I inherited my five string banjo from my dad. It even came with some neat wear patterns on the head and down the neck which make me look like a much more experienced player than I actually am. It also came with a set of strings of unknown age. They played okay but I suspected they were probably due for a change sometime soon, which I mentioned to my friend who comes round for some help in his learning of the instrument and he surprised me with a new set of strings.

That’s great but I thought I could return the favour in part by making the installation of the strings the subject of today’s lesson. Hopefully he won’t remember all the details when it comes to the time his own banjo needs a string change as I had to make a few further adjustments after he’d gone. I’ve not changed banjo strings before and they were harder to work with than bass strings – slick and tiny.

With that reworking though, I think all is now in order and it certainly livens up the sound. Now, which stringed instrument should be next for a new set?