Читать книгу Banjo For Dummies - Bill Evans - Страница 33

IN THIS CHAPTER

Sizing up strings and frets for G tuning

Tuning your banjo by ear: Relative tuning

Using a tuner or another instrument: Reference tuning

Access the audio tracks and video clips at www.dummies.com/go/banjo

Question: “What's the difference between a banjo and a motorcycle?”

Answer: “You can tune a motorcycle.”

This unfortunate but frequently recited banjo joke speaks to a greater truth: The banjo can be one of the most difficult and frustrating of all stringed instruments to tune. One of the first steps to becoming a great player is getting tuned in and staying that way throughout a practice or playing session.

With just a bit of practice, using this section as a guide, you can master this all-important but sometimes elusive skill, making it possible for you to play at home without driving your loved ones insane. And when it's time to play with other musicians in a jam session, they'll be so grateful that you took the time to figure out how to tune your banjo that they just might let you play “Cripple Creek” with them twice at a slow speed.

To tune the banjo, you raise or lower the amount of tension of each string to match the sound of another banjo string or to match a reference note provided by another instrument or an electronic tuner. You adjust each string by turning its corresponding tuning peg. In this section, you get familiar with several different methods to tune your banjo, so you have absolutely no excuse but to tune in and pick on!

Like all other elements of banjo playing, tuning is a skill that gets easier with practice and the passage of time. Being able to distinguish one note from another isn't a mysterious psychic ability that you either are or aren't born with — tuning is a learned skill. Keep actively listening to how the sounds of the strings change as you turn the pegs. Don't be afraid to ask others for advice if you're unsure about whether a string is in tune, even when playing with others in a jam session. Other musicians want you to be in tune just as much as you want to be!