How to retune tenor banjo to DGdg open tuning?
Note you do not need to change the strings to switch between the “normal” and DGdg tuning. From the left hand technique point of view it is better to use the lightest set of string available. As I do not switch between flatpicking and fingerpicking, I use even lighter custom set: 8, 10, 16, and 26. This gauge gives me the lightness of 5-string banjo strings, necessary for some left hand techniques (bending, pull-ofs). The original tuning of your tenor banjo is CGda from bass to treble. If you strum the strings without pressing them by left hand fingers, you do not hear the simple major or minor chord. On the contrary the Patek style uses the open tuning, in which you hear the chord when you do not press the strings with your left hand. The left hand can then more easily articulate the grace notes (slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, bends). DGdg Most frequently used tuning for Patek style is DGdg from bass to treble. This tuning can be obtained from the original one in two easy steps: • Rai
