I have played the guitar on and off for a few years and just bought my first banjo today! My question is why does the top string only go halfway up the neck? Are all banjos tuned to Open G? And lastly, is there a set order to take in Ben’s lessons? The one thing I always hated about guitar is I had no structure to learn with and I couldn’t afford lessons. I just found this site this evening and it really seems to be a good start. Thanks in advance for the help you guys.
Very very dumb question
Hey Chaddy, welcome to the site!
There is no specific order, and it depends on what you know and what you want to learn in the end. A good start would surely be to go through the first lessons of the basic section. Learning right hand rolls is essential as that is the basis for all playing. Following you want to work on backing techniques, which are also in this section and are especially important when playing together. The solo’s you find of various songs help you to develop as well as they are the fun part so I choose these by own preference. Just browse to find what interests you in this field. That’s how I do it, at least… Enjoy, keep practicing and ask questions on the forum, there are a lot of people willing to share their knowledge and experience!
— Begin quote from "Chaddy"
My question is why does the top string only go halfway up the neck?
Are all banjos tuned to Open G? And lastly, is there a set order to take in Ben’s lessons? .
— End quote
The 5th string needs to be shorter to produce the higher note. Just like fretting a string the note gets higher as the string gets shorter.
There are many different tunings for the banjo. Open G is the most popular for bluegrass/Scruggs style picking and the majority of tabs you run into will be in that tuning.
Welcome to the site!
Thanks a lot for the help you guys. Just got a silver membership and I’m already in over my head ha. Thanks again.
I’m a long-time guitar player as well and I received a really old banjo about three weeks ago. I love this site. By the way, gold membership is well worth the price. I found that starting on the basics and running through everything in order has been really helpful in building up my ability to produce clean sounding rolls. Not only that, but learning all the simple songs (Cripple Creek, Rocky Top, etc…) has been enjoyable for those who get tired of hearing my roll practice sessions. Kind of breaks the monotony.
Anyways, good luck to you. I know it’s been a lot of fun for me to play banjo. I haven’t even touched my guitar for weeks.
first’welcome to the site.second jacqy’s right. it really depends on what you’re hoping to accomplish. if you just want to have fun and learn stuff you like or you really want to become an all around good player and possibly join a group. ben’s got it all here for you.good luck and keep pickin’!
— Begin quote from "Chaddy"
I have played the guitar on and off for a few years and just bought my first banjo today! My question is why does the top string only go halfway up the neck? Are all banjos tuned to Open G? And lastly, is there a set order to take in Ben’s lessons? The one thing I always hated about guitar is I had no structure to learn with and I couldn’t afford lessons. I just found this site this evening and it really seems to be a good start. Thanks in advance for the help you guys.
— End quote
I started out learning with The Murphy Method (see Youtube) and liked her way of teaching from the first day you begin learning to play. Ben is my inspiration now and if I retire soon (62 now), I plan on playing like him someday. 
to heck with playing like ben,i want to play like his sister katie! 