Mumford and Sons' "Little Lion Man:" What Kind of Banjo Playing?

  • Thread starter Thread starter stevieb
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stevieb

Just another guy, really.
My buds and I do this song, at my suggestion, and one of us owns a 5-string banjo- but he never brings it to rehearsal (well amost never,) and says he does not think he can play the banjo part fast enough. I recently bought a 4-string tenor banjo, a match to my Harmony Tenor guitar. I am thinking, what the heck, if he won't play banjo on this tune, I will. That was about when reality set in...

First, I don't know how to play the arpeggios that the banjo player in the song plays. Heck, I am not even sure what style he plays. Not sure if a 4-sting tenor can work, but from my understanding, the short, 5th string is a drone, and not fretted, maybe not even picked?

Here's the video, if it helps:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLJf9qJHR3E



Any banjo pickers here? Help, please.


I will decide later if I can no longer tell one of my favorite jokes:

Q: What's the definition of "perfect pitch?"

A: When you throw the banjo out of the 2nd story window, and it lands square on the accordion!
 
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Well, that helps a bit, C7. thanks for taking a shot. I also called a banjo player who was in my old bluegrass band, and chatted with him about it. Seems the banjo player is playing 16th notes, my bud said I could probably play 8th notes or triplets and sound enough like that guy to pass. He also said lacking the 5th string might make the task a little harder, but I can muddle through, and anyway, I don't want to drop the bucks for a decent 5-string banjo...
 
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