I’ve never been a huge country or bluegrass fan, but I’ve always had an ear for good music of any style. I can watch or listen to a true virtuoso on any instrument for hours at a time, taking in the range and capabilities of an instrument in the hands of a true master. It’s astounding to hear Segovia on guitar, Appice on drums, Perlmann on violin, Mingus on bass, or Yo-Yo Ma on cello.

The banjo has its masters too: Earl Scruggs, Grandpa Jones, Bela Fleck, even Steve Martin. The virtuoso banjo player that inspired me, though, did so not only with his down-to-earth playing style, but with his overall instrumental-singing-storytelling performance. Pete Seeger took the traditional folk songs of Appalachia, New England and the Old West and made them accessible to everyone. That’s how I wanted to approach the banjo.

My first experience with a banjo was at Iowa State University. A friend from one of my classes was listening to me play guitar, and asked if I’d ever tried a banjo. We went up to his dorm and I futzed with his banjo for an hour or so. The fretted neck seemed familiar enough, and the drum head that resonates and amplifies the strings seemed brilliant in an 18th-century way. The tuning threw me for a loop, though. The mix of fourths and thirds seemed unpredictable and confusing.

I played banjos at Trifecta Studio a couple of times over the years as clients brought them in for their own projects. My main goal here was to determine the best way to mic a banjo: I found that if I combined techniques for guitars and snare drums, I could get a very good tone. One mic pointed obliquely at the strings near the player’s right hand, and one aimed between the bridge and the tailpiece, gave me a good balance of highs and lows.

But whenever I came down to buying a banjo of my own, I stopped short at the high prices they demand. It seemed I couldn’t get a quality instrument for under $500, and even a “cheap” $300 banjo was expensive just to keep around as an occasional color instrument. It wasn’t until 2007 that I found the Rogue Travel-Starter Banjo at Musician’s Friend. Retailing at $259, it usually sells for $159. I got mine as a “Stupid Deal of the Day” special for $79, with free shipping. I finally jumped and bought a banjo.

Rogue is known mainly as a budget instrument manufacturer. They build student and travel instruments and sell them cheaply. Because of this, I wasn’t expecting much out of the banjo. I was pleasantly surprised, though: the skin seems even and consistent, the neck is straight, the tuners are smooth and solid. I used a quartz tuner to set the bridge, and the intonation is just fine all the way up the neck.

I’ve not played banjo in public yet, but I have learned to use “Chicago tuning” -- basically a modified guitar tuning -- to level out the learning curve substantially. Maybe I’ll have to start learning some old early 20th-century blues and show tunes to add to my catalogue.

UPDATE: I've finally made my public debut on the banjo on 26 June 2011. Grape Ape Trust keyboard player Justin Chastain is the organist at the Carlisle Christian Church, and he invited me to play "My Sweet Lord" for the congregation, and asked if I could also do "something patriotic."

Immediately I thought of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land" -- not a traditionally "patriotic" piece, but certainly one that makes you think. I chose to play it on the banjo in a Pete Seeger style, warning the audience: "You're either in for a treat, or a train wreck. Let's see how this goes."

I had a lot of fun playing, the banjo sounded great and the congregation seemed to enjoy it too.