Look to Eddy Davis (may he rest in peace) his content will help in figuring out the history. Look to the Tango as a starting point and the viola for the tuning in 5ths. Why it was not called the banjola is a mystery to me.

So many really cool instruments, so little time.

whats the instrument on the wall behind you

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Or ... you can chord, and fingerpick rolls. Tune it DGBD or CGBD (works great on 19 fret tenors(

I got a tenor for my son for Christmas and we can't put it down.

I’ve played the 5 string since my teens. One of my greatest mentors played the tenor. A few weeks ago I found a tenor banjo over 100 years old. I bought it and I love just the little thing. So easy and happy to play! It’s definitely not dead! 🪕😊

What tuning is this ?

Very useful for tenor banjo players looking to add a bluegrass or old time vibe. This sounds like the chord progression of the Irish Rover

I would suggest go listen/watch Tyler Jackson...and Gawp in Awe.

It's been a long search from guitar in 1962, mandolin in 1967, to fiddle in 1970, whistle and harmonica in 1973, still fiddle and mando, adding making and playing both types of dulcimers in 1974 to hearing the Chieftains for the first time Then Uilleann pipes, inventing and patenting an Uillieann whistle chanter. Re- stringing a Soprano uke to be tuned to mando- uke, then the same with a tenor to be able to practice fiddle tunes anywhere, walking, hiking, waiting rooms quietly. Then, playing mandolin with a pub band and needing more power, alas the 19 fret, metal tone ring resonator tenor banjo. No need for amplification. It can be played quietly or it can rip. And now a 1917 Vega Fairbanks, 1917-N, 17 fret, skin head, I've strung in nylon to practice quietly at home with a towel in it. It's a wonderful path. Play music and practice music outside in the public. It's like magic. Others will follow. I did.

I have 2 tenor banjos. A 19 fret tuned GDAE, and a 17 fret model tuned in CGDA or traditional tuning.

This is frustrating! I can not find any mention of what key this is in or what chords you are playing over. It is not just you, everyone seems to just start with "put your finger here", without saying why.

Thank you

The fiddle despite it's use in Irish music is not a trad instrument as such. Like the tenor banjo they were both used because of their affordability to ordinary folk.

Nice Job.

Probably the most popular stringed instrument in Ireland after the guitar.

There's a couple of things I do not catch... Firstly, the tenor banjo is alive, at least in Irish music. A few days ago I attended a jam with no less than 5 banjo flat pickers (two of them also playing the bouzouki). Secondly, in "The Deliverance" is featured a 5-string-finger-picked banjo. I was pretty sure, and it took a minute to check here on KZbin: my memory didn't fail.

The simplicity of the one banjo is refreshing to hear. Nicely done!

Thats beautiful. Id like to hear you sing it while you play. What a great song

This helps alot!

Sending love from Poland. ❤️

thanks!!

Music Irish Campe agriculture Beautiful.

'Duelling banjo's' was based on a piece called 'Feudin' banjo's' - played on a tenor banjo accompanied by a 5-string 👍

Irish whistle ❤❤❤

Come to County Kerry , Ireland . You won't throw at stone over a wall without hitting a tenor banjo player.

Have you seen this recent surprising post? kzbin.infoUgkxmq1X9o1BooEEB2DWPb3H6TIHXJgQKdYc. 2 tenors in a minstrel band, with blues singers.

Tenor sounds better. More authentic... just sayin

I have a plectrum banjo that I love! I want to get a Tenor Banjo, An Irish Banjo, An Acoustic Tenor Guitar and an Electric Tenor Guitar and a mandolin. God help my pocket book.

Stop making shit up. LOL … tenor banjos outsold five string banjos from around 1910-1950. It was originally developed from a five string banjo called a banjeaurine, an instrument with a wider diameter head and shorter neck. This was used in the era when banjo players actually read notes (like a classical guitarist) and there were orchestras and ensembles with different size five string banjos including a cello and piccolo banjo. The music they played included “ragtime” the forerunner to American “jazz. As it evolved to jazz in the early part of the century it was easy to remove the fifth string from the banjeaurine and tune it exactly as a cello. This was perfect for playing chords as a rhythm instrument. Eventually that was replaced by jazz guitar. No … it has nothing to do with Irish singing tenors though there is a sub set of people who play tenor banjo for irish fiddle tunes. By the way … most of the best bluegrass banjos are made by converting an original Gibson tenor banjo into a five-string … because more Gibson tenor banjos were made than five strings.

I love my tenor! My friend and I play some bluegrassy tunes ("Rollin' in my sweet baby's arms"), She plays guitar and I just do some fast strumming. I do get tired of people asking us to play Dueling Banjos, but it's always a good opportunity to educate folks on the difference. ❤

I think you overlooked Jug Bands. From their beginnings in the early 20th century up through their various resurgences, the Tenor Banjo fit in just fine with the various jugs, kazoos and other homemade instruments. Jug Band Music is almost impossible without the Tenor Banjo. I beat on a 100 year old steel-pot Luxor Tenor to add the jangly bits to Jug Band Tunes.

Come to my part of Ireland . You can't throw a stone without hitting a tenor banjo player. It's the econd most popular instrument after accordion .

I played mando briefly in highscool, so imagine my surprise when I found my little tenor banjo for sale for just $100, complete with geared tuning machines and a heavy head and sound ring and started learning some fun ragtime tunes. Currently working on Bye Bye Blues. 2 weeks in and I’m just having a fun time. Can’t help but smile hearing it ❤

Lovely, i am learning the mandolin! Do you have a book? Cynthia

I'm no expert by any means, but for my own experience, the movie Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, with the theme song Foggy Mountain Breakdown, as well as the Beverly Hillbillies TV show beginning in 1962, with theme song Ballad of Jed Clampet, both compositions by Scruggs and Flatt, did most of the heavy lifting that brought bluegrass and the 5-string banjo to be appreciated by mainstream America. Deliverance and Dueling Banjos, originally Feudin' Banjos, at least in my opinion added to the appreciation but was not the real powerhouse.

Very interesting to see non bluegrass banjo!

Great job, I love the old ones.!

Greeting from Dublin Ireland. Huge thanks for sharing! 👏👏👏👏🙏🏿

Nina Simone also recorded it.

Thank you for this valuable lesson.

Also got one.

Hi , I recently purchased a 4 string Irish Tenor Banjo and I would like to learn how to play it, so I subscribed to you're channel Sir. 😀

Hi, I’m a professional guitarist and I’ve been interested in guitar and string instrument history for a long time as a hobby and the story that I heard was at the end of the Spanish-American war, a bunch of surplus wind instruments showed up at the New Orleans port for very cheap and all these Musician started to play them and they drowned out the guitar players of the day and so they all had to switch to banjo, and the tenor banjo was their choice, The story came from the guitarist who switched the banjo because he had to it might’ve been Eddie Lang I need to research a bit more but in the mid-20s microphones became better and the guitar started to make a come back and eventually eclipsed the tenor banjo

YOUR MANDOLA SOUNDS MUCH BETTER THAN VERY EXPENSICE ONES.

been playing tenor banjo in many styles for decades. It's not dead yet.

It got replaced in Big Bands and Western Swing because the Guitar became the choice in those bands. Banjo was a rhythm instrument but it was loud and other band members didn't like it because of that. The Guitar could be a rhythm instrument also and much warmer sounding as well. You wouldn't have that noisy clattering sound of Banjos to deal with. It was still welcome in New Orleans Jazz Bands but not much anyplace else. Today there isn't much call for Tenor Banjo as New Orleans Jazz just isn't as popular as it once was. Besides we've learned with a 5 String Banjo you can pull the 5th string off the Banjo neck to the side and restrict it. Now you have a 4 String Banjo why buy a Tenor and all that added expense? Release the 5th string once again and you're back to Bluegrass and Claw Hammer Folk Music. So the Tenor Banjo is nice but do I really need to lay out the money for it? Most Banjo players would say no. I'm not going to play New Orleans Jazz often enough and if I'd like to I can adapt my 5 String on that occasion. I do it myself once in a while. It's fun to play New Orleans Jazz!

Is the tenor in GDAE tuning? If not … then what?

Thanks!