Appendix · vocabulary

A working glossary, for students who want the language before the technique.

The four-string banjo carries vocabulary from three overlapping traditions — minstrel-era stringed instruments, the Edwardian banjo-mandolin orchestras, and the 1920s dance-band trade press. The following is what I use in lessons. It is not exhaustive, and it is opinionated where it needs to be.

A — C

Anchored hand: A right-hand position in which the little finger or the heel of the palm touches the head. Historically dominant in plectrum playing through roughly 1935. Rejected, in turn, by the post-war tenor players, and partially restored here — selectively, per student.
Attack angle: The tilt of the plectrum face relative to the plane of the string. See the Right Hand section of the main page. Also called "pick cant" in some older method books.
Banjoline: An eight-string electric four-course instrument briefly popular around 1950; not taught here, mentioned only because students sometimes arrive with one and ask.
Bracket shoe: The small L-shaped fitting on the rim through which the hook passes. Period instruments often have cast nickel-silver brackets; modern reproductions frequently use stamped steel, which is audible.
Chord-melody: An arrangement in which the melody is sustained in the top voice while chords are sounded simultaneously or in close alternation on the lower strings. Central to the plectrum literature; the organizing principle of Tier III.
Crown: The convex curvature of the fretted head under string tension. Nothing to do with the tension hoop itself, despite frequent confusion.

D — L

Duo style: A four-string technique in which the plectrum executes a sustained tremolo on a melody string while the thumb simultaneously plucks a bass string. Developed in the late 1920s, primarily by Harry Reser, and one of the clearest tests of right-hand independence in the literature.
Fifth bracket: On an 11" head, the bracket at approximately seven o'clock from the tailpiece — traditionally the first one loosened when changing heads, because of its proximity to the coordinator rod anchor. A convention, not a rule.
Flange: The perforated metal ring joining rim to resonator on a closed-back instrument. Affects projection considerably and tone subtly.
Head pitch: The fundamental tone of the tensioned head when tapped near the edge. Discussed at length in the bench page.
Loop end: The string terminus used on most four-string tailpieces, as distinct from ball-end. Not interchangeable without an adapter, and every year at least one student discovers this on a Sunday.

M — P

Medley form: A concert convention of the 1920s in which three to five popular songs of related key and tempo are arranged as a single continuous piece, often with brief modulating interludes. The plectrum literature favors the form heavily; we study it in Tier II.
Neck angle: The geometric relationship between the neck plane and the head plane, measured at the heel. A correctly-angled four-string neck delivers roughly ⅜" of bridge height at the twelfth-fret center. Deviation from this figure is almost always bad news for the player's right hand.
Plectrum style: In this studio: the single-plectrum four-string idiom codified between approximately 1915 and 1935. See also the footnote on the repertoire section.
Position: A left-hand location defined by the index finger's fret assignment. First position: index at fret 1 or 2. Second position: index at fret 4 or 5. The four-string literature rarely ventures past the seventh; the instrument does not want you up there.

R — Z

Rolled chord: A four-string chord voiced as a rapid arpeggio, typically executed as a single downstroke of deliberate slowness. Distinct from an arpeggiated chord in that the final note is the melody tone and arrives on the beat.
Single-string: Melodic playing on one string at a time, using alternate-stroke picking. Historically associated with the later tenor players; an unavoidable part of the curriculum regardless of the student's long-term interests.
Tailpiece hinge: The folding mechanism by which the tailpiece pivots away from the head. Allows string changes without removing the tailpiece entirely. Period instruments frequently have this; modern reissues sometimes do not.
Tension hoop: The metal ring that presses the head against the rim. The word "hoop" is correct; "rim" refers to the wooden shell beneath.
Tremolo: Rapid alternation of down- and up-strokes on a sustained note or chord, producing the illusion of continuous tone. The defining technique of the plectrum style. Measured, in this studio, in strokes per second.
Vellum: A natural (calfskin) head, as opposed to synthetic mylar. Almost never used in contemporary instruction; referenced here for historical context, and because the 1927 Paramount on the wall originally wore one.