Music & AudioBeginnerPreview
Banjo
A hands-on beginner course in Scruggs-style 5-string bluegrass banjo covering picking-hand rolls, fretting-hand chords, and a starter repertoire. You finish able to play Cripple Creek and Boil Them Cabbage Down at a steady tempo.
Absolute beginners who want to play bluegrass on the 5-string banjo, including guitar players crossing over and first-time string instrumentalists.
Course content
Workbook & downloads
Put the course into practice — a printable workbook plus editable templates you can fill in and reuse.
Preview the workbook
This workbook turns the Banjo course into daily practice. Each section maps to one course module, moving you from setup and tuning through rolls, chords, and your first tunes. Work the exercises with your banjo in hand and a metronome running, and use the templates to track tempo gains and maintenance.
Meet the Banjo and Open G Tuning
Get the instrument set up, in tune, and comfortable in your hands before you play a note.
Exercise: Name the Parts Out Loud
Hold your banjo and physically touch each part as you name it. Repeat until you can do it from memory without looking. This builds the vocabulary you need for tuning and maintenance.
- Locate and name the head, bridge, tailpiece, tone ring, and fifth-string peg by feel.
- Identify which string is the first string and which is the fourth, and explain why the fifth string is special.
- Explain in one sentence why the high fifth string is treated as a drone rather than a melody string.
Worksheet: Open G Tuning Reference Card
Fill in the correct note for each string and the fretted-to-open ear check that confirms it. Keep this card with your banjo until the tuning is memorized.
- Fifth string note
- Fourth string note
- Third string note
- Second string note
- First string note
- Ear check 1: fourth string at fret 5 should match which open string
- Ear check 2: third string at fret 4 should match which open string
- Ear check 3: second string at fret 3 should match which open string
Checklist: Setup and Picks Ready Check
- Banjo is tuned to open G and all five strings ring as one clean G chord when strummed
- Strap is on and the neck sits at a 30 to 45 degree angle while seated
- Picking-hand pinky anchors lightly on the head behind the bridge
- Thumbpick and two metal fingerpicks are fitted with blades angled just past the nail
- Fifth string was tuned up slowly and did not snap
The Foundation Rolls
Build a smooth, even picking-hand engine across the four core rolls and the pinch.
Exercise: Roll Evenness Drill
Play each roll on open strings only, two notes per metronome click at 60 BPM. Record yourself on a phone and listen back for any note that is louder, quieter, early, or late.
- Play the forward roll (T-I-M-T-I-M-T-M) for 16 measures without a stumble.
- Play the backward roll (M-I-T-M-I-T-M-T) for 16 measures with equal volume on every note.
- Play the alternating-thumb roll (T-I-T-M-T-I-T-M) for 16 measures.
- Listen to your recording and note which roll was least even, then give it extra reps.
Worksheet: Roll Pattern Map
Write out the picking-finger sequence for each roll and one sentence describing its musical feel and a tune or situation it suits.
- Forward roll finger sequence
- Forward roll feel and use
- Backward roll finger sequence
- Backward roll feel and use
- Alternating-thumb roll finger sequence
- Alternating-thumb roll feel and use
- Forward-reverse roll finger sequence
- Pinch description and when to use it
Checklist: Rolls Mastery Gate
- Forward roll is clean and even at 80 BPM
- Backward roll is clean and even at 70 BPM
- Alternating-thumb roll is clean and even at 70 BPM
- Forward-reverse roll plays smoothly within a single measure
- Pinch produces two clear notes struck at exactly the same instant
Chords and Fretting-Hand Technique
Lock in the G, C, and D7 chords and the ornaments that make rolls musical.
Exercise: Chord-Change Timing Drill
Set a metronome to 60 BPM, one chord per click. Strum and check every note rings before moving on. Focus on closing the gap between chords, not on holding each shape.
- Cycle G to C to G to C for two minutes with no break in the rhythm.
- Add D7 and cycle G-C-G-D7 cleanly for two minutes.
- Note which single chord change is your slowest and drill only that transition 20 times.
Exercise: Make the Ornaments Ring
Isolate each fretting-hand technique and repeat it until the second note rings as loudly as a picked note. Quietness means more decisiveness or finger strength is needed.
- Slide the second string from fret 2 to fret 4 thirty times, keeping pressure through the slide.
- Hammer-on from the open third string to fret 2 until the hammered note is loud and clear.
- Pull-off from the second string fret 2 to open with a sideways snap, not a straight lift.
- Choke the second string up a whole step and stop exactly on the target pitch.
Worksheet: Chord Shape Diagrams
For each chord, write the fret and finger for every fretted string and mark which strings are open. Note any string that buzzed and what fixed it.
- G chord: which strings are fretted or open
- C chord: string, fret, and finger for each fretted note
- D7 chord: string, fret, and finger for each fretted note
- Which chord buzzed most and the fix that cleaned it up
- Target metronome tempo reached for clean G-C-D7 changes
Checklist: Fretting-Hand Readiness
- G, C, and D7 all ring with no buzzed or muted strings
- G-to-C and C-to-G changes happen in time at 60 BPM
- Slide, hammer-on, and pull-off each ring as loudly as a picked note
- The second-string choke lands accurately on its target pitch
Your First Tunes and Instrument Care
Read tablature, assemble two real tunes, and keep the instrument in playing condition.
Exercise: Tab Reading Sprint
Pull a free beginner tab for Cripple Creek from a site like banjohangout.org and decode it before playing. This proves you can read tab independently.
- Identify the time signature and how many eighth notes fall in each measure.
- Translate the first four measures into strings, frets, and picking fingers in writing.
- Mark every slide, hammer-on, pull-off, and choke symbol in those measures.
Exercise: Slow-Perfect Tune Build
Learn Cripple Creek and Boil Them Cabbage Down four measures at a time at half speed, then connect the chunks. Only raise the tempo after a clean pass.
- Play Cripple Creek's opening slide lick cleanly at half speed ten times in a row.
- Play Boil Them Cabbage Down all the way through at 70 BPM, keeping time through any mistakes.
- Log the fastest clean tempo you reached for each tune in the tempo tracker template.
Worksheet: Maintenance Setup Log
Record the current state of your instrument so you can hear and measure the effect of each adjustment.
- Head tap pitch near the bridge before adjustment
- Head tap pitch after adjustment
- Bridge position: does nut-to-fret-12 equal fret-12-to-bridge
- Intonation check: do open, fret-12 harmonic, and fretted fret-12 match
- String gauge set installed and date changed
Checklist: First-Tunes and Care Completion
- You can read a beginner banjo tab without help
- Cripple Creek plays cleanly at 100 BPM with the slide ringing
- Boil Them Cabbage Down plays through with smooth G-C-D7 changes
- Bridge is correctly placed and the instrument intonates in tune up the neck
- You changed at least one string one-at-a-time without losing the bridge position
Your Action Plan
- Tune to open G and verify with all three fretted-to-open ear checks before every practice session.
- Spend the first week on rolls only, open strings, building evenness at 60 to 80 BPM with no melody.
- Add the G, C, and D7 chords in week two and drill the changes one chord per metronome click.
- Introduce slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs in week three, repeating each until it rings as loud as a picked note.
- Learn to read tab by decoding a free Cripple Creek arrangement before attempting to play it.
- Build Cripple Creek four measures at a time at half speed, then connect the chunks.
- Add Boil Them Cabbage Down to practice the G-C-D7 progression inside a roll.
- Raise tempo by only 5 BPM after each clean pass, working both tunes toward 90 to 110 BPM.
- Log every practice session's tempo and minutes in the tempo tracker to see measurable progress.
- Check head tension and bridge placement monthly and change strings when tone goes dull, one string at a time.
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