# I Need a Banjo **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 12, 2001, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157 "2001-07-12T00:00:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2001, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/21 "2001-07-12T20:47:23Z")
Well, if he gets a banjo, I want a harmonica. A _good_ one, not one of those cheapy deals. \ ---
**Author:** ![Plavacek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Plavacek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plavacek)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2001, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/22 "2001-07-12T21:30:50Z")
Many, many banjo(?e)s available for very few dollars on eBay. [one example](http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1446167183) ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2001, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/23 "2001-07-12T22:19:53Z")
think, I can see to it that you get a harp. If I can make it to OhDope, I’ll bring you one. There’s approximately onehundredeleventythousand of them here in my house (husband plays awesome blues harp, kids love to make noise). But, since I like you, I’ll get you a new one. Sorry I can’t help you, **Euty,** in your noble quest for one of the all-time coolest stringed instruments ever created. Harps I can do, but banjos are a little out of my price range. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Jester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jester/32/8223_2.png) [@Jester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jester)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2001, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/24 "2001-07-12T22:31:02Z")
[hijack] Psssssst…thinksnow, take a look here: [http://www.harmonicaspot.com/](http://www.harmonicaspot.com/) -Jester, attempting to learn the harp. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2001, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/25 "2001-07-12T23:18:01Z")
I dunno, Euty, I used to know a street musician in New Orleans who went by “Banjo Mike”. He’d wear a t-shirt with that name and go out to earn his living. At the end of the day, he’d start pulling on the vodka and look sad and beat. “S’matta, Mike?” “I’m doin’ OK, except for these fuckin’ Japanese tourists. Did you know “Banjo” means “toilet” in Japanese”??? So all these guys are laughin’ at me and wantin’ their pictures taken with the Toilet Guy! Banjo music _is_ an art, dammit, and here I am as a cheap Jap joke!" He died some months later from an OD, and I can’t say that he wasn’t on the edge anyway, but that Japanese translation really seemed to send him into a tizzy. Just so yer forewarned… ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2001, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/26 "2001-07-12T23:40:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kamandi \* > **I always wondered: is it possible to play a sad song on the banjo? Every song I’ve ever heard with banjo in it has been happy or at least lively.** I can only think of one at the moment, “Circus of Regrets” by Béla Fleck, on the album “Tales from the Acoustic Planet.” But it’s really the piano that makes this one sad. ---
**Author:** ![thinksnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thinksnow/32/2849_2.png) [@thinksnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thinksnow)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/27 "2001-07-13T00:00:15Z")
For some reason I thought a good harmonica was going to be expensive…that site **Jester** threw out has 'em for $4-$126, and everywhere in between. Thanks, **Jester**. **Persephone** , my red-headed goddess of the North, you better make it down for OhDope, I might need some help…with things…;)😉 [/hijack] **Euty** , I did a quick search and there are plenty o’banjos for sale, just roll on though [google.com](http://google.com) and link your way around…or were you looking for a “gimme?” ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/28 "2001-07-13T00:22:31Z")
Tuck it back in to your sock, **think.** This is a family show! But about the harps–for the most part, no they’re not expensive. You can get a good one for about $10, an excellent one for about $25, and a “this-is-the-harmonica-with-which-I-summon-the-GODS” for between $100-$125. Cost is something I’m familiar with. Can’t tell you how many of the darn things I’ve purchased. However, I cannot play a note, and know nothing about key. My suggestion would be to buy a several, in several different keys. And I still feel really, really bad about not being able to provide Euty with a banjo. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![girlwithwings](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@girlwithwings](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/girlwithwings)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/29 "2001-07-13T01:54:53Z")
I still have a banjo. A free banjo, if we can find a way to get it to Euty without either of us having to pay shipping… (am a poor college student). Perhaps we could form a sort of banjo chain\*? I’m in tallahahassee… \*i post to (don’t laugh!) the Rat Fan Club, and since the shipping of rats is illegal, people will form “rat trains” among the club members to deliver the rat to its new owner. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/30 "2001-07-13T02:31:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by girlwithwings \* > \*_I still have a banjo. A free banjo, if we can find a way to get it to Euty without either of us having to pay shipping… (am a poor college student). Perhaps we could form a sort of banjo chain_? I’m in tallahahassee… > \*\* Is it a four-string or a five-string? If it’s a four-string, Mr. S says he’ll send Euty his old five-string\* if he can have the four. I’ll even pay shipping – I have UPS and FedEx accounts. How’s that for complicating things? \*I just bought him a new one, and he was going to take the old one to the local folk festival this weekend and slap a price tag of $50 on it. So if anyone’s interested, you’ll have to act fast! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/31 "2001-07-13T02:37:15Z")
**Euty** could have my banjo too, if I still had it.\* But my no-account nephew, a half-ass sometime-professional musician, grabbed up everything vaguely musical in my father’s house years ago, except for the parlor organ, which must’ve been too heavy for the lazy bastard. My banjo, the garage-sale piano-accordion I paid twenny bucks for, my dad’s old trumpet from the '30s…I’m glad I finally got my tuba outta there, or that would be gone too. - I would, however, need something in trade. Does he have a sister? Is she cute? ---
**Author:** ![Jester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jester/32/8223_2.png) [@Jester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jester)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/32 "2001-07-13T02:54:24Z")
Well, from my (admittadly limited) knowledge of harp-playing, I’ll say this: When you first buy one, just get a small, ten-hole, single decker harp. I would recommend the key of C, since it’s pretty uniform for a lot of songs. Unless you’re going to start jamming with people right away, getting a bunch of different keys really isn’t necessary. Once you get good, worry about buying a bunch of other different keys. Remember, it makes a world of difference whether you suck or blow. I just wanted to say that, cause it sounds kinda dirty. If you get one, and I can come to the OhFest, I’ll bring mine and try weakly to keep up with you, depending on how good you are. Keep me posted me if you get one, or find any really good instructional sites. I’m just getting the hang of it, m’self, and any help would be much appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![girlwithwings](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@girlwithwings](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/girlwithwings)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/33 "2001-07-13T03:06:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scarlett67 \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by girlwithwings \* > > \*_I still have a banjo. A free banjo, if we can find a way to get it to Euty without either of us having to pay shipping… (am a poor college student). Perhaps we could form a sort of banjo chain_? I’m in tallahahassee… > > \*\* > > Is it a four-string or a five-string? If it’s a four-string, Mr. S says he’ll send Euty his old five-string\* if he can have the four. I’ll even pay shipping – I have UPS and FedEx accounts. How’s that for complicating things? > > \*I just bought him a new one, and he was going to take the old one to the local folk festival this weekend and slap a price tag of $50 on it. So if anyone’s interested, you’ll have to act fast! \*\* Sorry, it’s just a standard five-string! ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/34 "2001-07-13T04:19:28Z")
Jesus, who plays a damn FOUR-STRING any more? Whaddaya, a rhythm player in a Dixieland band? I’d be embarrassed to offer good ol’ **Euty** a FOUR-STRING. ---
**Author:** ![sdimbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sdimbert/32/20204_2.png) [@sdimbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sdimbert)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/35 "2001-07-13T06:58:28Z")
**Euty** , I had the same urge about three years ago. I hit eBay, found a Banjo and bought it. I was _serious_. I went to the local music store, bought extra strings, an electronic tuner and a book on the Earl Scruggs Method that came with a CD. I’ve since lost both the book and CD (I really think they were stolen when I took them on a trip) and, even with the damn tuner, I can’t ever tune the durn’ thing. Playing the Banjo is _hard_. Don’t let nobody tell you different. I’ve learned lots of skills from books: how to juggle torches, perform the cups and balls, program SQL, play the blues harp, buy a house, fillet a fish, fix a toilet, change a light switch, finish a basement, slow-play trips, etc, etc, etc. The banjo was the first one that ever beat me. ☹ Good luck… please share your progress. Maybe you’ll inspire me to try again. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/36 "2001-07-13T10:33:39Z")
You could always get a [harp guitar](http://www.harpguitars.com/index.html). I’ve actually got an old one at home that needs worked on before it’s very playable, but I can’t find a pic of one like it online. There used to be one, though. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/37 "2001-07-13T10:39:56Z")
Whoop, I take that back. I’ve got one like the [bottom picture](http://members.aol.com/harpgtrguy/gallery.html). ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/38 "2001-07-13T13:48:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kamandi \* > **I always wondered: is it possible to play a sad song on the banjo?** I think you may owe Steve Martin a royalty now. ---
**Author:** ![Kamandi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5daacb/32.png) [@Kamandi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamandi)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/39 "2001-07-13T17:00:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spoke- \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Kamandi \* > > **I always wondered: is it possible to play a sad song on the banjo?** > > I think you may owe Steve Martin a royalty now. \*\* 😕 By the way, I always wanted to learn to play the ukelele. And it has nothing to do with the fact that I have more than a passing resemblance to [Tiny Tim](http://www.tinytim.org/). ---
**Author:** ![sdimbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sdimbert/32/20204_2.png) [@sdimbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sdimbert)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2001, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157/40 "2001-07-13T17:12:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kamandi \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by spoke- \* > > \*\* > > > > > [@](#): > > > > > > \*Originally posted by Kamandi \* > > > **I always wondered: is it possible to play a sad song on the banjo?** > > > > I think you may owe Steve Martin a royalty now. \*\* > > 😕 > \*\* **Kamandi** , Steve Martin is a banjo player - a good one. He plays in his act and makes the joke that any song played on the banjo sounds happy. Then he picks out a jumpy melody and sings, “Death and misery, pain and hunger…” or something like that to prove his point. Funny bit. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-a-banjo/72157.md?page=3)