HOW TO USE
THE FIVE-STRING BANJO
IN WORSHIP
dylan mckeeman
The five-string banjo has its roots on the African continent. It came to North America on slave ships and settled first on the plantations of the South East United States. As runaway slaves sought safe harbor in the Appalachian Mountains, the banjo began to be found ac- companying Appalachian folk music and then in other American roots music forms.
I want to focus on the five-string banjo and its use in worship because of the unique qualities the five-string set up can bring to the worship soundscape. I use banjo on any- thing from African/American spirituals to modern worship anthems. The banjo can add an element of down home and nostalgia to your sound, but it doesn’t necessarily ‘folk up’ all of your arrangements. The timbre and rhythmic quality of the banjo adds an element of drive. It is important for the banjo player to sync up with the hi-hat rhythm pattern and become very nimble in the right hand. Arpeggios, or ‘rolls’ as banjo players refer to them, are the foundation of a good banjo part. It is more important to be locked- in rhythmically than it is to be blazing fast.
I’m assuming that most of those considering using the banjo in a worship setting are tran- sitioning from guitar. If you think of the banjo in terms of a double drop D guitar without the A and E (D) strings, and a cool little drone G string, your mind and fingers will open up to the instrument and its potential to add new textures to your worship experience.
As bands like Mumford and Sons and the Avett Brothers bring the banjo back to the forefront of popular music, I encourage you not to use the five-string banjo to seem relevant – but to bring the story of the banjo into the redemptive story that is being told through our worship music. That’s why I play it as I lead African/American Spirituals. Playing the banjo helps tell the story of the redemption of the slave, and in turn, points to the larger story of redemption through Jesus our Advocate.
