Learn
The different types of banjos
“Banjo” covers a whole family of instruments — different string counts, tunings and sounds, each built for a different kind of music. Here is a plain guide to all of them, so you can tell which one you actually want.
If you only remember one thing: the number of strings and the tuning tell you almost everything about what a banjo is for. Below, each type gets the same four answers — what it is, how it is tuned, the music it suits, and who should buy it. Jump to the one you care about, or read the whole family in order.
Quick comparison
The 5-string banjo
What it is
The 5-string is the banjo most people picture, and by far the most common. Its defining feature is a short fifth string — a high drone — with its tuning peg set halfway up the neck, so it only runs across the top frets. That drone is what gives the instrument its bright, ringing, unmistakably banjo sound.
Tuning
Open G, written gDGBD — strum the open strings and you already have a G chord.
The music it suits
Bluegrass (played Scruggs-style with fingerpicks and three-finger rolls) and old-time (played clawhammer or frailing, with the back of the nail). This is the banjo of Earl Scruggs, of front-porch jams, and of most banjo you have ever hummed along to.
Who should buy it
Almost every beginner, and anyone drawn to American roots music. It has the deepest well of lessons and tab, and the widest resale market. If you are torn, this is the safe answer — see our best banjos for beginners for specific picks.
The tenor banjo (4-string)
What it is
A four-string banjo with a shorter neck (usually 17 or 19 frets) and no drone string. It is played with a flat pick rather than fingerpicks, which makes it loud, punchy and rhythmic.
Tuning
Standard jazz tuning is CGDA (like a viola). Irish players usually retune to GDAE — an octave below a fiddle — so fiddle tunes fall straight under the fingers.
The music it suits
Irish traditional music, where it plays fast single-note melody lines, and 1920s Dixieland jazz, where it chops chords to drive the band. Two very different jobs, one instrument.
Who should buy it
Irish trad players and trad-jazz rhythm players. If you love session tunes or early jazz, start here rather than with a 5-string — the technique and repertoire are different. Browse tenor banjos on Amazon to see the range.
The plectrum banjo (4-string)
What it is
Essentially a 5-string banjo neck with the short drone string removed — a full-length 22-fret neck and four strings, played with a pick (a “plectrum”).
Tuning
Usually CGBD, close to the low four strings of a 5-string banjo without the drone.
The music it suits
Classic jazz, ragtime and chord-melody playing. The long neck gives more room for extended chords and single-string runs than a tenor, which is why banjo soloists of the jazz age favored it.
Who should buy it
Jazz and ragtime players who want chord-melody range, and 5-string players curious about pick-style playing on a familiar-length neck. It is the most specialist of the common types.
The 6-string banjo (guitar-banjo)
What it is
A banjo body with a six-string guitar neck — also called a banjitar or guitjo. It gives a banjo’s bright, snappy voice to anyone who already plays guitar, with zero relearning.
Tuning
Standard guitar tuning, EADGBE. Every chord and scale you know on guitar transfers directly.
The music it suits
Whatever you already play on guitar, recolored with banjo tone — folk, country, pop, worship. It is more a crossover tool than a traditional banjo, and purists will tell you it does not sound quite like a “real” banjo, which is fair.
Who should buy it
Guitarists who want the banjo sound without learning rolls or clawhammer. If your goal is real bluegrass technique, though, get a 5-string instead — 6-string banjos are a shortcut, not the same instrument.
The banjolele
What it is
A ukulele-scale banjo: a small banjo body with four nylon or nylon-and-metal strings and a short uke neck. Light, cheap, and genuinely fun. It was a music-hall favorite in the 1920s and 30s, and it is having a moment again with ukulele players.
Tuning
Standard ukulele tuning, gCEA — so any uke player can pick it up and play immediately.
The music it suits
Vintage pop, novelty and vaudeville numbers, plus anything in the ukulele songbook given a banjo bite. It is a strummer, not a bluegrass machine.
Who should buy it
Ukulele players wanting more volume and snap, travelers who want something small, and anyone who wants a low-cost, low-pressure way into banjo-family tone. See banjoleles on Amazon for how affordable they are.
Open-back vs resonator
This is not a separate type so much as a choice that cuts across the 5-string (and some others). A resonator banjo has a wooden bowl bolted to the back that reflects sound forward — louder and punchier, the standard for bluegrass. An open-back banjo leaves the back exposed: lighter, quieter, warmer and plunkier, the traditional choice for clawhammer and old-time. Same family, different voice — pick by the music you want, not by looks.
Electric and acoustic-electric banjos
What they are
An acoustic-electric banjo is a normal banjo with a pickup fitted under the head or bridge, so it can be plugged into an amp or PA. A true electric banjo often has a solid or semi-solid body and little acoustic volume, built to be amplified like an electric guitar.
The music it suits
Loud stages, banjo in rock, funk and jam bands, and any situation where a mic will not keep up. Effects pedals open up sounds a traditional banjo cannot make.
Who should buy it
Gigging players who fight to be heard, and experimenters who want to run banjo through pedals. For most beginners it is a want, not a need — a good acoustic banjo and a clip-on pickup covers the same ground for less.
If you are new and not sure, get a 5-string resonator banjo. It plays the widest range of popular banjo music, has the most beginner material behind it, and holds its value if you change your mind. Only start with a tenor, plectrum or banjolele when you already know you want Irish trad, jazz, or a small portable instrument.
Frequently asked questions
Where to go next
Settled on a type? Our best banjos for beginners guide turns it into specific models, and the best banjo brands guide covers who makes what and what to pay.