The tenor banjo is a popular stringed instrument used most frequently in bluegrass and folk, but often found in country music and, on rare occasions, pop. The tenor banjo is played using a variety of techniques that combine chord strumming as well as thumb and fingerpicking. There are several banjo methods on the market that teach these techniques.
Banjo Book Methods
Before you get started playing banjo, it's a good idea to get familiar with the instrument. Mel Bay has some of the best tenor banjo methods on the market. Even if you would rather learn without going through a particular step-by-step method, consider purchasing at least one method book. This will get you acquainted with your instrument. Hal Leonard is another music publisher that has a comprehensive banjo method. There are tenor banjo method books that cover everything from fingerpicking specifics to make chords on a banjo. These methods can be used individually or combined to fit your specific learning needs.
Online Instruction
The Internet offers free access to a number of websites that teach you play the banjo (see Resources). These are often as comprehensive as the printed methods. An added benefit to using an online instruction website is that you can often email the person who runs the website and ask questions. These websites are typically run by banjo players who enjoy playing and want to share with others. In many cases, the website owners don't mind answering questions, and you never know when you might develop a relationship that leads to finding a playing partner.
BanjoTeacher.com offers video lessons as well, though they aren't free. The website is a comprehensive banjo instruction website that offers an extensive set of lessons in video and text format aimed at players just starting out or even seasoned pros. The website offers three packages ranging between $20 and $50. In addition to the lessons, BanjoTeacher.com offers extensive banjo resources that can be useful as you progress.
Video Methods
Websites such as Youtube and eHow offer excellent video instruction for just about anything, including tenor banjo playing. A quick search of one of these websites will give you a variety of tenor banjo lessons that cover everything from the very basics to more advanced techniques. The benefit of using video instruction is that you can watch a video as many times as it takes you to learn a technique. Watching a tenor banjo video is almost like having your own personal banjo teacher sitting right in front of you.
Playing Songs
Learn to read tablature. This is a method for reading notes used by stringed instrument players. Banjo tablature (tab) consists of a graph with lines that represent the strings of the banjo. Numbers on those lines indicate the frets to be played. This is a method many banjo players learn. There are many free songs on the Internet written in tab that you can play to practice your abilities (see Resources). You can also purchase music books that feature tabbed banjo songs. Playing songs is one of the best ways to reinforce the techniques you learn.
