In einer eMail vom 06.10.2007 15:59:00 Westeuropaische Sommerzeit schreibt [EMAIL PROTECTED]:
Having an open string tuned a fourth above the root doesn't, for me at least, saeem to give a tuning any particular advantage. Kevin, The classic 5-string banjo tuning of gCGBD is basically a chord of G major with the bass string a fourth above (or a fifth below) the tonic. The most comfortable keys in this tuning are C, F and G in that order. C minor is just as easy as C major. The tonality of the "easy" keys is determined by the note on the open bass string, not by the triad formed by the higher strings. The same tuning, but without the high "g" 5th string, is used on plectrum banjos in jazz bands, and those guys can play chords happily in any key, including the "flat" keys beloved of all wind players. Bluegrass banjo-pickers prefer the tuning gDGBD, which is a real open-chord tuning. I think they're happier in the keys of D and G, though I've never tried it myself. I use the banjo a lot for accompaniment, and I sing most songs in C, and the few that I can't I can manage in G, which is not so comfortable for solo playing, but has easy chords. At present, I'm working up a few Elizabethan and Jacobean English tunes on the gCGBD banjo. They work very well. If the guitar is the heir to the music of the lute, then the classic banjo is definitely the heir to the Renaissance cittern! Cheers, John D. -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
