Lets do a quick right
hand technique. The ring finger plants onto the head of the
banjo, and the index, middle and thumb play the strings. Generally
Scruggs style is played with finger and thumb picks for a
cleaner, fuller sound. Heres an example of what that should
look like. The hand is supported by the ring finger. The pinky
finger sticks next to the ring finger.
This will feel awkward
starting off. After all, it’s modeled after someone
whose broken hand healed badly. Practice will get you past
this awkwardness. With enough practice this hand posture will
feel natural. There are a couple of ways to make the posture
feel natural.
The easiest of these
is just holding your hand in the correct position, with your
ring finger on a flat surface. Just hold your hand there until
it starts to feel a little more natural. Your ring finger
and wrist should have a slight bend to them. If you pick up
your hand, it should be floppy. Just put very light pressure
on your ring finger, the weight of your hand.
As soon as you feel
comfortable doing this, try picking strings with your picks
on. This will all feel very unnatural at first, but after
enough practice it will come naturally. At first only practice
on your banjo to get the proper spacing. After you feel comfortable
with the spacing of the strings, you can practice this anywhere
there is a flat surface. When I was learning I would play
on my desk during lectures. At the start you might get some
silly looks, but they’ll all be jealous when you can
play proficiently on the banjo.
I’m sure that
some of you are curious about speed. After all, the banjo
is renowned for its speed, thanks to the 5th string. Speed
comes with practice. If you rush through the basics you will
develop bad habits, and these bad habits will end up hampering
you in the long run. Speed comes with practice. Want to get
faster? Practice more. I sound like a broken record, but the
worn adage is true. Practice makes perfect.
