The 5-String Banjo
Like Duolingo, but for The 5-String Banjo. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
A short one: 11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Scruggs Sound and The Banjo's Soul. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in The 5-String Banjo
- The thumb's role as the rhythmic driver of the roll
- The continuous nature of the Forward Roll
- The Alternating Thumb Roll bounces between the thumb and fingers to create a steady rhythm
- This roll is better suited for vocal accompaniment than high-speed solos
- The thumb alternates between different strings to define the beat
- Metal picks produce a sharp, percussive 'crack' when striking the string
- Metal provides the volume needed to be heard over other loud instruments like the fiddle
- Syncopation comes from breaking the expected steady stream of notes
- When to choose an Alternating Thumb Roll over a Forward Roll
- Leaving a 'hole' in the roll emphasizes the notes that come right after it
- The impact of metal fingerpicks on banjo tone
- Skipping a thumb or finger strike shifts the rhythmic emphasis
- How syncopation is created within a roll
- The G chord is the 'home' base for the 5-string banjo
- G, C, and D are the primary chords used in the key of G bluegrass
- Most bluegrass songs follow a predictable 1-4-5 chord structure
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The 5-String Banjo the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
When you are playing a three-finger roll, what is the primary rhythmic job of your thumb?
Get it right to open this lesson and 10 more in the app.
Where The 5-String Banjo takes you
Master the rhythmic drive of the three-finger Scruggs style and discover how the unique 'drone' string defines the sound of American bluegrass.
- 1
The Scruggs Sound
- The Three-Finger Roll
- Playing Your First Bluegrass Tune
- 2
The Banjo's Soul
- The 5th String and Its History
- Navigating the Neck
2 sections · 4 units · 11 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
The 5-String Banjo is taught in the The Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start The 5-String Banjo today.
Download Tomo, search The 5-String Banjo, and play your first lesson in under a minute.