Complete Encyclopaedia of Music/B/Banjo
Banjo. A favorite instrument among the negroes of the south. It is a rude imitation of the guitar united with the tambourine. Its head and neck are formed like the guitar ; it has five strings, is played with the fingers and hand, and its body is in the form of a hoop, over maid parchment is stretched as over a drum.
Position. -Hold the banjo in the left hand, about two inches from the nut; let the neck rest in the hollow of your hand, which will bring your fingers and thumb directly over the strings, and let the instrument rest against your right side, which will bring it in a proper position to perform with the right hand. You must sit in an upright and graceful position, as it is less tire-some, and will give your right hand a fuller use of the instrument.
On tuning the Banjo in the Key of C. - Tune the middle or third string to C, the fifth or shorter to C an octave above ; tune the fourth string to F a fifth below lower C. Tune the second string to E a third above the lower C, and tune the first to G on a third above the second or a fifth above lower C.
The 0 above represents the open strings, the figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, the fingers to place upon them.
On tuning the Banjo in the Key of (D.) # # Tune the middle or third string to D, the fifth to D an octave above, the fourth to G, the second to F, and the first to A, which corresponds to A on the violin.