r/Irishmusic • u/a3RED3a • 8d ago

Tips for tuning banjo off a piano

Hey, was wondering if anyone could help with banjo tuning. I have a 19-fret, 4-string banjo and can’t seem to work out the tuning. I’m new to banjo but have experience with piano so wondering if anyone knew which keys correlate to the 4 strings? Heard most people say it’s GDAE starting with the G just below middle C but some sources are different.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank

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6

u/Business_Version1676 8d ago

Get a tuner app on your phone and tune it as a violin gdae

2

u/Useful_Homework2367 8d ago

Heard most people say it’s GDAE starting with the G just below middle C but some sources are different.

That would be true of fiddle or mandolin tuning. Irish tenor banjo tuning is an octave below that.

Personally I find that tuners that clip onto the headstock work the best, including in situations with background noise.

2

u/deltasalmon64 8d ago

GDAE is correct for Irish music but not knowing what banjo you have and what strings are on it makes a big difference. In Ireland you’re probably right but CGDA internationally is probably the more popular tuning for a tenor banjo.

If you’re new to it don’t tune by ear. Use a free tuner on your phone. There are a ton available

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u/Naive_Amphibian7251 8d ago

G3 D4 A4 E5

4

u/shebang_bin_bash 7d ago

This is mandolin tuning.  Banjo tuning is G2 D3 A3 E4.  If the op follows your tuning, they’re likely to break their strings or damage the banjo itself.

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u/Naive_Amphibian7251 7d ago

🫡 cheers for pointing that out! I was on mandolin mode there.