1. An absoloute must have accessory is the Shubb Capo a great piece of engineering in my books. Before the Shubb Capo came along, we had a mixture of various clamp type capos, all of which were very ungainly to use, and looked like medieval torture implements. Shubb Capos are a bit more expensive than their inferior copies, Ive had mine 15 years now and it works just as well now as the day i bought it. Since the Shubbs introduction, various similar style capos have come on the market, but the Shubb is without doubt the easiest to use and best made capo around. Rick Shubb also makes a whole load of other top quality banjo and guitar accessories.
(visit Rick Shubbs site and have a look ...click on the picture)


2. A Banjo Case, another must have accessory. When your not around that gorgeous looking Vega Tubaphone you just bought to learn on, will be like a magnet to kids, they cant keep their hands off them. Prying little fingers and hands can do strange things to banjos... they break strings, make your banjo a drum, knock it over, pour orange juice over it...need i go on? get a solid lockable banjo case and keep your banjo locked up when you are not playing it.

3. If you intend Playing Bluegrass, your gonna' need some finger and thumb picks, this comes down to personal preference which gauge and style of picks you use. Metal Picks give a much sharper note than those made of plastic, its a case of trying the various styles and materials until you find ones that feel comfortable for you.

4. A Banjo Strap ...not a must have accessory, but will make life easier for you.

5. A spare set of Strings!!!!, always have at least one spare set of strings in your banjo case, my banjo strings always seem to break at night or after the local music store has closed, its damn frustrating when you get in the mood to do some pickin' and .....Twanggg !!! hey there goes my 5th string........the 2 most common strings that break are the 1st and 5th, if you use the same gauge of strings all the time try to buy some individual 1st and 5th strings if you can......but in any case always keep a spare set handy.

6. Pitch Pipes or a Tuning Fork....another must have...unless your hearing has perfect pitch you will never get the banjo into perfect tuning you can buy Electronic Tuners now if you like gadgets.

7. Not really an accessory this...more of a tip, keep a towel handy.........no, not for drying your banjo it makes a great mute for silencing your banjo when your partner is threatning you with divorce, or murder. Remove the Resonator and put the towel inside the banjo pot......Instant Mute!!!


Reading Tablature

What is Tablature?...tablature is a simple way of writing down tunes. much easier than reading music, tablature is what most banjo players will use to pass on their tunes.....

Examples 1 to 4 above are examples of tablature you might find in Frailing style tabs...Example 5 is what you might find in a Bluegrass tab.

What do the above Examples mean?.....

Example five....... this requires a bit of practise...this is known as a double thumbing roll ....string 3 should be played Open or unfretted with the Thumb, immediately you should then pick string 2 with the index finger, followed by string 5 with the thumb, followed by string 1 with the middle finger, then repeat the whole thing again without stopping......Phew!! ....

so this tab break means....string 3 played 0 = Open.
T = Thumb
string 2 played 0 = Open.
I = Index Finger.
string 5 played 0 = Open.
T = Thumb
string 1 played 0 = Open.
M = Middle Finger.....then repeat all without stopping (take a look at the Bluegrass Section for more rolls)

Grace Notes

Whats a Grace Note?....a grace note is a finger technique that enhances or "Graces" a tune.

Common examples of grace notes would be:


1. A Hammer On.... 2. A Slide..... 3. A Pull Off.....4. A Back Slide.....

Back Slide: Hold down a string on...lets say the 5th fret, dont lift it, then backslide it.

examples of how these might look in tablature are shown below




Some people when writing tabs put the fret number on the line, while others will put the Fret numbers above the line, both mean the same thing, as shown in the example above.

Care and Maintainance of your Banjo

A Banjo, if treated right will last for many years with a minimum of maintainance, you only have to take a look at some old Fairbanks or Vega Banjos from the turn of the Century to know that. Unfortunately the modern living style can be a banjos worst enemy, Central Heating, radiators and gas or electric fires play havoc with your banjo if left to close to them. Similarly the cold does not help your banjo either, leaving an old banjo laying in a cold room for long periods is just asking for trouble.

If you lose patience when learning dont just throw your banjo into an old closet and forget about it, you wont be the first to get frustrated learning the banjo and if you decide to sell it, at least your investment will be looked after. If you have a case, put it in the case, if you are intending leaving it for a long period of time....loosen all the strings and lay the bridge flat, dont put it in beside the central heating system as a friend of mine done, thinking it would keep dampness at bay. Only to find 3 months later the old calfskin head had split.
Apart from regularly changing the strings, adjusting the tension hoop from time to time and every once in a while giving the fretboard a good clean, the only other thing you can do is to give it a polish. Any Music store will have some form of cleaner for guitar or banjo, it wont make it play any better....but a clean banjo sure does look good.