What Killed The Tenor Banjo A Brief Historical Commentary of the Tenor Banjo

Check out my updated part 2: • What Happened To The T...
Root history of the banjo video is also out! Check it out on youtube: • A Brief History of the...
I would like to give a special thank you to Deering Banjo for the inspiration for making this video based on an article of a similar theme. My banjo is a Deering Goodtime Tenor Banjo and I could not be more pleased with the instrument. This video is NOT sponsored in any way by Deering. (Although it would be welcome.)
The tenor is popular in Ireland, but is almost unknown elsewhere with non-musicians. It's a real shame too, the tenor banjo is far more versatile than people realize.
All images are in the public domain excluding the Poster for "Deliverance". The poster belongs to Warner Bros and all credit and copyright belongs to them. I was not able to find much information about the picture of the poster, the original source is from the Wikipedia article on "Deliverance".
There may have been other contributing factors to the demise of the tenor banjo, but as far as I know, these subjects mentioned here are accurate within a reasonable margin for error.
I hope this video was enjoyable for you and if you want to see more videos like this, please let me know in the comments below.
Thanks so much for watching!

[@rogermarkendale5404]

The Tenor Banjo is very much alive and well in Irish traditional music

[@largethanks6376]

That is very good to hear!

[@adamtierney-eliot7609]

Yup. and in it's folk punk varieties, like Drop Kick Murphys.

[@adamtierney-eliot7609]

Ps. I have the Deering tenor too. Love it!

[@ganainm]

Too right! It's not dead.

[@Celticman197]

The 5 string is taking over Irish music now, even in Ireland.

[@eugeneross6624]

As an Irish tenor banjo player, I can confirm that the tenor banjo is not dead, it's just hiding at the local Irish pub on session nights.

[@joesiemoneit4145]

basically every irish/celtic/english folk band all over europe uses a tenor banjo, so much so that you cant even play a simple melody on it, without it sounding irish. so it wasnt killed. it just emigrated to europe ;)

[@joesiemoneit4145]

@casumarzu it is. usually its tuned GDAE, one octave below the mandolin. cgda tuning is rather uncommon in irish music but not unheard of

[@markvandereng3897]

That's it, there are more countries than the u.s.a. in the world

[@stevenholt4936]

The late, great Barney McKenna almost single handedly popularised virtuoso tenor banjo playing in Ireland.

[@raymonddixon7603]

There were a lot of people up and down the country playing the banjo long before Barney. Not taking away from Barney but he learned from all the guys who went before him. It was just that Irish music turned pop in the 60's. Up till then it was more specialist. It is like saying Eric Clapton made the guitar famous and not mentioning Django Rheinhart in the 30's.

[@theliamofella]

the comment said Barney popularised the tenor banjo, he didn’t say there were not others before him, but he did basically bring the tenor banjo into traditional Irish music, he was like everyone else and played mandolin tuned in fifths and he experimented with the tenor with John Sheehan (well before John joined the Dubliners)

[@raymonddixon7603]

@@theliamofella The tenor banjp was an integral part of trad banjo long before Barney. You do not seem to understand trad music. It is preposterous to say that he popularisef it. I am old enough to remember it before Barney was heard of.

[@theliamofella]

@@raymonddixon7603 I have been playing tenor banjo and 5 string banjo and mandolin and guitar for decades myself. And my father and their family lived 3 doors away from Barney and his Mother , he’s best pal was my uncle Dennis (god bless his eternal soul), and my father (taught me everything I knew about traditional Irish music from the players to the songwriters to the what the songs were all about, But don’t get me wrong it’s not a competition on who knows the most about Irish music and the tenor banjo lol, But there is no doubt in from what I know that Barney was the first tenor banjo player that played in fiddle tuning, and who therefore brought Irish tenor banjo into session playing, before Barney the mandolin was played fiddle tuning but with rhythm as mandolin was not loud enough, and the standard tenor tuning was only played with triad chords in rhythm, My family would come to my father’s house who died last year and I played at his burial (the biggest honour of my life) But I do agree that Barney McKenna almost single handedly popularised the tenor banjo with 19 and 17 frets tunes like a fiddle and mandolin GDAE as opposed to CGDA as the “Irish fiddle tuning could play with single notes and be loud enough to stand out in a session. Plus Barneys god given talent helped him a lot But I have enjoyed your discussion ✌️🎼

[@sherriemccowen304]

Actually tenor banjo was used in western swing- Billy Champion played tenor banjo with Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. I collect vintage photos of banjo players, and have a few that show clearly musicians in 30's - 40's western costume playing tenor banjos. I think it was more popular in country than we're led to believe. I have one photo featuring a cowgirl playing a tenor next to a woman who was a minister. I do agree that this instrument is far more versatile than people realize. I also play 5 string banjo and mandolin. And I share your concern that this instrument may become a lost art as it's been decades since it was popular. (I play a Goldtone AC 4 in regular tenor tuning) Thank you so much for doing this video! It's an enjoyable watch.

[@swingrfd]

Wills' younger brother, Johnnie Lee was the Texas Playboys' original tenor banjo player.

[@olmmbill]

Also, Marvin “Smokey” Montgomery was a legendary tenor banjo player in the seminal Texas swing band, the Light Crust Doughboys.

[@Poodleoop]

I’m a professional Tenor Banjo player, nice video! Any information on Tenor Banjo is always welcome.

[@TonyfromBham]

I play 17 fret open back tenor banjo (tuned CGDA) a couple of times a week in various trad. jazz bands in my area. That instrument enriches my life in ways that I could never explain or even understand. #TenorBanjo4Ever.

[@davestambaugh7282]

The number of frets on any banjo has nothing to do with the scale length or the vibrating length of the string. You have to measure from the nut to the twelfth fret and multiply by two.

[@TonyfromBham]

@@davestambaugh7282 I never mentioned scale length or vibrating length in my comment. I told the type of instrument I play (17 fret open back tenor banjo), that I do it professionally, and that I enjoy it. That’s it.

[@davestambaugh7282]

@@TonyfromBham All i am saying is that you failed to describe your banjo to me. I have no idea of what type of banjo you have other than four strings.

[@TonyfromBham]

@@davestambaugh7282 I didn’t fail. When humans describe the banjos they play, they pretty much say what I said. “17 Fret open back tenor banjo (tuned CGDA)” is more than adequate to describe what I have and what I do. I’ve been watching tenor banjo videos all evening. I’ve Don Vappie, Eddy Davis, and all the other greats I could find. None of them mention “scale length or vibrating length” even once, nor did any of the commenters for these videos.

[@davestambaugh7282]

@@TonyfromBham Between 1908 and 1923 they changed the scale length from eighteen inches to twenty three inches in three increments. The instrument evolved over the years.Different people played different music after the war than did before the war.

[@jjson775]

I played a tenor banjo in a college jazz band over 60 years ago. Great for playing solo pieces from the 20's and 30's.

[@amandasanders1141]

Could you give me an example of some 20/30s banjo tunes? I’d like to play some different types of music on it! Thank you

[@Clfike]

Check out the historic Mummers. They formed huge bands of tenor banjos, dressed in elaborate costumes with large feather headdresses and paraded, I think in Philadelphia or maybe Chicago. I used to watch them on TV and they were amazing! Great post! 🎉

[@robertsmith1860]

I started out in early 60s playing an old Vega Professional Tenor Banjo with a Folk group “The Bucket 3” at Boy Scout campfires. We were featured on The Ted Mack Amateur Hour” from Hollywood CBS Television City in 1966. A KZbin Video of our edited performance is available at the beginning of “Through The Artist’s Eye Part 1 of Six”. Then played in SF Bay Area Pizza Parlors with a Ragtime trio “The Nickelodeons” which did a 3 week USO Tour in South Vietnam - 1971. Bought a 1927 Vega Artist Professional Tenor Banjo from “Banana” of the “Youngbloods” & his “Players Vintage Instruments” Website in Olema, CA. I joined several Banjo Bands & presently play with “The San Francisco Banjo Band”, with many quality KZbin videos available. Thank you for posting - BanjoBob

[@MrJaimecoady]

Appreciate the support of the tenor banjo. I grew up on the Dubliners and Clancy Brothers so the tenor banjo seems normal to me. I have three (Goldtone GDAE and two from my Dad) and about 10 tenor guitars (4 electric) .

[@davestambaugh7282]

The first tenor banjos were invented by creol musicians. They were playing mandolin instruments in mandolin orcastras. Around nineteen hundred they wanted to play for dance halls. Mandolins were not loud enough for the dance halls so they experimented using plectrum banjos with capos. They were having Vega custom make shorter neck models so that they did not have to use the capo and would not keep banging the peg head on every thing. In 1908 Vega decided to make a standard model and add it to their catalogue, and the little wonder tenor banjo was born. Rag time was the first music they played until the Tango craze hit. After ww 1 the lead instrument changed from the tenor banjo and was replaced by horns. The tenor banjo was relegated to playing chordal acompanyment . The oregional EADG tuning was dropped and a longer scale was used to tune to ADGC which became the modern concert tenor banjo. Gibson went to 22.5 inches and Vega to this day uses 23.1 inches.

[@shadowmanstrolls811]

Mandolins were invented by Italians, just for further context

[@BRIAN_IVERSON_20]

cajun not creole

[@prushimush]

Interesting video. I play a plectrum banjo primarily, but I have a 19-fret tenor on hand that I enjoy playing. Four string banjos are a lot of fun to play and definitely underutilized. I've had the chance to play dozens of different types of tenor banjos, they are very common with Philadelphia Mummers string bands that I play with. We play with woodwinds - saxophones - so we need the loud sound to cut through the sax chorus.

[@carolinedesjardins922]

I just bought a Tenor banjo in a yard sale. I play the guitar. I play the ukulele. But I have no clue how to play the Tenor banjo. But I will figure it out and I will love it. Thank you for this video.

[@charleshardy2974]

You could always just tune it like a ukelele. A great local player here in Saint Louis, Al Stricker, does this. (His teacher way back when thought the tenor banjo was dying, and would only teach him this way). Here he is: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rn-Vnp93d7yjY6c

[@guszimmerman2195]

The tenor banjo is designed for the orchestra tuned in fifths and has open harmony to fit with the orchestra. Cuts through the other instruments.

[@banjoplayingbison2275]

Actually you forgot about the 50s/60s folk revival, that brought the Banjo back into popularity outside of the mountain sound more so than deliverance (which I’d argue that movie turned the banjo into a backwards looking instrument) However the five string banjo was the main banjo in it thanks to Pete Seeger. Combine that with how the folk revival crowd also gave bluegrass new popularity (which got ditched by the country mainstream a decade or so earlier) the Five string was all the rage and the tenor banjo had little use in it (and was probably just seen as a relic of the jazz age)

[@Dallasrocks120]

Great video. My grandparents played tenor, my pop pop strummed on a tenor banjo and grandma played melody on her tenor guitar, they always stayed with the standard CGDA tuning. After my pop pop retired he started making tenor banjos as a hobby, I currently have three he made an I’ve been playing for about 7 years now, I just picked up a mandolin a couple months ago as well so I’ve tuned one of them GDAE so I can easily switch between what I’m picking notes on.

[@DCronk-qc6sn]

I just bought one from Gold Tone - it will be used for blue grass like tunes, Celtic, and arrangements of pop tunes. Gold Tone seems to sell a lot of them. Nice Morrison's on the outro. The blooper was great.

[@daveheath3728]

I think you left out a few key facts in the banjo history timeline . The tenor and plectrum banjos became very popular due to the jazz influence in the early 1900s , so much so that the 5 string banjo that was popular in old timey and mountain music was declining and many instrument makers during that time were making tenor and plectrum banjos instead of 5 strings . The style of 2 and 3 finger banjo picking had almost become extinct except for the folks in rural Appalachia who kept it alive . In the 1930s and 40s Earl Scruggs learned and perfected the 3 finger style of playing , which has come to be known as Scruggs style picking . With Bill Monroe Earl , Scruggs popularized the 5 string banjo and Scruggs style picking starting a resurgence of interest in that mode of banjo playing that has a rekindling of interest about every 10 years or so today. The popularity of the 5 string has been brought to the publics attention through television and films like the Dillards as the Darling family on the Andy Griffith show . The song Foggy Mountain Breakdown in the film Bonny and Clyde , the film Deliverance and the TV shows the Beverly Hillbillies and Hee Haw . There are several styles of banjo and their accompanying styles of playing , and they rise and fall with what is currently popular . Find the style you like and have fun with it .

[@karawethan]

Huh? The 5-string banjo was immensely popular in the late 19th and early 20th century, and it had nothing to do with "mountain" music. Boston, Philadelphia, NYC, and even London were the centers of 5-string banjo playing and manufacturing. Today, we call this era and its music "classic banjo." In the 1910s, dance bands became the new big thing, and many of the classic-style players switched over to playing tenor and plectrum. There was no "decline" on account of rural/mountain banjoists because they were not the banjo industry's target demographic. The 5-string banjo only became MORE popular among rural/mountain musicians as factory-made instruments worked their way into those communities.

[@Buffaloslider]

Thanks for bringing up the tenor banjo and starting this conversation. I had heard many years ago that the reason for the CGAD tuning was so that cello players could fit right in to the jazz craze of the 20’s. Cello players use the same tuning and made up many of the earliest tenor banjo players.

[@charliesimmons9007]

The tune from Deliverance was written by Arthur Smith and was called Feuding Banjos . He played tenor banjo and Don Reno played five string. He could play rings around any five string. I've played 5 and 4 string all my life. Love them both

[@robertshorthill6836]

I built myself an electric octave mandolin. I lent it to a gent that plays mandolins and tenor banjos in a band. He thought I had created the missing link between octaves and tenors. I made it with a 21" scale--- just about right for someone who plays a tenor.

[@alfredbarten4901]

I began with mandolin, but switched to tenor (Irish tuning) banjo for more, distinctive sound. I use it for old time fiddle tune music, as played in contra dances and in our fiddle orchestra. The style is more mandolin than traditional jazz style. I credit Barney McKenna of the Dubliners for resurrecting the tenor banjo, Irish style. It's very popular in Ireland now, and showing up in music camps such as the Maine Fiddle Camp.

[@allenemersonn1227]

I found your history of the banjo 'highly creative'.

[@largethanks6376]

I actually did not mean for this video to get this much attention. It was my first attempt at a history themed video. My newer history videos are more thoroughly researched. While this one has areas that are not as accurate as I would like them to be, I hope it is still somewhat helpful or entertaining.

[@festbloch4135]

I play tenor banjo since 9 years. I live in Bretagne. This instrument is very often use for celtic music (breton and irish) and 5 strings isnt very popular here. You go in a celtic session in à pub you Will Heard tenor but Nevers 5 strings. Tenor is also use in maroco music. I use thé GDAE or CGDAE like a fiddle and it is very useful for à lot of style (flamenco, arabica, slavic, celtic, médiéval, renaissance.

[@yourcelebrant]

At the feakle Traditional Irish music festival in Ireland 2023, there was a guy from Tokyo playing a 5 string and just for fun he cranked out some bluegrass before he went back to the rest of the show. He was accompanied by an young Japanese lass on fiddle who was amazing and an Accordion player from memory.

[@guilhemgabet2611]

Very interesting ! I will be looking for these uses of banjo in moroccan and flamenco music…

[@jonphillips2123]

Have you heard of the bub??? Baritone uke banjo? They are a lot of fun as well.

[@DmitryProkopenko]

I play the tenor banjo in CGDA and I'm a happy man, definitely!

[@tmo7734]

An incredibly nice video. Thank you. I learned a lot today.

[@JosMorn1]

I won a tenor banjo (CGda) in a local auction, bidding on it on a whim as I am a mandoline player of many years (Irish, French-Canadien, early American, old English). In having one and being essentially self-taught (MelBay book), it is a sort of synchronicity in that suddenly I have made the acquaintance of scores of tenor banjo players! Most are performers in the variations of Celtic music, but a few lean more towards early jazz and even old-timey/bluegrass music. While I think that marketing is the huge factor in the 5-string being the common banjo, the tenor is by no means dead! On the other hand, it probably won't enjoy the supposed popularity it once held in the early 20th century... But then, one doesn't see but rarely the mandoline and concertina choirs that once were also fairly popular. So, good video, but take heart... It still lives!

[@lonshoemaker9541]

The banjo was hardly obscure when "Deliverance" came out. Earl Scruggs and John Hartford were quite well known

[@chuckdavinci9044]

That's a different instrument, and it was obscure enough that even today, decades later, I can't get the banjo out without someone requesting "Dueling Banjos," which I absolutely refuse to play.

[@banjominer9682]

im trying to figure out where the tenor banjo is dead.where do you get your information? i know at least 8 tenor players i can call for a jam session today

[@largethanks6376]

While it's not exactly "dead". It is not as popular in America as it once was. I'm trying to get more attention to the instrument and its versatility, so maybe it doesn't fade out completely. I wanted the title to get people's attention, even though it may be exaggerating somewhat.

[@billmacaulay]

@@largethanks6376 Re-title it . "What Revived the Tenor Banjo". I agree with Banjo Miner ,it goes from strength to strength.

[@artiefischel2579]

The tenor banjo was supplanted in jazz by the electric guitar. Originally in jazz bands the guitarist had a difficult time cutting through the woodwinds and horns so the tenor banjo with resonator was used in the rhythm section. Most guitarists of the day were also tenor banjo players. Once the electric guitar was invented, and Charlie Christian et al had popularized it as a solo instrument the tenor banjo fell into disuse, outside of Dixieland bands. It's a 'tenor' banjo in the same sense the tenor guitar is a tenor. Much like with the mandolin family there's a whole range of banjos from bass to banjo ukuleles and whole banjo orchestras as well.

[@cemkarayalcin6102]

That doesn't really hold up, the banjo was replaced by the acoustic guitar. Take for instance Fred Guy of the Ellington orchestra or Bernard Addison who recorded with Fletcher Henderson. Both switched from banjo to guitar. Or take a famous guitar soloist like Dick McDonough who also started out playing tenor banjo. The popularity of Eddie Lang seems to have been important in popularizing the guitar. Charlie Christian was indeed very important, but that wasn't for making people switch from banjo to guitar. It was for making the guitar viable for single note improvisation with amplification.

[@artiefischel2579]

@@cemkarayalcin6102 You aren't addressing my point. Yes, most banjo players played guitar as well, but it was electric amplification that allowed the guitar to replace the banjo as a rhythm instrument. Acoustic guitars just don't have the volume.

[@cemkarayalcin6102]

I did address your point. The idea that the electric guitar replaced the banjo as a rhythm instrument is one that I can't think of any example of. A lot of banjoists in dance bands switched to guitar or were replaced by guitarists when the swing craze came on. Some of these guitar players did experiment with amplification, like Eddie Durham or Floyd George Smith. But it was really more about aesthetics. Could you name specific players that switched from banjo straight to electric guitar, I would be very interested to hear about that

[@chrisdavis273]

Great Video! Have myself a 1930’s Gibson master tone TB something. It’s my secondary instrument as 5 string Scruggs is my main instrument. I look forward to getting more proficient at tenor and blending the 2

[@lloydblakley1923]

Thanks for bringing up the subject of what killed the tenor banjo. The use of it in early jazz is inspiring and the Irish playing style has helped the instrument immensely. Still, the tenor banjo is hard to come to terms with as a solo instrument.

[@largethanks6376]

I've found that if you use Irish tenor strings as well as GDAE tuning (one octave lower than mandolin) you can put a banjo capo on the 5th fret to get the standard tuning. This gives you the best of both worlds with your banjo and keeps the string pressure down to protect your instrument.

[@donnachacarroll8283]

2:28 “The first tenor banjo” came in 1908 and I’ve got one from 1925 how amazing is this, I have one of the oldest banjos

[@rudolphpyatt4833]

To be specific, the acoustic f-hole archtop guitar (the Gibson L5 and its derivatives and imitations) began taking over in swing band rhythm sections (think of Freddie Geeen’s work in Count Basie’s band). In a way, this makes perfect sense. The guitar has a less brittle attack that lends itself to the swing sound, a smoother, more legato approach than the staccato sounds of the Twenties for which the tenor banjo was so well suited. But I think the tenor (for that matter, the plectrum with its closer tuning) can work well in other styles beyond 20s style jazz for all the reasons you mentioned.

[@datsunlambchops4624]

I'm a mandolin player and occasionally jam with my 1920 Maybelline 17 fret. But I would say I play the tenor guitar more often.

[@Celticman197]

Bonnie and Clyde movie featured the banjo years before Deliverance.

[@deanhoward4128]

My late grandfather, that I never knew,played a 4 string banjo...I dont know if it was a " tenor" banjo, but it was a 4 string!

[@johncoleman8174]

Where have you been? The tenor banjo is being played throughout North America and Ireland and has been for quite some time. Jazz tenor is tuned CGDA, whereas the Irish tenor tuning is GDAE, like the mandolin. And by the way, the 22 fret 4 string is known throughout the know universe as the "plectrum" banjo, not the "pectrum" banjo which is what you call it, and is still played in jazz bands, and peaked during the "pizza parlor" faze of the 1960's/70's.

[@DougieLink]

Putting on an amp helps you can increase resonance etc. You could probably take the fifth string off and change the tuning on a 5 string too , as I've already got two five strings can't afford to buy a tenor too❤

[@captaccordion]

I did enjoy the video, but will challenge some of the points you make. As many have noted, the Tenor Banjo is alive and well worldwide in Irish music. As for jazz, it's loudness and chordal and rhythmic properties were supplanted by drum kits and amplified guitars. On the revival of the 5 string banjo due to Deliverance, maybe or maybe not. The Beverley Hillbillies theme was just as well known prior to that. Cheers.

[@largethanks6376]

The was my first history video. The quality of research is not as good as my newer history videos. Plus the title is made to get attention, not be entirely true. I really wish the algorithm would pick up some of my newer videos...

[@captaccordion]

Perhaps now that I've watched this one, KZbin will throw your others my way. I did appreciate the work you put into assembling all the images. It must be disheartening making KZbin videos with a whole world full of armchair critics out there.

[@nr2m]

I used to play the standard tenor but changed to the Irish tenor and now I do irish music, I also play the mandolin, that came after the irish tenor as my playing partner started to do the 5 string and the mandolin sounded good with it. I am now working on the 5 string, but I do not know that I am gonna do very well with it.

[@bndksnt1]

Enjoyed your video. I've recently been researching banjos as I am looking to possibly build one. What I've learned so far is "tenor" is for it's scale length.Not so much in North American culture is it popular. It is very much the more popular in Celtic music though. Did also see someone playing plectrum tuned gdgd, making it very easy to play bluegrass style.

[@largethanks6376]

I gathered some info from Deering's website and it seemed tenor banjos were at one time more popular in North America than they are today. I would love to see the instrument make a Resurgence in North America. Because the instrument is more versatile than meets the eye and works well even outside the Irish style. I will be posting a video soon talking about banjo rolls for the tenor banjo in standard tuning that sound good with not only Bluegrass but Country Tunes as well. Plus I have a video talking about the Carolina Tuning that makes the instrument sound great with fiddle tunes. Thanks for the feedback!

[@bndksnt1]

@@largethanks6376 you definitely have my interest! I will for sure be watching. Thank you.

[@JHTenor]

Being a long time mandolin player I’ve made the switch to tenor as well in a slightly different manner.. I’ve made the switch to tenor resonator guitar and been looking it!

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

The Tenor Banjo is back, & guess what we have Tenor Guitars basically Tenor Banjo necks on Guitar bodies.

[@MrPendell]

Photo at about 1:35 actually shows a third completely separate variation on the theme, the 6 string Banjitar. Those are often found these days used more or less interchangeably with resonator guitars for busking the blues on street corners or chopping away at chords in modern Dixieland ensembles. Like resonator guitars these are sometimes in standard guitar tuning, sometimes in slide friendly tunings like open G. Banjitars and resonators turn up in those settings in preference to regular acoustic guitars for the same reason plectrum banjos became popular in jazz groups in the early 20th century- the volume advantage allows them to better keep up and be heard among a horn section or above street noise. Something which didn’t really get explored here very much is the fact that the fast and flashy style of bluegrass 5 string banjo we know today, characterized by steel fingerpicks and rapid rolls, really didn’t get developed and popularized until Bill Monroe’s bluegrass boys, including Flatt and Scruggs, brought it to the fore in the 1940s. Before that, pretty much everyone playing 5 string banjo was playing it in a style that today is called “claw hammer” or “frailing”. That’s essentially the way the banjos African ancestors from places like Gambia were played, and much of the real traditional Appalachian oldtime banjo repertoire was originally performed in that way. I’ll also echo other comments here pointing out that the tenor banjo has always been alive and well in Irish music over the past century, and has been joined there by other even more recent imports brought back home from various places in the Diaspora, like the Irish Bouzouki which followed some Irish musicians home from Greece and started turning up in trad Irish music in the 1960s and is now so fully embraced as part of that tradition that it’s hard to imagine an Irish pub session without either a bouzouki or a tenor banjo.

[@davidoverturf3465]

You missed a cultural touchstone for the tenor banjo: Mickie Finn's tv show that brought the tenor banjo back for a short time in 1966. It was a wonderful show and was sorry to see it go so soon.

[@mattbales3157]

I just inherited one! I don’t play anything but would love to learn to play it! What would be a good instructional video to start with?

[@largethanks6376]

I have a video on my channel explaining how to strum with a tenor banjo. And I even have some more advanced lessons. There are plenty of resources online to give you every chord you need

[@TonyfromBham]

There’s a DVD by Buddy Wachter on beginner tenor banjo. I think the company that puts it out is called Homespun Tapes.

[@ldevon2318]

I like how the picture at 1.51 isn’t even a tenor banjo but a 6 string banjo guitar for often played by guitar players who want a banjo sound.

[@clayton56tube]

and the dixieland band player has a long-necked plectrum

[@BlessYourHeart254]

I have a tenor banjo tuned DGBE, Chicago tuning.

[@clawhammer704]

Iv got a 1926 Vega tenor 19 fret with a pie resonator attached. It’s ok to play at home but doesn’t fit in with most music played in my area. I had thought about putting a five sting neck on it but it so nice Iv never been able to bring myself around to do it. I’ll just leave it as is.

[@largethanks6376]

You've got quite a gem there. I've got a couple of videos on my channel talking about how versatile the 19 fret tenor banjo is. It's basically my favorite instrument. I couldn't imagine being without it!

[@MrPHart]

Sir; If you have a 1926 Vega tenor 19 fret please sir, don't Fu-- it up. There are so few old instruments left in our world today. If you need or want a 5-string one please just save the Vega and buy a new or used 5-string. My grand children will have a hard time finding old instruments if we don't remember to leave them here after we're gone. I believe that heaven has it's own collection of great instruments waiting for us and they won't last long in hell, (been told it's too hot there, might be true,) so leave them to your children or grand children. NOTE; hot playing is different than hells fires! By degrees maybe?

[@jamesclark2630]

As per Nick Reynolds /Kingston Trio influence I got a tenor guitar for "another sound" though a 5 string player. ( I am not alone in this ). The fact that I could tune the 4 strings the same as the first four of the 5 String banjo (in open G tuning) made it easy and I CAN finger pick a tenor guitar, don't let anyone tell you it can't be done. Also the open tuning makes for a different range of sound. The amazing thing about the vaudeville kings of tenor banjo, many of whom did play on T.V. variety shows of my time, Ed Sullivan among them, is the blurring speed for the plectrum hand as opposed to speed of the 3 fingers in 5 string. They play whole chords as the melody notes, the 1st string being that higher pitch A. Over time I have obtained 8 string tenors, one of which was a special order from Gibson, a 1961 L -3 body, I got used. Two others are a 4 string resonator type and an 8 string resonator, the 8 strings are doubled up like a 12 string guitar. Both of those are from Mike Soares, of Long Island, who had relatives in Poland with a guitar factory, make the wood part. He then installed the cone and rest. The venerable Pete Seeger began with the longer necked 4 string plectrum then added the 5th string. It IS a Banjo Family in toto, eh ?

[@cindynipper]

Thank you!! I really enjoyed the history lesson! I was gifted a tenor banjo two days ago. So far, I can sort of play Kumbaya! Lol! Mine is old, having the drum section almost completely void of the white cover, its transparent. Mine has a wood dowel like piece holding the neck to the body. Everything I've seen videos about "learning how to play for beginners", shows metal. So far, my finger tips hurt, lol, but I've never played any instrument and I'm having fun! I just turned 54, and we need a few instruments in our worship team. Can anyone direct me to contemporary worship music for the tenor banjo? Or can I just use chord sheets for guitars? Thanks again for this video! Idaho, USA

[@FlatlandMando]

I bought a Framus 4 string tenor banjo & began a loose picking/ strumming technique with it. I had some mandolin experience & use the same GDAE ( from top) tuning. I had an instrument- maker take off the original cheesy acrylic head & put a fibre skin on it meant to resemble sheepskin but with no humidity problems. The bridge is a 3 footed Irish style bridge & overall, with Irish tenor banjo strings...my instrument is mellow, thunky & projects well. I love playing it & use capo on the second fret down from the nut, giving me a 17fret scale. 🎉😂❤❤

[@jamesyaun]

My mother played tenor banjo and sang some of those old-time jazz songs like little black mustache and some other things like that with it and she always tuned it like the top four of a guitar dgbe I play mandolin as well and the chords are completely different are you saying people tune it like a mandolin or Mandola? I have one now and keep it tuned like the top four of a guitar sometimes I drop the e to D so that it's like a banjo without the fifth string

[@chrisw5742]

I am gonna start posting a bunch of various covers on mine. I LOVE IT.

[@jamesbanjomanjohnson]

the tenor banjo was played in dixieland music and riverboat music of the day, the 5'th string was added for the clawhammer style of mountian music, earl scruggs was the first man to pick a banjo with 3 pickes on his fingers and thats when bluegrass music was born, the banjo is the king of bluegrass music and the main insterment, you can't have a bluegrass band without a banjo, so the reason the tenor banjo died is because the music died that it was used on, we all hate 2 see it go but everything in this world is trendy now, the steam train died when the diesel engine was invented, and the steam tractor died when the farm tractor came around prior 2 that it was horses that helped do our work...

[@MountainHomeJerrel]

I'm a big fan of the tenor banjo. I've recently repaired one and had a heck of a time finding new old stock to replace the broken 10 3/4" head.

[@donmattingly]

“Plectrum banjo”, not “Pectrum Banjo”. It was called the plectrum banjo because, aside from having one less string, it’s distinguishing characteristic from the 5-string banjo was that it was played using a plectrum (another word for a flat pick). Incidentally, Plectrum Banjos are tuned CGBD, which was also the standard tuning for 5-string banjos in that day (not counting all the tunings used in Appalchian music).

[@Medievalmontana]

I recently purchased a Tenor Banjo . I am learning it and the Mandolin at the same time for an Irish traditional band.

[@Three_Eyed_Willy]

The word is "Plectrum" banjo, not "pecktrum" banjo. Plectrum banjos are popular in polka bands. Eddie Peabody was a plectrum banjo player, as well. It was used for playing chord lead.

[@waveegravee]

Your homework was pretty good, but you forgot to include the four-string banjo craze and proliferation of "banjo bars" that occurred in the Sixties on both the East and West coasts: specifically the chain known as Your Father's Mustache and the Red Garter Clubs. And in fairness, the plectrum banjo offers a wealth of musical treasure in the CGBD tuning with 22 frets (the banjo that preceded the tenor.) Check plectrum greats here on KZbin: Buddy Wachter, Ken Aoki, Lee Floyd, Doug Mattocks, Scotty Plummer, Brad Roth, Eddie Peabody and Don Van Palta. And of course the greatest of them all, Perry Bechtel.

[@largethanks6376]

This was my first attempt at a history related video. To be fair, it has gotten mixed reviews, but hey, I do like honesty. Thanks for the input!

[@grahamnunn8998]

Good video but you neglected to mention Tenor Guitars. These were introduced by guitar companies to draw banjo players to guitars. Still have not got one of those but as a fretted instrument player I think I will eventually!

[@waltdavis29]

I build custom cigar box instruments. I’m about to finish my first tenor banjo, cigar box style, complete with a resonator. I have become enamored with these things. I haven’t really played one much but I’ll pick it up fast since I’m also a multi-instrumentalist

[@Ifixitagain]

There is a thing called the irish banjo, which is a shorter 17 fret tenor banjo which is easier if you have short fingers. But most irish banjo players use 19 fret. it seems the term irish banjo might be American? Jazz tenor players use different tuning though. Irish music banjos are tuned gdae, same as fiddle and mando.

[@josephangelastro473]

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

[@shortminute]

My 13 year old son has a 1954 Vega Tenor and a 1920s Epiphone Tenor. He plays his five string Banjos more, but! Give it time.

[@murrayhobbs]

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

[@lorrinf]

Claw hammer banjo player here. Just picked up a tenor. Does anybody have any good suggestion for online tutorials, books etc.. Need some help getting started.

[@johnpp]

Thing that mystifies me is Where are you from and where have you been to know as little as seems?? JohnPP

[@johnc6311]

Very much alive in Ireland its found in every folk session 🇮🇪🎶☘️

[@largethanks6376]

I'm glad to hear it's alive and well in Ireland 👍. From what I can tell, the 5 string banjo is far more popular in the USA. The tenor is almost unknown in America. It's a real shame too, it's far more versatile than people realize!

[@johnc6311]

@@largethanks6376 I very much agree! Time to pioneer the comeback! 🪕

[@nerfnerfification]

Interestimg - Pete Seeger in his banjo book said that it was 'flashy exhibtionism' that ruined the tenor - people were amazed at the players but not moved or delighted by them.

[@rudolphpyatt4833]

Interestingly, the tenor was used in “Feudin’ Banjos”, the piece on which “Dueling Banjos” is based. Check out how Arthur Smith trades tenor licks with Don Remo on the five string.

[@rudolphpyatt4833]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ip6wnGyqqKidqcU Both flying lick for lick. The tenor solos first.

[@PoplarvilleMan]

The photo of the banjo starting at 1:36 thru 2:26 and again starting at 5:53 thru 6:06 is not a tenor nor a five string banjo. It is called a "guitjo" as it has a guitar neck and a banjo body. It has six strings and is tuned like a guitar. Just thought you should know since you used the photo so prevalent in your history of the tenor banjo.

[@largethanks6376]

Thanks. The photos I used were limited due to most google images being copyright protected. I had to use public domain images

[@johnmurdoch8534]

I'm tempted to get a tenor banjo just based on fiddle/mandolin experience.

[@Elijah-cy9do]

Just out of curiosity, are you from Texas? Wonderful accent!

[@patrickbrady447]

I have a question , what ever happened to mandelines with a round back, that I used to see all the time back in the day

[@largethanks6376]

Those are called bowlback or "tater bug" mandolins. They used to be the primary form of mandolin until Gibson started making the style of mandolins we know today.

[@bluejuice7229]

The tenor banjo as a lead instrument in an Irish metal band, now that there would make a loud come back! It is a very emotional instrument in the hands of someone capable...

[@carthageflaherty6247]

youll find tenor banjo all over ireland and lots of great players ass well,if you look up Gerry o Conner he is one of my Best banjo players iv ever heard,best wishes from green Ireland, and thanks for video Largethanks

[@colin_botts]

I believe it is actually spelled "tenner," and originated in England from the phrase "I'll pay you a tenner to stop playing that bloody thing." 😂

[@kevinforde2555]

& octave mandolin is called after Caesars Missus lol

[@clayton56tube]

no, it's tenor, as in "could you play it ten or twelve miles from here?"

[@colin_botts]

@@clayton56tube 😂😂🤣

[@burtonfootballer5408]

The tenor banjo is alive and kicking and very welcome in the Irish sessions that I play in, HOWEVER can be a real pain in the hands of certain people that are either tone deaf, completely deaf or have no idea how to play it?

[@johnniejohn-jack7610]

Let's hear it for the Tenor Banjo...popularized in the 1950's and 60's by such celebrities as Jerry VanDyke and George Segal. Many other Actors-Singers used the Tenor in their routines. In 1978 I took Tenor Banjo lessons from Howard Alden. So for me, the Tenor has always been the instrument of choice. Here's Howard making it look easy...kzbin.info/www/bejne/in6YZmptq7SMfa8

[@a.scottclement6967]

This was, obviously, the precursor of the "tenor guitar," of which I am a devotee. I've always wondered where its tenor moniker came from. Now I know.

[@MarkWYoung-ky4uc]

I think Bob Wills brother, Johnny Lee, played tenor banjo with the Texas Playboys.

[@largethanks6376]

That's good to know. I couldn't find a lot of information about that

[@rudolphpyatt4833]

@@largethanks6376, Smokey Montgomery’s tenor drove the Light Crust Doughboys for decades, rather as Freddie Green’s archtop guitar drove Count Basie’s bands.

[@clivelangman8696]

I have 4, 5 and 6 string banjos (latter for Dixie). Amazed saying the tenor is rare.....the so called Irish tuning (GDAE) very common in ther UK and Ireland.....CGDA, more commonly used for jazz, also regularly found.

[@coltknight3945]

I'd say the Beverly Hillbillies did more to promote 5 string banjo than Deliverence

[@clairwaucaush7225]

I saw a tenor banjo in person a while back and always plan, and still do, to get one. The thing is I tried a regular banjo once and there was no way I could play it. Being left handed a tenor banjo could be easily flipped for left handed. Where a regular banjo could not. I've never seen a left handed banjo, and if I did, I'm sure it would cost A LOT!

[@markkrause3139]

Check the Gold Tone company in Florida. I just purchased a left hand tenor banjo tunes CGDA for $250 .

[@yourcelebrant]

The Irish love the tenor banjo and I suspect the name was in line with the tenor guitar. That would make more sense. And you didn't mention, but showed, six string banjos which have been around since at least 1820.

[@joeshea1010]

Completely different situation in Ireland. Here the tenor banjo is used with a plectrum and plays the tune.

[@bessiebraveheart]

Hello from England, I'm a guitar and mandolin player. I've just got me a tenor banjo, I like it better than my five string.

[@davestambaugh7282]

What I hate about the tenor banjo was the stretch. When ever I want to play an octave below the mandolin I have found that the guitar banjo is so much easier to play, being tuned in fourths!

[@DaltonLesh]

Tenor banjo is very strong in irish tradition. It's THE banjo for irosh music as 5 string just doesn't handle chord bashing well. Plus it's easy for Mandolin/bouzouki players to double on.

[@Skizze37]

There's just not a huge need for the instrument- it was designed for people who already played GDAE or DGBE. Plectrum banjo is another beast in its own right, considering it's more akin to a 5-string banjo in drop-C. Much more comfortable for complex jazz voicings.

[@paulmarkowski9794]

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.

[@gam1471]

The tenor banjo in the right hands and played well is a truly wonderful instrument - it's not dead, but as you ask - why isn't it more popular? Look and listen on KZbin to Steve Caddick and Nathan duetting on 'Sweet Georgia Brown': kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXzIpXetjphrmZY Here you'll hear chord and single string soloing akin to the great guitarist Django Reinhardt - but on the tenor banjo. I can't imagine how much work and talent it must take to achieve this level.

[@kerryburns6041]

I have a nice old Henson tenor banjo hanging on my wall - I think it's from the 1930´s, but I have a hard enough job trying to learn the 5 string, so it stays on the wall - a "sleeper." I don´t think Irish music has much of a foothold here in Andalucia, but one day its prince will come ...

[@davidrohlader3498]

Tenor was my first instrument, but playing the Irosh bouzouki tuned CGDA is easier in my old fingers.

[@karl131058]

At 6:04, that's no tenor banjo, it's got six full length strings, probably one of those guitar-neck-with-banjo-body-thingies!

[@Micheal-hp5xm]

Also got one.

[@MrPatdeeee]

I would say this, "When Earl Eugene Scruggs added a 5th (short) string on his banjo and played like NO one that ever played before! And over many years; the Tenor Banjo just couldn't do it any more! Sad of course. And it killed 4 man quartet singers; that used the tenor banjos"! And it happened with B & W movies and TV's! The Accordions, Hawaiian guitars; and other musical instruments, Etc! Thus, time goes by; and things change all the time. "Sum gud, Sum dud"! Oh Well.

[@UlfJagfors]

The short drone string came over from Africa 200 years before Scruggs He did not invent anything groundbreaking but but picked up and promoted and made popular a fast up picking style that was more or less already in use in the Mountain regions of Appalachia.About the African forerunner to the short drone string skinhead lutes see the picture of me holding one from Senegambia.