top line corresponding to the banjo nut. The dark circles represent fretted positions, with left-hand fingering indicated at the bottom of the diagram.\nCheck out the following chord diagram for the C chord, with parts labeled.\n","item_vector":null},"titleHighlight":null,"descriptionHighlights":null,"headers":null,"categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"title":"Reading Banjo Chord Diagrams","slug":"reading-banjo-chord-diagrams","articleId":158492},{"objectType":"article","id":156136,"data":{"title":"How to Read A Banjo Chord Diagram","slug":"how-to-read-a-banjo-chord-diagram","update_time":"2016-03-26T13:08:39+00:00","object_type":"article","image":null,"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Academics & The Arts","slug":"academics-the-arts","categoryId":33662},{"name":"Music","slug":"music","categoryId":33730},{"name":"Instruments","slug":"instruments","categoryId":33731},{"name":"Banjo","slug":"banjo","categoryId":33732}],"description":"If you're already familiar with reading chord diagrams for the guitar, you’ll find that banjo players use the same system. If you turn your banjo around so that the fingerboard faces you, that's how the banjo neck is represented in a chord diagram (check out the figure to more fully break down the parts of a chord diagram):\n\n From left to right, the vertical lines represent the 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st strings on your banjo. Most banjo chord diagrams don't include the 5th string, because you rarely fret it, especially when you're just beginning to play.\n \n The top horizontal line represents the banjo nut. The nut is what guides the strings from the fingerboard to the peghead. One way to think of the nut is as a “0” fret, because your banjo strings are open at this location on the neck.\n \n The second line from the top stands for your banjo's 1st fret, and the line below that represents the 2nd fret, and so on.\n \n The black dots that appear on the vertical string lines indicate behind what fret and on what strings you should fret.\n \n The letters located underneath the chord diagram indicate the left-hand finger you use to fret each string. For the left hand, I = index finger; M = middle finger; R = ring finger; and P (or sometimes L) = pinkie (or little) finger. Some books use the numbers 1 through 4 to represent the left-hand fingers in the same way.\nThe banjo chord diagram for a C chord.\n \n\nCheck out the chord diagrams for G, D7, and C chords in this figure. Of course, there are lots of other chords you can play on the banjo, and Appendix A has most of them. Some good advice is to tackle just one or two new chords at a time, practicing them when they appear in a new song. Don't try to learn them all at once without playing a song where you can put them to good use.\nChord diagrams for G, D7, and C chords.","item_vector":null},"titleHighlight":null,"descriptionHighlights":null,"headers":null,"categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"title":"How to Read A Banjo Chord Diagram","slug":"how-to-read-a-banjo-chord-diagram","articleId":156136},{"objectType":"article","id":156107,"data":{"title":"How to Interpret Up-the-Neck Banjo Chord Diagrams","slug":"how-to-interpret-up-the-neck-banjo-chord-diagrams","update_time":"2016-03-26T13:08:20+00:00","object_type":"article","image":null,"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Academics & The Arts","slug":"academics-the-arts","categoryId":33662},{"name":"Music","slug":"music","categoryId":33730},{"name":"Instruments","slug":"instruments","categoryId":33731},{"name":"Banjo","slug":"banjo","categoryId":33732}],"description":"Looking for an easy way to remember how to fret a banjo chord with your left-hand fingers? A chord diagram not only communicates which strings are fretted for a particular chord but also where on the fingerboard you put those fingers and which left-hand finger you use to fret each string.\nChord diagrams aren't the same as banjo tablature, which is the written form of banjo music. Chord diagrams show you how to fret a chord with the left hand, but they don't tell you what to play with it. \nHowever, when you play with others, you use chords all the time. Chords are also the basic building blocks of just about every melody, and the following sections help you get comfortable reading chord diagrams.\nAs you become more proficient, you can fret chords all up and down the neck of your banjo. To represent a chord that's played above the 5th fret, a chord diagram includes a number that usually appears to the right of the diagram — either next to the top fret line or adjacent to the uppermost fretted note in the chord. \nThis number indicates exactly where you need to position your left hand on the banjo neck (see the figure).\nIf you need to fret the 5th string as part of a chord, a fifth vertical line is added to the left side of the chord diagram to represent this string. The 5th string is often fretted up the neck with the left-hand thumb, which is represented with the letter T in a chord diagram.\nUp-the-neck chord diagram for a D7 chord, featuring a fretted 5th string.","item_vector":null},"titleHighlight":null,"descriptionHighlights":null,"headers":null,"categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"title":"How to Interpret Up-the-Neck Banjo Chord Diagrams","slug":"how-to-interpret-up-the-neck-banjo-chord-diagrams","articleId":156107},{"objectType":"article","id":158494,"data":{"title":"Understanding Banjo Tablature","slug":"understanding-banjo-tablature","update_time":"2016-03-26T13:42:15+00:00","object_type":"article","image":null,"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Academics & The Arts","slug":"academics-the-arts","categoryId":33662},{"name":"Music","slug":"music","categoryId":33730},{"name":"Instruments","slug":"instruments","categoryId":33731},{"name":"Banjo","slug":"banjo","categoryId":33732}],"description":"Tablature is the written form of music for the banjo. While it looks much like conventional music, tablature provides banjo-specific information, such as what string you play and whether the string is open or fretted.\nThe five horizontal lines represent the five strings of your banjo, with the top line corresponding to the 1st string and the bottom representing the 5th string. The numbers indicate left-hand fretting positions, with 0 standing for an open string.\n","item_vector":null},"titleHighlight":null,"descriptionHighlights":null,"headers":null,"categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"title":"Understanding Banjo Tablature","slug":"understanding-banjo-tablature","articleId":158494},{"objectType":"article","id":156101,"data":{"title":"Chord Progressions: Playing Your First Banjo Song","slug":"chord-progressions-playing-your-first-banjo-song","update_time":"2016-03-26T13:08:15+00:00","object_type":"article","image":null,"breadcrumbs":[{"name":"Academics & The Arts","slug":"academics-the-arts","categoryId":33662},{"name":"Music","slug":"music","categoryId":33730},{"name":"Instruments","slug":"instruments","categoryId":33731},{"name":"Banjo","slug":"banjo","categoryId":33732}],"description":"Although you can find about as many different chord progressions as you can songs, you can count on some predictability in how chords follow one another in most songs you play on the banjo. This makes figuring out and remembering new chord progressions much easier as you encounter them in new songs.\nThe chord progression of a song is the part of your musical road map that indicates what chords you play, in what sequence these chords occur, and how long each chord lasts before you move on to play the next one as you play a song. \nMany songs use only the G, C, and D7 chords. However, the more chords you know, the more quickly you can play along with new songs.\nFamiliarize yourself with the chord progression of a new song just as soon as you begin to work on it. The chord progression not only lays out the form of the piece, but also provides the foundation you use later on for playing (and remembering!) the melody and for improvising. \nThe chord progression is also what keeps everyone on the same page as you play a song with others in a jam session. In this situation, everyone plays through the chord progression repeatedly until all the players agree that it's time for the song to come to an end.\nWhen you're working through a chord progression, try strumming with an even downward motion of your thumb across all five strings of the banjo, striking all five strings in an even sweeping motion with the thumb. \nYou're working on the crucial new skill of changing chords in the left hand without losing the beat as you strum with the right hand. This takes a lot of coordination! If you don't get it at first, take your time and keep trying. You can do it.\nIf you think it’s time to strum along with a song that just about everybody knows, “She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain,” check out the following figure, which shows the lyrics with slash marks indicating where each right hand strum is played. Above the lyrics are the chords you'll fret along the way. \nStrum along to “She’ll Be Coming ’Round the Mountain.”\nCheck out Strumming and Changing Chords and Strumming \"She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain\" and just jump right in and play along. The sooner you memorize the chord progression and pull your eyes away from the printed page, the quicker you'll feel like you're really playing music. Listen to how the chord changes relate to the melody as you get used to strumming and changing chords smoothly.\nMost new players find that the trickiest part of strumming along to a song like “She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain” is going from the G to the C chords smoothly without interrupting the steady flow of the right-hand strums. If you run into this same problem, try switching back and forth over and over again between the G and C chords until you've mastered this transition.","item_vector":null},"titleHighlight":null,"descriptionHighlights":null,"headers":null,"categoryList":["academics-the-arts","music","instruments","banjo"],"title":"Chord Progressions: Playing Your First Banjo Song","slug":"chord-progressions-playing-your-first-banjo-song","articleId":156101}]},"relatedArticlesStatus":"success"},"routeState":{"name":"Article4","path":"/article/academics-the-arts/music/instruments/banjo/reading-banjo-chord-diagrams-158492/","hash":"","query":{},"params":{"category1":"academics-the-arts","category2":"music","category3":"instruments","category4":"banjo","article":"reading-banjo-chord-diagrams-158492"},"fullPath":"/article/academics-the-arts/music/instruments/banjo/reading-banjo-chord-diagrams-158492/","meta":{"routeType":"article","breadcrumbInfo":{"suffix":"Articles","baseRoute":"/category/articles"},"prerenderWithAsyncData":true},"from":{"name":null,"path":"/","hash":"","query":{},"params":{},"fullPath":"/","meta":{}}},"dropsState":{"submitEmailResponse":false,"status":"initial"},"sfmcState":{"status":"initial"},"profileState":{"auth":{},"userOptions":{},"status":"success"}}

Reading Banjo Chord Diagrams

By: Bill Evans and

Updated: 03-26-2016

From The Book: Banjo For Dummies

Banjo For Dummies

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The vertical lines on a banjo chord diagram represent the 4th through the 1st strings of your banjo, moving from left to right — as if you were looking down on the fingerboard of your instrument from above. The horizontal lines are the frets on your banjo, with the top line corresponding to the banjo nut. The dark circles represent fretted positions, with left-hand fingering indicated at the bottom of the diagram.

Check out the following chord diagram for the C chord, with parts labeled.

About This Article

This article is from the book:

Banjo For Dummies ,

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Bill Evans has helped thousands of people to play the five-string banjo through his instructional workshops, music camps, DVDs, books, and recordings. He has performed on stages all over the world, his recordings have topped folk and bluegrass charts, and he has mentored many of today's top young professional players. Bill shares the shortcuts and secrets he has developed in more than 35 years of teaching to help all banjo players sound their best.

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