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DaveOmega - Posted - 10/31/2009: 10:13:35
In a 1958 illustrated banjo lesson known as "Delusions Of Banjer" by John Hartford he said "Strap goes over your shoulder NOT around your neck". I've noticed in his later years he ended up with the strap around neck anyway. I'd never even seen a strap worn around the shoulder (except maybe Ralph Stanley), but I don't know much. Does anyone out there prefer to wear the strap that way? It seems like it would be a lot harder to balance and play comfortably.
Dave
I pick for money & I pick for free & I'll pick for you but I pick for me!
( | )===='==[::/
^KatEyz ^Gumby
minstrelmike - Posted - 10/31/2009: 10:18:10
Earl Scruggs wore his strap over one shoulder so he wouldn't have to take his hat off on stage.
I like the stability of it around my neck. I got some fancy wide soft strap with snap connectors so I can put the banjo strap on around my neck without having to remove my hat either.
Put your strap wherever it makes it better for you to play, not where someone else says it makes it better for them.
Mike Moxcey
http://moxcey.net/mike/minstrel/index.html
DaveOmega - Posted - 10/31/2009: 10:24:18
That would definitely make sense as Hartford was a disciple of Scruggs as so many of us are. I've always worn my banjo strap around my neck but I wasn't sure if that was just habit from years of geetar pickin
Dave
I pick for money & I pick for free & I'll pick for you but I pick for me!
( | )===='==[::/
^KatEyz ^Gumby
Edited by - DaveOmega on 10/31/2009 10:25:01
george craciun - Posted - 10/31/2009: 10:48:27
I have always used a shoulder strap (several years) for my banjo playing. However, I usually manage to get a seating position of some description while playing. If on rare occasions I am forced to play standing - for more than say 15 minutes, then I reluctantly revert to a neck/back (more conventional) strap position as it is a ltiring position for standing performance. Try the different positions and then use the one that you're most comfortable, and works best, for you. Happy pickin'.
Back Porch Picker
fixdent - Posted - 10/31/2009: 11:06:02
Well, that depends.....do you want to play like Earl.
--
Gordon
steve davis - Posted - 10/31/2009: 11:11:13
Around my neck...I never thought of wanting to play like Earl.
dpete210 - Posted - 10/31/2009: 11:12:44
I don't have knobby shoulders so trying to play a banjo with the strap only on my right shoulder simply doesn't work because the typical bluegrass banjo wants to ride down while playing. However, it might be quite different with a light banjo (wooden tone ring), haven't tried it with a light banjo. Just yesterday I watched a video of Little Roy Lewis where he had his banjo on the shoulder like Mr. Scruggs. He had to adjust that banjo numerous times while he was playing. No thank you. Despite Mr. Lewis' great playing, who needs the distraction of trying to adjust the banjo while playing! To me this is similar to the question, which is better, eating with your right hand or left. It really boils down to personal preference and the old saying applies, "if the shoe fits....." 
Any day playing music is a GOOD day. 
fretlessinfortwayne - Posted - 10/31/2009: 11:18:28
Whatever suits your fancy.
Dean
"Each one's got to have his own style. It's all creamed potatoes, just fixed a little different." -- Benton Flippen
GHohwald - Posted - 10/31/2009: 11:24:53
If you look at old movies of Bluegrass Bands perform you will see that they typically played used one microphone. This microphone was generally at a height so the singer could sing in it. In many cases the banjo player would have to lift up his banjo to reach the microphone. Many times as much as 18 to 24". This is much easier to do if the banjo is on your right shoulder. As soon as I started playing in bands that had multiple microphones. I switched from my shoulder to around my neck which is much more comfortable.
In a 1958 illustrated banjo lesson known as "Delusions Of Banjer" by John Hartford he said "Strap goes over your shoulder NOT around your neck". I've noticed in his later years he ended up with the strap around neck anyway. I'd never even seen a strap worn around the shoulder (except maybe Ralph Stanley), but I don't know much. Does anyone out there prefer to wear the strap that way? It seems like it would be a lot harder to balance and play comfortably.
Dave
I pick for money & I pick for free & I'll pick for you but I pick for me!
( | )===='==[::/
^KatEyz ^Gumby
[/quote]
Geoff Hohwald
http://www.freebanjovideos.com
http://www.5dollarbanjolessons.com
pick1936 - Posted - 10/31/2009: 12:14:33
Right now Over the shoulder, Kenny Ingrams,, Jim Mills,, Bill Emerson, I think J.D Crowe also, and Myabe,, Vic Jordan?? I also saw on T.V. Rob Mcoury with over the shoulder, Plus three of the guys at the weekly Jam I go to, I usually sit when I play, But If I stand up and pick, I use over the shoulder also. Just do what feels best.
Nechville. In Higginsville.
Lee Kelso
Kevin B - Posted - 10/31/2009: 12:16:40
I like over the shoulder. It especially helps me to make an on stage switch from banjo to Dobro too.
Kevin ( )=='=~
'Possum, It's what's for dinner . . ."
Ira Gitlin - Posted - 10/31/2009: 12:24:22
If you look at photos of Earl playing without a hat, (at home, in the studio, etc.), you can see that he often had the strap around his neck.
Ronnie - Posted - 10/31/2009: 19:26:12
I wear the strap of a banjo or mandolin on my right shoulder ( I seldom wear a hat) and guitar straps "around my neck."
www.bobbythompsonbanjo.com
Glenn Tate - Posted - 10/31/2009: 20:58:49
The right way is what is comfortable to you and suits you needs.
"The more you know, the more you know you don't know."
Glenn
banjer5 - Posted - 11/01/2009: 06:56:07
I wear it around my neck and the banjo sits fairly high. I also have a real bad back so the sholder thing was very tireing. I also use the cradle type of strap which spreads the weight over a larger area.
Fast Freddy the engineer says: Throttle in RUN 8 and highball, then don't look back, something might be gainin' on ya. 73,s de K5BGZ
Gold Star GF-85 - Posted - 11/02/2009: 05:50:36
I wear mine around my neck mostly because I have had surgery both shoulders plus I think I get better balance that way also.
Big John,
1987 Gibson Earl Scruggs Standard
1986 Stelling Sunflower
wkb28791 - Posted - 11/02/2009: 06:13:28
I wear mine around my neck......the neatest thing that I've seen is the stand that Eddy Adcock uses.
That had to take some time getting use to.
Regards,
wkb28791
"If you really want something in this life, you have to work for it-----Now quiet! they're about to announce the lottery numbers!"
Homer Simpson
MTBanjo - Posted - 11/02/2009: 06:51:34
The only reason to NOT put it over your neck is, like other people stated, if there is something like wearing a giant hat or something else that for some reason makes it make sense. Otherwise it's just silly. It's not nearly as stable, comfortable, or really even what the strap was designed for.
Just like other people said...you can do it however you want. But in my mind, for a heavy instrument like a banjo, if you're wearing it over one shoulder, it's an image thing, trying to look like so and so. They're meant to be over your neck.
Zach
5stringpicker2 - Posted - 11/02/2009: 08:38:15
On shoulder for me. been doing it that way for 40 yrs just feels natural that way.
(I )===='----<::)
"There Can Be Only Only!"
http://tinyurl.com/c263xk
patrick martin - Posted - 11/02/2009: 11:58:44
I like to sit down and not wear a strap. When I chase the kids around the yard or playground(s), it goes around my neck but I think the shoulder strap looks cooler. This is kind of a silly topic, needless to say.
MTBanjo - Posted - 11/02/2009: 14:19:49
Way to go on a first post ever in such a silly topic then!
Stick around, they get a lot sillier than this.
Zach
justryin2play - Posted - 11/03/2009: 02:51:54
quote:
Originally posted by patrick martin
I like to sit down and not wear a strap. When I chase the kids around the yard or playground(s), it goes around my neck but I think the shoulder strap looks cooler. This is kind of a silly topic, needless to say.
Welcome to the hangout ! Trust me, it can get a lot sillier than sitting down with your strap on.....
pickingfive - Posted - 11/03/2009: 06:23:27
I have always worn the strap around my neck. I would prefer on my right shoulder only, but my sloping shoulders result in the strap slipping off of my shoulder. I recently made straps for my three banjos, using plain 2 1/2" wide leather that is about 3/16" thick. These straps are far more comfortable to me that the commercially-produced straps (with lambswool pading) than I had been using. Plus, I no longer worry about the strap breaking where the leather narrows so it will go behind the J hooks on the head of the banjo. Seeing the leather begin to thin and get weak on one of my commercially-made straps is what motivated me to make my own.
pickingfive
PBGuardsman - Posted - 11/03/2009: 20:50:27
quote:
Originally posted by MTBanjo
The only reason to NOT put it over your neck is, like other people stated, if there is something like wearing a giant hat or something else that for some reason makes it make sense. Otherwise it's just silly. It's not nearly as stable, comfortable, or really even what the strap was designed for.
Just like other people said...you can do it however you want. But in my mind, for a heavy instrument like a banjo, if you're wearing it over one shoulder, it's an image thing, trying to look like so and so. They're meant to be over your neck.
Zach
I'd like to disagree with you here. My banjo teacher sits while he teaches lessons, and taught Banjo and Mandolin and Guitar lessons, so he had to switch instruments a lot. So he keeps his banjo on his shoulder when teaching, but whenever he does a performance he puts it around his neck. That's why one might not put it around the neck. "The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." 1 John 2:17 (NIV)
banjoman3 - Posted - 11/03/2009: 21:23:09
i put mine around the shoulder, but for me it depends on the length of the strap
RK makes our Day!
AD3AD3AD3 - Posted - 11/04/2009: 05:22:09
I switched from shoulder strap to 'around the shoulders' and find it much easier to control the banjo now.
AD3
Flying Eagle - Posted - 11/04/2009: 07:16:58
This is not a "silly topic" (???), and it's been an ongoing question for banjo players from the beginning. To me it's totally a question of playability - which strap position makes it easier for you to play?
If I play standing up with the strap over my right shoulder only, I find that the banjo tends to swing out to the right. I'm having to hold it back with my left hand on the neck, causing me to lose left hand accuracy. So, I put the strap over my head. That way the banjo always stays centered in front of me.
I wish I could get more comfortable with the strap on my right shoulder. It looks cool, and it's easier to take the banjo off when you're done playing. If you're switching instruments onstage, that's a definite advantage. But overall, the best choice is the one that helps you to play your best.
JW
MTBanjo - Posted - 11/04/2009: 09:13:50
quote:
Originally posted by PBGuardsman
quote:
Originally posted by MTBanjo
The only reason to NOT put it over your neck is, like other people stated, if there is something like wearing a giant hat or something else that for some reason makes it make sense. Otherwise it's just silly. It's not nearly as stable, comfortable, or really even what the strap was designed for.
Just like other people said...you can do it however you want. But in my mind, for a heavy instrument like a banjo, if you're wearing it over one shoulder, it's an image thing, trying to look like so and so. They're meant to be over your neck.
Zach
I'd like to disagree with you here.
My banjo teacher sits while he teaches lessons, and taught Banjo and Mandolin and Guitar lessons, so he had to switch instruments a lot. So he keeps his banjo on his shoulder when teaching, but whenever he does a performance he puts it around his neck.
That's why one might not put it around the neck.
"The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." 1 John 2:17 (NIV)
Quote from my post that you qouted: "The only reason to NOT put it over your neck is, like other people stated, if there is something like wearing a giant hat or something else that for some reason makes it make sense." I'd say always playing while seated and switching instruments often falls within "something else that for some reason makes it make sense". I don't even wear a strap when I'm sitting down, usually. There are some reasons it would make sense, but to me, if you're standing up, playing a lot, the only reason you'd have it on one shoulder is for style, not function. Zach
Old Hickory - Posted - 11/04/2009: 09:43:21
Banjo, guitar, bass - especially when standing up -strap around neck on left shoulder. Sometimes banjo strap on shoulder (or no strap) when sitting down. Been playing around with mandolin a little - strap on right shoulder, never around neck.
tcbanjo - Posted - 11/04/2009: 14:15:19
I pick up my banjo, put my hat on the headstock, but strap on around my neck, and then replace my hat on head.
:-)
Todd
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