Alternative tunings?

[Kajetan]

I primarily play 5 string banjo but I first started out on tenor banjo and mandola, however I am not as proficient at tenor as I am with 5 string. I was wondering if their are alternative tunings I can use on my mandola, preferably the tuning of the top 4 strings of a 5 string banjo.

[Ray(T)]

I would like to be able to play piano but I don’t, because I can’t.

[Kajetan]

Unfortunately, not everyone has the time to learn various instruments so having an instruments with the same tuning as one you are proficient in isn't such a bad idea. Chicago tuning exists for a reason, so why can’t I tune a mandola the way I want to?

[Nevin]

You may have to get some different strings or assemble your own set of strings but otherwise I don't see any thing to stop you.

[DavidKOS]

Unfortunately, not everyone has the time to learn various instruments so having an instruments with the same tuning as one you are proficient in isn't such a bad idea. Chicago tuning exists for a reason, so why can’t I tune a mandola the way I want to?

On one hand, by using special string gauges, you could tune string instruments to various tunings other than the standard ones. Nevin is right in that you may have to put custom sets together yourself. You'll have to take into consideration the scale length and the type of instrument; a banjo with a skin resonator may work better with lighter strings, a wooden-top mandola could possible work with somewhat heavier strings for the same tunings.

There is no such thing as the tuning police!

On the other hand, the 5 string banjo has multiple "standard" tunings - g CGBD, one of the oldest, gDGBD, the common G tuning, F# DF#AD, D tuning, and if you play Old-time style, even more tunings depending on the song.

https://www.deeringbanjos.com/pages/...20types%20here.

Even among 4 string players, some use the older standard CGDA, but many players use the "Irish" tuning that matches the octave mandolin, GDAE; additionally there is the plectrum banjo tuning, CGBD.

As you mention, there is the "Chicago" tuning which is that of the baritone uke, DGBE, like the top 4 strings of a guitar. I've used 3 of these 4 string tunings on banjos (other than plectrum which I don't play) at times.

So, which 5 string banjo tuning do you wish to adapt to your 4 string instruments?

[EdHanrahan]

This kind of question comes up often enough, THE common stumbling block being the issue of "what gauge strings to use?". I've had luck with just interpolating from the gauges of strings on known instruments, factoring in their current gauge & scale length, plus whatever desired scale length results from experimenting with a capo.

For example, if you capo your banjo to similar scale length as the mandola AND you are happy with the resultant notes, tone, action, etc., then the the same gauges as the banjo strings would be a starting point for mandola strings. (I'm not suggesting that they WILL be, just that it's a starting point for comparison.) If you're not happy, at least there's a basis for increasing or decreasing the gauges.

(Personal suspicion is that, for any given note + scale length, the mandola will require heavier strings than the banjo might tolerate, but that's purely on assuming that a carved arch top requires more pressure to drive than a stretched membrane does.)

This doesn't need to be an exact science, and you should expect to run thru a number of strings, given that some will be either too floppy, too stiff, too buzzy, or too broken by the time they get to an acceptable pitch. Fortunately, in the grander scheme of things, strings are cheap, AND most instruments tolerate having a string or two tuned past the point of breaking, so I say experiment freely!

[Jacob]

Huge list of 5-String Banjo Tunings compiled by Anita Kermode.

[mandroid]

Open chord tunings you mean ? Bottle neck styles use open chord tunings.

there are piccolo banjos if you just don't want to learn a new instrument.

[Nevin]

There are string tension calculators available on the web. If you use the numbers from standard tuning you should be able to get strings that will give you the tuning you want at close to the same tension.