More....

[Tim Twiss]

I'm licking my chops.....looking at that Green Converse Book. When to start...? I seem to get posessed by it once I start, so I have to make sure the rest of life is in order first...ha ha.

I plan on that and the Buckley 1868 soon.

[Tim Twiss]

Pitch...as it relates to the reponsiveness of the instrument...there was a Wall Street Jouranl article a while ago that spoke of the change of pitch over time. It mentioned the stress put on the Stradivarius violins today. When they were made, A was at 420. By the time of Verdi, it was at 435. The raising of the pitch was due to concert halls getting larger and needing greater projection and volume from the instruments. They are actually beginning to find that the increased tension on these old originals may damage them. On the banjo, the response time of a string is greater with the increased pitch, and an aid to execution.

[Tim Twiss]

But I add, that they were calling for the tuning to be at E. Funny, how we all accept the Briggs' D as standard.

[Rob Morrison]

Ian and Others--I suppose it's all just personal preference, but my fretless banjos seem to be happier in the D/G tuning in that they feel better under my fingers and I love the way the bass growls.  To anybody else's ears, i'm not so sure.--Rob Morrison

[Joel Hooks]

I’ve brought that up more than a few times—pitch.  The default was set in the hobby before I got here. On the Hamilton version of FBC “Banjo Made Easy” the last page has this hand written “to play in this key tune thus” and one of the pitches is the G/Briggs.  That was in the 90s.  So there is at least one documented example of “G” late century.

 

That said, banjoists were tuning up to B flat by the 70s to play with orchestras, and by the mid 80s some were as high as D, fourth with standard intervals.

 

My theory is that A sounds too close to today’s (1880s) concert pitch, and as such not quaint enough.  Same reason that the scroll head Boucher pattern banjos are prevalent in the hobby when the documents, writings and photos of professional players show “New York” (Clarke) pattern banjos, but those look too much like the modern “old time” banjo to stand out.

 

The other point to consider is our voices.  Instrumental is fine at any pitch, but singing is another thing.

[Tim Twiss]

That E pitch...it sounds high when you first change the tuning up from D. But after you let it set for a while, and then just keep doing it...it seems plenty low.

[Joel Hooks]

For the sake of consistency (this can be confusing) I try to always say and write “pitch” as opposed to “tuning.”  I also refer to the “pitch” as the forth string note, or lowest, in standard intervals to stay with the vernacular in common use before Hawaiian guitar style country banjo.  Thus-- Briggs’ = “G”, then “A” (as in “A notation”) then B flat (to play in the natural key of many brass instruments), then “C” (as in “C or English, later Universal Notation” post 1907).

 

I find that referring to the banjo pitch by the modern fetish of elevated bass as the starting point for intervals causes issues when one actually gets into original materials.

[Tim Twiss]

I almost wish we used the term  "concert" pitch, like they do in band. That eliminates all variables of interpretation

 

 

[Tim Twiss]

Anyway, i am playing tunes in E with the Bell 27". Ill post audio and video. My recorded audio is always superior to my sony cam just in the quality. I have a simple mic, but it seems quite true.

[Ron]

I'd like to ask a related question.  I'm interested in learning  about why did the 4th string pitch become what it is today (in other than minstrel banjo) in relation to the other strings? I believe some refer to this as Elevated 4th string. Is this because the nature of the tunes changed or some other reason?

 

 

 

[Joel Hooks]

The three octave neck.