Banjo
The banjo in five languages — and how its tuning differs from the mandolin
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Five languages
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Chinese | 班卓琴 |
| English | banjo |
| Italian | banjo |
| German | Banjo |
| French | banjo |
The banjo is a plucked instrument with a round body and a membrane head, most commonly the five-string type. English banjo is linked to West African plucked instruments (a common account); Italian and French both write banjo, German Banjo, and Chinese adds 琴 to a transliteration.
Watch out: banjo and mandolin both have round or pear-shaped bodies, but the five-string banjo is tuned g′–D–G–B–D with the highest string as an outside drone, played with three-finger picking or frailing; the mandolin has four paired courses tuned G–D–A–e and is played with a plectrum and tremolo. Tuning and technique both differ.
Read deeper → Banjo · Mandolin
Sources
- 各语种乐器名与 banjo 的词源，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Banjo"；译名依通行音乐术语词典；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.