The Blues Banjo: The instruments: The tenor banjo

The tenor banjo



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Site last updated .
This particular page was created 18/08/2003 and last updated 21/05/2005
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Picture from Music123

    Data:
  • Body shape: Round
  • Top: Skin
  • Back: Open or resonator
  • Bridge: Floating
  • Frets: Fixed
  • Strings: 4
  • Courses: 4 ( 1 - 1 - 1 - 1)
  • Scale: 555 - 584 mm
The tenor banjo, or "tango banjo" as it was originally called, was introduced as a solo instrument for banjo orchestras and other ensembles. Its fifths-tuning and relatively short scale made it ideal for single string melodic playing, and its high string tension helped giving it the volume to cut through all the background noise.

The loud volume also made it an ideal instrument for the early jazz bands of the 1920s and 1930s where it was given a completely different role than what its creators had intended.

In later years the tenor banjo has also become popeular for Irish traditional music. Many Irish banjoists tune the instrument a fourth lower than the standard.

Blues-influenced tenor banjoists include:

Johnson, Bill
Scott, Bud

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