Banjolele... How do you use it? What do you think about it?

kerneltime

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I have a beansprout that has a bit of history but plays well.
I still struggle to see what to do with it.
As an experience it was nice to get one and try it out and lead the way to me discovering a Waldman Cello Banjo that is just mind blowing.

That said, I do not see too many demos of folks playing bajoleles here or discussions around it..

Curious to see what folks have to say about how they use the bajolele and what they think about it..
 
I have a beansprout that has a bit of history but plays well.
I still struggle to see what to do with it.
As an experience it was nice to get one and try it out and lead the way to me discovering a Waldman Cello Banjo that is just mind blowing.

That said, I do not see too many demos of folks playing bajoleles here or discussions around it..

Curious to see what folks have to say about how they use the bajolele and what they think about it..

Try searching for Banjo uke or Ukulele banjo. But not necessarily on this site. Have a look at andyeastwood.com. and you will find the best exponent of the instrument.
 
I have a beansprout that has a bit of history but plays well.
I still struggle to see what to do with it.
As an experience it was nice to get one and try it out and lead the way to me discovering a Waldman Cello Banjo that is just mind blowing.

That said, I do not see too many demos of folks playing bajoleles here or discussions around it..

Curious to see what folks have to say about how they use the bajolele and what they think about it..

I've always liked the banjo, but never had much success playing it. I got a Duke 10 and later, a Gold Tone ResoUke. I play them the same as I play my ukuleles. I'm no George Formby, I like the sound.
 
I find the Banjolele to be a very flexible instrument, and it is my "go to" for gigs. Great for blues, folk, gospel, old time music, and jug band stuff. About the only thing it does not work well with, IMHO, is Hawaiian music. The banjolele never fails to get the interest of an audience.
 
Banjoleles are old fashioned instruments from the days before amplification.

They do one thing very well. They are unbelievably LOUD and quite small as well. I used to take my banjolele out to busk un-amplified and it was easily loud enough.
 
I use my banjo uke for many things:

-George Formby style playing
-Adding a banjo flavor to the sound when playing in a combo
-Creating some electric guitar style tone to an acoustic group

Banjo ukes are usually known for being LOUD, but they really have a variety of voices.
 
I always wanted to play banjo but my hands are too small to fret one. this seems to be next best option. I love the bluegrass picking. Just bought a Duke 10.
 
I enjoy my tenor banjo, but there are times I just want something physically lighter. Have had a fewl BUs, but really enjoy the two I have now. The size differences give each an advantage.

Basically, anything one can play on a banjo, one can do the same with a banjo-uke.
 
Wow! Some really good responses.. my conclusion I have not yet reached the stage where I can meaningfully use a banjolele... everyone seems like a pretty serious musician!
Thank you, it was good insight!
 
Wow! Some really good responses.. my conclusion I have not yet reached the stage where I can meaningfully use a banjolele... everyone seems like a pretty serious musician!
Thank you, it was good insight!

I'm definitely not a "Pretty serious musician" and I really enjoy my Duke 10. For me, it is the perfect voice for certain genre and songs. Tuned gcea and strummed with your regular uke strums, it sounds great with old Steven Foster songs, country "train" songs, and many of the Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary classics. The instrument adds an accent to many group sing alongs that is unmatched. Just let yourself go and have fun with it.
 
Well I have a Magic Fluke Tenor Firefly banjo uke, and I love it. The sound sure doesn't work for everything, but if someone calls a Stephen Foster song it can't be beat. Only thing I don't like is now I often feel the need to take both a regular uke and the banjo uke to a jam, which does get to be a bit much to carry.
 
I have a Concert Lanakai Banjo Uke, with resonator. I'm sure the open-backed soprano would have been too small for me. My tastes on ukulele tend to the 20s and 30s songs popular during the ukulele boom, so most of what I play sounds good on the banjo uke. I really enjoy Formby and wrote to the club in England for the method book. I learned some of the techniques and worked out a few of his solos, but to be honest, I haven't kept practicing and playing Formby style, so I'm rusty. The music is great fun to play and I recommend giving it a try. His techniques work fine on a wooden uke, so you can stick your toe in and decide on a banjo later. It didn't take me long. I had to have the banjo once I got into it.
 
I don't own one, but I will someday! I think they are awesome.
 
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