Playing the Banjo is a very rewarding. The Banjo has a rich American and African history and is actually a very versatile instrument. Even though the Banjo is usually associated with Bluegrass music, it can be used to play Jazz, Ragtime, Rock, Blues and many other styles. I use the G Minor tuning when playing “Wayfaring Stranger”.

For this discussion I will use a standard five string banjo as an example. The five string banjo is designed having a fifth string that has a tuning peg starting on the fifth fret of the neck, along with four normal length banjo strings.

A popular tuning in banjo playing is the G minor tuning. The banjo is tuned to an open G minor chord. The strings of a banjo are tuned to have the notes of G (root), Bb (third), and D (fifth).

 The strings are tuned as follows highest to lowest:

1^st string – D

2^nd string - Bb

3^rd string - G

4^th string – D

5^th string - G

When tuning the banjo, I generally start on the 4^th string. This is the lowest (thickest) full length string on the instrument. This string is tuned to open D note. If you do not have an electric tuner, there are many internet sites that will provide a tone to aid in tuning.

After the 4^th string is tuned to open D, Place your finger on the fifth fret, 4^th string. This is G, which will equal the 3^rd string when played open. Adjust the 3^rd string appropriately to match the tones.

After the 3^rd string is tuned to open G, place your finger on the third fret, 3^rd string. This is Bb, which is equal to the 2^nd string when played open. Adjust the 2^nd string appropriately to match the tones.

Next is to tune the first string. After the 2^nd string is tuned to Bb, place your finger on the forth fret, 2^nd string. This is D, which is equal to the first string when played open. Adjust the 1^st string appropriately to match these tones.

Now it is time to tune the 5^th string, which is the high G string with the tuning peg located on the fifth fret of the neck board. Place your finger on the fifth fret 1^st string. This is the G note that is equal to the fifth string when played open. Be careful when adjusting the fifth string, it is very easy to break!

Lastly fine tune all of the strings when you are done. You have changed the surface tension of the banjo head as you tuned every string; therefore, they will need adjusting.

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