01
How to tune a five string banjo
Open G, the short fifth string and the quiet checks that make a session easier.
The notebook
Journal notes from the string band
A dated archive for the questions that appear between practice, listening and the next session.
02
Bluegrass jam etiquette
Listening, taking a turn and leaving room for the tune to travel around the room.
03
Festival calendar
A practical way to read a season of volunteer-run gatherings in Britain and Ireland.
Readers sometimes ask how the notes here connect to the rest of the site. The journal keeps the questions that come up between practice, listening and the next session, and some of those questions are not about strings at all. A student who also bowls or runs track asked when the high school bowling season begins, how tryouts work, and what a meet day looks like. That page answers it plainly, season by season, and it sits alongside these notes for anyone balancing a band and a school team.