A solo banjo item in which one player performs traditional Irish tunes on the plectrum-played tenor banjo, entered individually in one of four age bands and judged on picking, ornament, rhythm, tone and the drive of the tune.
The banjo in Irish traditional music is usually the four-string tenor banjo: a round, drum-like body with a skin or plastic head, a long fretted neck and a bright, sharp, quickly fading tone. It is played with a plectrum rather than the fingers, and it is commonly tuned in fifths, like a fiddle, so a fiddle or mandolin player can pick up its tunes almost note for note. Because a banjo note dies away quickly, the player keeps the sound alive by picking fast, repeating notes and rolling them together, and the instrument has a clear, percussive attack that suits dance tunes especially well. It is a different instrument from the five-string banjo of American folk and bluegrass playing, which is fingerpicked and tuned very differently.
On the eTalenter templates the item belongs to the Irish traditional music festival template, where it is the ninth class in the programme, following the fiddle, button accordion, flute, whistle, piano accordion, concertina, uilleann pipes and harp. It runs in four age bands, A Under 12, B 12 to 15, C 15 to 18 and D Over 18, and the programme repeats it in each band’s block. Every entry is Individual and open to both genders, no spoken language is attached because the class is played, and the scoring label is a rating out of 10 with a maximum of 100. The ten-minute ceiling is an app default; the source rules do not print a time limit or a marking scheme for the item, and they name the class simply Banjo rather than Tenor Banjo.
A round is a short solo performance. The entrant is called up, checks the tuning and plays one or two tunes from the traditional repertoire, most often a jig, a reel, a hornpipe or a polka, and sometimes a slow air if the player wishes to show tone and phrasing. Nothing in the template shows an accompanist. The adjudicators listen for a crisp, even picking hand, ornaments such as rolls, cuts and triplets placed so that they decorate the tune without cluttering it, a steady, driving pulse that a dancer could follow, and a left hand that fingers cleanly so that fast runs do not smudge. The template’s Evidence records that adjudicators sit apart and mark separately, and that results are compiled on a points system of 11, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 for the top places, so a placing rests on several independent opinions rather than one ear.
Organisers keep the banjo as its own class because it is a loud, bright, plucked instrument whose strengths are speed, attack and rhythm, and it would be unfairly compared if it were marked beside the sustained tone of the fiddle or the whistle. Its main difficulty is making a note that decays almost instantly sound smooth and connected, which depends on picking control and on ornaments that fill the gaps. A separate class lets a panel listen for exactly that, and it gives younger players of a lively instrument a stage that also leads naturally on to the duet, trio and band classes that follow in the same programme.
Where Banjo comes from
The banjo traces its ancestry to stringed instruments carried from West Africa to the Americas and developed there in the nineteenth century. The four-string tenor banjo, tuned in fifths, became popular in dance bands in the early twentieth century and was taken up in Irish traditional music as a loud, rhythmic instrument for dance tunes, in time becoming a regular part of ceili bands and a solo instrument in its own right.
Where Banjo is run
On the eTalenter templates Banjo is used in a single template, the Irish traditional music festival template in the Cultural and Folk Festival category, where it sits among the solo instrumental classes beside Fiddle, Button Accordion, Flute, Whistle, Piano Accordion, Concertina, Uilleann Pipes and Harp. The banjo is also played in Irish traditional music sessions and bands in many countries; this page describes only the item as the template carries it.
- Ireland
Key facts
- A solo item, so the template records every entry as Individual
- Four age bands: A Under 12, B 12 to 15, C 15 to 18 and D Over 18, all open to both genders
- Played with a plectrum; the Irish version is normally the four-string tenor banjo, not the five-string American banjo
- Part of the Irish traditional music festival template only; no spoken language is set because the class is instrumental
- Rating out of 10 with a /100 maximum and a ten-minute ceiling; these are app defaults, as the source rules print neither a time limit nor a per-criterion marking scheme
- Adjudicators mark separately and places are compiled on a points system of 11, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1; first prize may be withheld and first and second places qualify to the next level
On eTalenter, Banjo is filed under On Stage and typically scored with Rating out of 10. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Banjo is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 10 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Banjo
What a Banjo panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Picking technique: a clean, even plectrum attack, with the right hand keeping a steady speed so repeated notes and rolls sound like a smooth line rather than a rattle
- Ornament and style: rolls, cuts, triplets and grace notes placed where the tune wants them and played crisply, in the manner of Irish dance music rather than a generic banjo style
- Rhythm and drive: a firm, lively pulse in jigs, reels, hornpipes and polkas, with the accents of each tune type clearly different and a tempo a dancer could keep time to
- Left-hand clarity: accurate fingering and stopping, so quick runs, jumps between strings and fretted notes sound clean and in tune
- Tone and dynamics: a bright, full sound that is not harsh or buzzy, with variety in volume and attack between the two parts of a tune and between its repeats
- Tuning and tune choice: an instrument checked before the round and a tune well within the player’s control, played at a speed they can keep accurate to the end
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Banjo under Scoring Setup, or start from the full instrumental music judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Banjo
How entrants and their teachers usually get Banjo right on the day:
- Pick a tune you can play cleanly from memory at a steady speed, and prefer a reel or jig played accurately over a faster one that falls apart in the second part
- Practise the right hand on open strings first, with a metronome, until alternate down and up strokes are even and the volume does not change from one note to the next
- Add ornaments one at a time and keep each one only when you can play it cleanly in the tune at full speed; a plain, accurate tune beats a crowded one
- Vary the second time through each part, with a different ornament or a small change of attack, so that the repeat sounds alive rather than copied
- Tune the banjo carefully before you are called and allow for the room’s warmth or cold changing the strings, and carry a spare plectrum and a tuning aid
- Record yourself against a recording of a dance band or an experienced player and listen for where your pulse speeds up or drags, which is the commonest fault under nerves
- After the event, read any adjudication feedback and set one target for the next round, such as steadier repeated notes or cleaner left-hand fingering at speed
Ready-made event templates that include Banjo
Open any template to preview it in eTalenter and install it as a live, editable event.
| Template | Category | Score label | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fleadh Cheoil (Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann) | On Stage | Rating out of 10 | 4 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Banjo judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
Is this the same as the five-string banjo used in bluegrass?
No. The Irish traditional class is normally played on the four-string tenor banjo with a plectrum, tuned in fifths. The five-string banjo of American folk and bluegrass music is fingerpicked and tuned differently. The template does not set an instrument specification, so check the festival notice for what is allowed.
Is Banjo the same as Tenor Banjo?
In this template, yes. The source rules name the class simply Banjo rather than Tenor Banjo, and the Irish banjo is in practice the tenor banjo, so the item is listed under the rules’ own name.
Is Banjo a team event?
No. The template records every entry as Individual. Duets, trios and ceili bands are separate items in the same programme and are not covered by this page.
Which age band do I enter?
The template has four bands: A Under 12, B 12 to 15, C 15 to 18 and D Over 18. The source rules define them as age-group codes, and the date on which your age is counted is set by the festival, so check the notice before you enter.
Do I need an accompanist?
The template shows no accompaniment for the item, and a banjo normally plays Irish dance tunes alone, so a solo performance is the normal expectation. Check the festival notice if you plan to play with another musician.
How is the winner decided?
The template’s Evidence records that adjudicators sit apart and mark separately, and that placings are compiled on points of 11, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. First prize may be withheld, and first and second places qualify to the next level.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full instrumental music judging criteria guide, or browse every on stage competition item.
Try Banjo in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Banjo, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
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