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This particular page was created 27/11/2003 and last updated 28/08/2004
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| | You probably know the most fundamental things about standard notation and tablature already, but just in case:- Standard notation
- Usually five lines with a "clef" at the beginning. The different notes are notated on or between the lines.
- Tablature
- One line for each string on the instrument. The numbers represent the frets (0 is open string, 1 is first fret etc.)
The notes on the irish tenor banjoThe notes we can reach on an irish tuned tenor banjo without changing hand position are:
You should take the time needed to learn these 16 notes by heart (beginning with the ones on the 2dn and 3rd string), but remember you can always come back here to look up the ones you've forgotten. By moving your hand up the fretboard you can also play these four notes on the first string: 
There are more notes too if you move further up the neck, but you won't need them very often for irish dance tunes. By moving up the fretboard on the other strings you get alternative ways of playing these 20 notes. That can be useful at times, but it's not really necessary so we'll leave that out for now.
Accidentals and key signaturesThat wasn't too difficult, was it? Just 20 notes to learn. We're not quite there yet, though. We've got something that looks like this:  and this:  and even this:  . These are vital to the notation! But don't worry, they're extremely easy to learn. Go on to the next chapter and you'll see.
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