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You can buy all kinds of banjo chord books with
every banjo chord that there is, but these are all that you
need. For now just look at the top of the neck, those are
the chords that you will start with. The first "G"
is open. In playing any instrument, you will want to only
fret the note that you need. Example: Look at the
"F" at the top right corner; here the forth string is
fretted. Look at the "G" at the top left.
The same finger position is used except that the the forth dot is
left off. The reason is that the forth string is not used so
much down the neck so why tie up a finger with it. If you
need it, use it. The fifth string is always played open; it
is just a string used to fill in a gap in a run to make things
flow easier. Notice the pattern of the chords and how they
are the same from one chord to the next on the major scale.
Example: Look at the "G" and see the first chord fretted
at the top of the neck. Now look at the middle of the neck
on the "C" chart. It is the same chord. Now
notice that the next position for each is the same position.
Now look at the "D" chart and you will see the same
pattern. Say you want to play in the "A" chord but
it is too hard; place a capo on the second fret and play in the
"G" position. It is that easy. If you don't
have a capo, use a short pencil and a rubber band. That is
an old Earl Scruggs trick.
Warren Yates
The
Warren Yates Method of Playing Bluegrass Banjo for Beginners
DVD
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