Mupton - Posted - 07/15/2013:  02:22:25

Hello all, 

I'm very new to banjo, and I'm loving it and so glad that I picked it up! 

I'm having a bit of trouble with my right hand picking, I have a tendency to scratch the skin on the banjo when playing, with my finger picks, I'm playing with a thumb and two metal finger picks, which I have got used to but every now and then I scratch the skin, I hadn't really noticed until I recorded myself and there was this horrifc noise every now and then. 

Any suggestions or techniques to help with this, could it be my hand positioning/arm positioning, also is there a preferable place to pick, i tend to play closer to the bridge. 

Any help would be gratefully recieved. 

buckholler - Posted - 07/15/2013:  03:07:40

I found I did the same thing when I started. I found that I was not arching my wrist
. I was actually playing very flat. Once I got better wrist arch I hit the head less and less. I still hit it now and but nothing like I did before. I arch my wrist so that the back of my hand is parallel with the banjo head.

beegee - Posted - 07/15/2013:  04:06:56

There are only two reasons to scratch the head with your picking fingers:

Too low a bridge

Bad hand/wrist position.

Correct either or both of those and your problem will diminish.

steve davis - Posted - 07/15/2013:  05:26:32

Your fingers will get more and more efficient in their movement as time and practice go by.

Texasbanjo - Posted - 07/15/2013:  05:43:06

You might be digging in too deep into the string -- that will cause you to hit the head.  Watch as you hit the string and see how deep into it you are  hitting.  You should just be just hitting  the edge of the string with the tip of your pick.

tomberghan - Posted - 07/15/2013:  05:51:47

Since you are a beginning banjo player, don't worry too much about scrubbing the head if you are just bumping into it now and then. Stay aware of it and keep working on getting the fine control to clear the head when you pick. Yes, it makes a pretty bad noise when your picks scrap the frosted head. Even the most advanced players will lightly scrub once in a while. You can see the evidence on their banjo heads where they have worn off the paint. Sometimes the paint will wear where the banjoist plants their fingers, but not on the thumb side. If frosting is worn off on the thumb side it is because they scrap the head sometimes. You can see this on the head of even the great master Earl Scruggs. But that doesn't make it OK. We all need to work on not crashing into the head. Just keep picking and working on your control and your aim will improve. If your head starts looking to beat up then you can easily replace it. It isn't a huge expense (20 bucks) - but 20 bucks is 20 bucks right?  The main thing is it sounds bad and indicates you are getting out of control. But sometimes in the heat of battle even a seasoned veteran will fly too low. Keep practicing!

Helix - Posted - 07/15/2013:  06:54:33

Hi Mark, welcome to the hangout.

I use needle nosed pliers to fit my picks into the place behind my fingernail and in front of the joint.

I overlap the right hand flap like a shingle on a roof, no snag. Left flap goes under

I bend the end of the pick in a curve up to be just in front of the end of my finger, I grow a little nail and use that fingerpick surface to pick with, it polishes it bright.

The bluegrass players use X and Y positions for picking. X is in front of the bridge, sharp, clear. Y is just behind the neck heel, plunky, supports others well even if you pick. Scruggs never Stops picking.

There is another spot out over the neck @ the 19th fret harmonic where clawhammer and frailing and up picking can instantly call up the old dream voice. Some use a frailing 'platform'.

I call that the Z position. I play as many styles as I can, I use fingerpicks out over the 19th fret all the time, no missing frets, no scratches, just voice.

I play anywhere along that continuum that sounds like what I'm after at the time, given the room, the audience, the tale and so on.

I solo with Scruggs. So I think it's the shape and fit of your picks, no one mentioned how tight.


I use Dunlop .0225's. I think Nationals are .025's. I think the pros in the old days of Black Diamond strings sharpened their bayonets between battles.

My index fingerpick fits inside my middle, then I clip them together with the thumbpick, I make up extra sets. One set got tarnished and pickled in my pocket in the Arizona heat.

Mupton - Posted - 07/15/2013:  08:20:13

Thanks everyone, I'll keep practicing and examining my technique. :-)

jem589 - Posted - 07/17/2013:  11:38:03

I realized a while back that I was hitting the head with my thumbpick when playing toward the neck, and generally digging in too much with the pick. I must have been doing that for...ohhh, 20+ years, so rather than try to change technique, I just sanded 1/4"+ off the end of all my thumbpicks, rounded the tips, and re-beveled them. Problem solved! There's nothing magic about the size and shape of the picks, so don't be afraid to bend them (with pliers or hot water, depending on which pick we're talking about), shave them, and generally move 'em around to get a more solid and brief contact with the string.