Is it difficult for someone who plays guitar to play the banjo?

Question

Is it difficult for someone who plays guitar to play the banjo?

Answer 1

I don't know, but my friend is an amazing guitarist and he said the banjo was hard.  So I would say yes.  I guess you have a head start, but you need to knock out a few teeth, put on some dirty overalls, and start sippin' moonshine first.  I'm from Kentucky so I'm allowed to say that.  By the way, I love bluegrass music and the sound of a banjo.

Answer 2

I've played both--as well as a lot of other strings.

The basic left-hand techniques are identical.  The right-hand technique may be much tougher, depending on whether you're aiming to play plectrum, frehling, bluegrass, jazz, or other styles.

The tuning is also different, so you'll need to pick up new chord patterns--but that's fairly easy to do, it's just like figuring out a new guitar chord.

Answer 3

Great question!  You'll really enjoy playing the banjo if you've already got some guitar under your belt.  Three things you need to know:

1. Get a good banjo.  You'll have a battle on your hands if you dive into learning with a poor instrument.  The banjo is not difficult to learn some hard core practice and a good instrument will go a long way.

2. Start with learning your rolls.  Forward, backward, and alternating rolls are the key to good banjo playing.  Your goal here is to build a strong coordinated right hand. A lot of people get hung up in fancy licks, but if your an ace at playing the basic roll patterns in a consistent timely fashion you'll quickly rise above the rest.

3.  Find a teacher or mentor.  You'll save yourself some time and heartache if you jump in with someone who knows what their doing on the banjo and pump them for information.  Tablature is also a good way to learn songs.  I recommend learning rolls followed by one song at a time.  This will give you confidence and will start your repertoire of banjo songs to play for your friends and family.  

Check out our banjo lessons website at http://banjoexpert.com.  We have tons of video lessons and banjo podcasts to get you started on the right path.  Once your there feel free to ask as many questions as you would like.  

Happy picking,

Ryan