The five string banjo is tuned to a G chord, which makes it easy to play in the key of G. All those great `banjo licks` - slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, etc. need the open G tuning of the banjo. If we have to play in the key of A, the most common way is to use a capo. Place your capo on the second fret and retune your fifth string to an A, now you are tuned to an open A. Most people have a sliding fifth string capo or spikes installed, which makes it much easier to retune the fifth string.
Here is a Shubb fifth string Capo and a standard Shubb capo, just so you know what I`m talking about.
Now that we are tuned to an A - you can just play the same licks you use in a song in the key of G. The most commonly used chords in the key of A are A, D and E; A is open, D is the C position chord and E is the D position chord. The explanation for all of this is simple, since we have moved the capo up two frets, we have raised the pitch a whole step. A is a whole step up from G, D is up a whole step from C and of course the same idea applies to E.
You can also leave the capo off and just play in the key of A using standard chords. If you are playing a bluegrass song you`d probably use the capo, but other types of music can lend themselves nicely to the open G tuning. If you are interested in fifth string capos Shubb makes a good one. I`ve used a trigger capo by Dunlop and a couple of different Shubbs and seem to come back to the Shubb capos every time.
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