Ruminations on the 5-String
in Celtic Music
by Chuck Middleton
The 5-string banjo is relatively new to Irish & Celtic
Music but holds
it's own in many sessions these days. Since it has a
different "feel"
and tonal range than the more traditional Tenor Banjo, it
contributes
a unique sound to the world of Celtic music.
The first truly Irish tune I learned was taught by banjo
master Bill
Keith in a workshop in 1978. The tune was "Morrison's Jig" in Am (Ador)
rather than the normal Em (Edor) ! Bill was definitely a
pioneer in
adapting Irish tunes to the 5-string.
When he played for Bill Monroe in the early 60's, he wowed
the
crowds with note-for-note renditions of Devil's Dream and
Sailor's
Hornpipe played as a medley. His fluid style of playing
became known
as Melodic Banjo which is a counterpoint to the more
rhythmic style
of Earl Scruggs. But even Earl played some very Irish
sounding versions
of several tunes as early as the 50's. One in particular is
Home Sweet
Home in the key of C.
More recent purveyors of 5-string Celtic music include Tom
Hanway
and Alan Johnson. Each of these players has a book of
tablature with
lots of great tunes. I started learning with Tom's book and
then later
found Alan's book. They complement each other very well
since they
don't overlap on too many tunes. Both books have lots of
extra information
on the tunes, etiquette, etc. Another very innovative
Celtic 5-string
musician is Chris Grotewohl. Chris perfectly captures the
cool
sound of the Irish Tenor Banjo by playing fluently in
single-string
style using three finger picking to achieve the triplets in
Irish music.
Chris foregoes the use of the fifth string altogether !
For those interested in learning this beautiful style of
music, here's the
two books I highly recommend:
Tom Hanway's book is "The Complete Book of Irish & Celtic
5-String
Banjo" published by Mel Bay. Alan Johnson's book is
"An Introduction
to Celtic Music for the Five String Banjo". Both books
include a CD
with most of the tunes from the book. Chris Grotewohl's website has
info and tabs in his style of playing.