The four-string banjo is considered a "poor relation" by the bluegrass community or the so-called OT banjo crowd. Actually, it is quite a wonderful instrument and is used in Dixie and New Orleans bands to good effect. There are exponents such as Elmer Snowden, Harry Reser, Buddy Wachter, and many others in the four-string world who would laugh at the idea of it being inferior to bluegrass. It is capable of the harmonic complexity that most bluegrassers have never heard of. It was used by Paul Whiteman, Bix Beiderbecke and George Gershwin and has found a popularity in Europe for its versatility. It hasn't really made an inroad into the folk world much yet. This is because it has been associated with trad jazz.

The problem with a great many of the four-strings is that it might break up at higher volumes which is needed to support trad jazz band playing.

There is an unfortunate bias coming from the holier-than-thou bluegrass community about the tenor banjo. It has a unique tuning in open fifths which allows it to cut through band playing but it requires a steady sense of rhythmic tempo which many BG'ers would do well to emulate.

Frank Hamilton