Back in 1968, I played 5-string banjo and 6-string guitar equally well. But when I played in bands and coffeehouses in the 1970s, I tended to get the banjo out only when I specifically needed a banjo sound. Plus by that time, if you got a banjo out, people expected you to play certain kind of tunes a certain way. So I fell into the trap of using it ONLY for a certain style of music (starts with "B"). And consequently, I got pretty good at playing songs in G. When I needed to play a song in D I would usually switch over to guitar because I was more used to that anyway. Plus, people would look at you funny if you played a banjo on non-"B" songs.
Actually, people look at me funny when I perform anyway, but if I used my banjo to play a Jim Croce or James Taylor song, they would look at me even funnier.
By 1980, I was much, much better on guitar. But I realize now that I have let other people's expectations tell me when a banjo was or was NOT appropriate, on certain kinds of songs, in certain settings, etc. And now I'm too old to care what people think (about this sort of thing anyway), so I've been practicing some of my "guitar songs" on banjo.
I'm not talking about instrumental solos; I'm talking about accompanying my voice on the instrument. There are literally hundreds of songs I can accompany myself on with the guitar without even thinking about it - bass runs, fancy picking, the works, it's all just natural to me.
And I can do most of what I need to do on the banjo while I'm singing those same songs, even in keys like D or A. The hard part is INTERNALIZING the songs in D and A on banjo the way I have them internalized on guitar. I could play them during a root canal on the guitar if I had to, and I want to be that bulletproof on banjo, but it is not easy.
I've also been playing lots of other folks' non "B" songs on banjo just to keep broadening my horizons. I realized yesterday, that the Moody Blues' "Question of Balance" (key of A) is just the right tempo for some kicking banjo rolls. I can play all the way through and I can sing all the way through; just not at the same time yet. If you want me to post notes on it though, contact me and let me know.
