The banjo has five strings, and one of them is a bit special. Once you know their names and positions, chord diagrams and tab make sense much faster.
The numbers
The strings are counted from the thinnest to the thickest – from bottom to top as you hold the banjo. The string closest to the floor is string 1. Then come strings 2, 3 and 4. String 5 sits right at the top, next to string 4 – and it’s short.
The notes in open G
- String 5: g – high, short, starts at the 5th fret
- String 4: D – the lowest string
- String 3: G
- String 2: B
- String 1: D – an octave above string 4
Finding the strings in a chord diagram
A chord diagram shows the neck as if the banjo were hanging on the wall in front of you: the nut is at the top and the vertical lines are the strings. The thick string 4 is on the left, string 1 on the right. The short fifth string is often left out because it usually just rings open. If you’re unsure while practising, pluck each string on its own and say its number out loud – after a few days you’ll know them by heart.
Why is the fifth string so short?
String 5 has its own tuning peg on the side of the neck and only starts at the 5th fret. You almost always play it open, without fretting. It rings as a bright, steady note between the others – a drone string. That drone is a big part of the banjo’s sparkling sound. Usually the thumb plays it.
Strum all five strings open and you hear a G major chord. That’s why this tuning is called open G. How to set it up is explained in tuning the banjo.
G