Tenor Banjo

Choosing

Tenor banjo should not be confused with plectrum style which was used much like the tenor but has a longer neck (22 frets) and a different tuning. Jazz players like the extra frets because they can use the same chord shapes and patterns in different positions.

Musical Styles

The Irish and Scottish traditional players put heavier guage strings on them and tune them down to GDAE, an octave below mandolin, fiddle etc.

They also favour instruments with a shorter scale length (17 frets rather than 19) because it makes using the same fingering as the fiddle possible.