Welcome to the BanjoTrain Resource Page! There's a lot of useful information here to help both beginner's and more advanced banjo players. I plan to add to this area as time goes by so stop back again soon.

I start with something many non-banjo players think is an oxymoron-how to tune a banjo. In the age of electronic tuners I find that many pickers don't know how to tune the banjo to itself without a gizmo to help. Shame on you! Some of us can still remember tuning forks and pitch pipes. Try playing along with old Flatt and Scruggs records when they kept tuning higher until the instruments sounded “right” meaning they usually tuned about 1 fret high!

Check out my online tuner that will give you the correct pitches for each string. Sorry I can't reach through your monitor and actually tune for you!

The first thing new banjo players need is a banjo! I've included a guide to purchasing your first banjo.

Next comes reading tablature for beginners. This section will be particularly helpful if you are using any of my tablature from the free section or from my lessons. I think of tablature as a great learning tool, but one that's easy to get “addicted” to. I couldn't do lessons without it, but I also provide sound clips so you can learn to ear what things sound like.

Chords come next. You'll find some helpful chord charts here. I show you both the actual chords like G, C, and D as well as chord forms for major, minor, and 7th chords that can be used anywhere on the neck.

Who needs music theory? Anybody who wants to understand something about what we're doing when we play bluegrass music. This isn't an advanced course, but it you have never studied any type of instrumental or vocal music this section should give you a good basic knowledge of how music is written, what rhythm is, and what note, scales, and chords are all about. This is good stuff to know! You can get by without knowing any of it, but you'll understand what other people mean when they talk about singing harmony, playing different chords, or what kind of rhythm to play.

I also show you how to choose and wear finger and thumb picks. The main idea here is to try different picks as you are learning to find what works best for you.

I hope this material is helpful and easy to understand. If you would like to see anything different, please use the Contact link to let me know.