buying a banjo

ok so i'm gonna buy a banjo for my birthday coming up...i play guitar really well and have been playing for 2 years and i wanna be able to play some nice bluegrass banjo...is it really hard to learn? and i'm looking at a washburn starters pack and then getting something else later...peace

 

I don't know how hard is it, but my guitar teacher play it and it has some differents rhythms.

 

I really wanna get one too.... I'd like to just pick up a cheap one in a pawn shop.

It's got four strings but what is the standard tuning for them? If there the same as guitar then it should be handy enough. But I reckon to play decent bluegrass is something that needs to be learned....

 

In general, banjos are either 4 or 5-string.
5-strings are mainly for bluegrass and similiar, and 4-strings are more for dixieland, big-band, jazz and irish/celtic stuff.

They are both tuned and played (traditionally) much differently, the 5-string with your fingers using fingerpicks, and the 4-string with a single guitar-type pick.

A 5-string is tuned to a G major chord. From the one closest to your head, down towards the feet, it is gDGBd. The little string up nearest you, the g, it is the highest pitched one and the rest go from low to high.
If you're good at fingerpicking guitar, you may find it easier to play beginner stuff on this.

A 4-string Tenor banjo is tuned in perfect 5ths just like a violin, cello, mandolin etc...
CGDA and GDAE are common tunings, the latter being an octave below the mandolin/violin.
It's a good instrument for rhythmic chord 'chops', melodic single-note accompaniment and also classical music.

Check out on the internet there's plenty of sites with more detailed information.

One last thing, there's no reason you can't buy a 4-string, and tune it any which way you like so that you can play stuff you already know on guitar etc.. on it.
If you want to tune it like the top 4 strings of your guitar, there's no reason on earth why you shouldn't, just make sure to get the right guage strings, whether lighter or heavier, to accomodate this.

Dukes of Hazzard, Duelling Banjos, Beverly Hillbillies, "yee-haw" = 5-string.
The misty fields of Ireland, Faeries and Folklore, or New Orleans and Dixieland Jazz bands = 4-string.

 

banjo is tough wether you have musical background or not, washburns are good starter banjos, the starter pack comes with the b-8, i personally have tried the b8 and it is nice, but i would suggest going a little higher with a b9, it is a good price, and has clearer tonality and resonance.