Lesson #006, Changing Your Banjo Strings

Saturday, April 11, 2009


Lesson #006, Changing Your Banjo Strings



Hi Everybody,

When you're changing your banjo strings, take the strings from the pack and find the string that you want to change. The strings should be marked from the package whether they are the first through the fifth string. Start with the loop end of the string and attach it to the back of the tailpiece. Draw tension on the string with your hand and place it through the hole, or slot on the tailpiece. Continue to draw tension on the string all the way up to the peghead and slide the tip of the string through the hole in the top of the tuner. For tuners on the left-hand side of the peghead, as in the visual on the video, start by wrapping the string clockwise then slide the tip of the string underneath the string between the nut and the tuner and pull tension. Next, draw the string over the top of the string; again putting tension on the string. Now, twist your tuners so that the string you're holding is now turning in a counter-clockwise motion until the string locks. For tuners on the right hand side of the peghead we are going to reverse this process. Once the tip of the string is through the hole on the tuner, wrap the string counter-clockwise then put the tip of the string underneath that same string; again between the tuner and the nut. Remember to keep drawing tension on the string while doing this. Again, draw the string over the top to the other side and twist the tuner so that the string is turningn a clockwise direction until the string is locked. When youre changing the fifth string, use the example as in the left hand tuners on the peghead. Using this method for changing strings insures that the string will not slip when you start to tune-up youre banjo. I hope this helps you.

David Cavage

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In 2009, at the age of 60, I decided to learn to play the 5-string banjo. I searched the internet for lessons and struck gold when I found David Cavage's free banjo lessons at Musicmoose.org. His video hosting site revver.com was having some serious problems at the time so I downloaded as many of the lessons as I could whenever they became available. Revver.com stopped operating shortly afterwards and, sadly, Musicmoose.org is no more. I contacted David early 2020 and he told me he no longer had the original master videos and feared they may have been lost forever. This amazing course of free banjo lessons, from absolute beginner to advanced player, is too good to be forgotten, so this is my attempt to get David's work back out there again so that he can teach, inspire and spread the joy of banjo pickin' to more generations of budding musicians, just like he did with me. I've rounded up all the Moose stuff I could find and put it here, so start pickin' and enjoy!-------MooseHerder.