How to Play the 5-String Banjo

Pete Seeger (1919–2014) was a national treasure who had a long and exceptional career as a folk singer and social activist. Overall, he appears on (or is otherwise associated with) an astonishing total of 123 Smithsonian Folkways recordings.

In 1948, Seeger wrote a manual entitled How to Play the 5-String Banjo (originally self-published, the third edition was reprinted in 2013). Then, in 1954, Seeger recorded an instructional album on playing a 5-string banjo. The manual and the recording have influenced aspiring banjo players for generations.

On the album Seeger explains and provides examples of basic tunings, strums, and techniques such as “hammering on” and “pulling off” and other aspects of playing. He covers the basics of a variety of styles, including “frailing,” 3-finger, blues, jazz, Spanish flamenco, and Latin American rumba styles.

Liner notes provide background information, a complete transcript, and musical notation.

Track Listing

101	A Basic Strum	Pete Seeger	01:09
102	Now with the left hand	Pete Seeger	00:22
103	Now with the index finger	Pete Seeger	00:56
104	The Fifth String	Pete Seeger	00:43
105	Now take that same song	Pete Seeger	00:25
106	Hammering On	Pete Seeger	01:16
107	Here's a little bit of the	Pete Seeger	00:21
108	Pulling Off	Pete Seeger	01:10
109	Well, now, if you study the	Pete Seeger	00:46
110	Double Thumbing	Pete Seeger	00:49
111	Now, for just one more time	Pete Seeger	00:23
112	Now, not all songs, alfterall	Pete Seeger	00:55
113	Here's the song. 'Hard Ain't It Hard'	Pete Seeger	00:28
114	Frailing	Pete Seeger	00:59
115	In the G tuning, you might try	Pete Seeger	01:02
116	Now, frailing is the best way	Pete Seeger	00:50
117	Three-Finger Picking	Pete Seeger	01:14
118	Here's another devleopment of	Pete Seeger	01:01
119	Here's the song, "Cindy"	Pete Seeger	00:21
120	A Loud Strum	Pete Seeger	00:55
121	Here is a variation of the above	Pete Seeger	00:48
122	Three Micscellaneous Postscripts	Pete Seeger	01:06
123	If you ever want to play a	Pete Seeger	00:46
124	A roll is a special banjo effect	Pete Seeger	00:24
125	3/4 and 6/8 Time	Pete Seeger	00:57
126	Using this method, and a little	Pete Seeger	00:26
127	For a more sustained effect	Pete Seeger	01:37
128	Incidentally, this type of	Pete Seeger	01:13
129	Now 6/8 time is the same	Pete Seeger	01:05
130	Blues and Jazz	Pete Seeger	01:04
131	Another common blues guitar	Pete Seeger	00:38
132	Here's a sample blues passage	Pete Seeger	00:28
133	Spanish and South American Guitar Techniques	Pete Seeger	00:50
134	Here's one way to get a rhumba	Pete Seeger	00:55
136	Here's still another way of	Pete Seeger	01:36
137	This last pattern can be	Pete Seeger	01:00