I would like some help before buying the banjo?
Greetings!
I've been thinking of buying a banjo, but I would like some pre-help. First off al; how do i pick? I have decided to go with bluegrass style, and i have read i should use middle finger on string 1, index on number 2 and the thumb on 3, 4 and 5. Is this true? Are there any exceptions?
And second, could someone explain to me in an easy way what fretting is and how I do it?
Thanks in advance!
Hi! Congrats on choosing the banjo, it’s a really fun instrument.
As far as picking, that’s pretty much how its done. On occasion, you may find a song where the tab suggests you pick the third string with the index finger, or the second string with your middle. but that’s more of a rarity. Mostly it is just how you described and always play in a way that is comfortable to you. Everybody has their own style.
For bluegrass style, you’ll find yourself using rolls, which is the catch-all term for a picking pattern. An example is the forward roll, which is the pattern that goes TIM(Thumb Index Middle) continuously or a variation, IMTIMTIM. There are a few different types of rolls and about an infinite number of variations for each. That might sound difficult but give yourself a few months and they’ll all be second nature.
Frets are the metal bars on the neck of the banjo. As an example, let’s say you aim to fret the second string at the first fret, which would be a C note. Starting at the peg head end of the banjo,find the first metal bar and press the string down right before the fret, on the side of the fret closest to the peg head, not body side. Press as close to the fret as you can without actually pressing on it. Press just hard enough so as the note is clear and doesn’t buzz.That’s pretty much it. While playing you might just need to fret one note or you may need to form a chord, which is when you fret multiply strings. When you first start out, your fingers will probably hurt like heck for awhile until you build up callouses on our left hand, but the pain is totally worth it.
I hope that was helpful to you and I wish you the best of luck on your endeavor. I highly suggest you find a good book when starting out, and if you can hook yourself a teacher, at least and especially in the beginning, that is all the better. There are some cool websites out there, my favorite being banjohangout.org. All kinds of forums you can ask questions on, lots of helpful people, and plenty of tab to look at.