etisdale - Posted - 09/23/2023:  09:31:43

After playing clawhammer for about 3 years now, I've casually started some 2-finger banjo--and I've got a couple of questions:

1) In the thumb-lead style, Sebastian Schroeder teaches the thumb on the downbeat, even when the note falls on the 1st string. In contrast, Matt Brown teaches using the index finger for such notes. To me the former seems more consistent, but a little awkward mechanically. I suspect this is just a matter of whatever works best for the player, right? But what's most common for the thumb-lead style?

2) Thinking on the foregoing teaching of Brown, I'm wondering: Is 2-finger banjo best described as being thumb or index-finger /dominant/? I ask because Brown's playing of notes with the index finger on the downbeat seems to be borrowed from the index-lead style if the foregoing teaching of Schroeder is more consistent in the thumb-lead style.

3) Is there a melodic 2-finger style banjo? I recently listened to Episode 212 of Get Up In The Cool featuring Matt Brown. In it, he spoke of the limitations of the 2-finger style of banjo. I think he was speaking more to the thumb-lead style. But if Brown borrows a bit from the index-lead style already for at least those first-sting notes on the downbeat, why not borrow a little bit more?

4) Lastly, are there players out there that don't anchor their other fingers on the head? I don't really anchor when playing guitar, but might there be some advantage in the 2-finger style of banjo playing?

banjo bill-e - Posted - 09/23/2023:  10:11:31

I play some thumb lead and I'm always playing thumb on the downbeat even on first string and do not find that awkward at all. I will use index on first only if the note is on the upbeat. Thumb lead and index lead are two different playing styles and "best" is the one you like the sound of. I could not possibly play freehand guitar style on banjo, must anchor the hand. The only limitation I find with TFTL is that you can't really play Bluegrass rolls; for that you need proper three finger technique.
Also, take what you can from any teacher but remember that they are teaching what works for them, it is not gospel, and you can play any way that lets the music come out. If it works then it works.

thisoldman - Posted - 09/23/2023:  10:56:02

When I picked up the banjo, I started with clawhammer. For some reason I found thumb and middle finger the most comfortable. About 5 or so months in, I switched to 2ftl. Possibly because of that start I found myself using the thumb for strings 2-5 and my middle finger for the 1st string.

As you know, thumb and index leads are close cousins. Can't say for sure, but I'm thinking that the arrangments are different. Chip Arnold would be the person to ask.

I play mostly Scruggs/3 finger style now. To me, melodic is not so much a picking style as it is in the arrangements. The number of notes and the tempo lends itself to using 3 fingers. That said, the arrangements I am familiar with are 3 finger friendly.

I never anchored any finger when playing 2ftl. That was one of the things I had to adapt to when I switched to Scruggs style picking

janolov - Posted - 09/23/2023:  12:35:04

1. Both options are usual. Some people prefer to use thumb, and some prefers the index to play down beat notes on first string. I usually prefer to use the index.

2. 2-finger is both index lead and thumb lead (and "mixed" lead). And there are a lot of variations of both.

3. "Melodic" is possible, especially if you mix thumb lead and index lead. I have worked with some fiddle tunes using melodic techniques.

4. Do what you think is convenient. Nothing is right and nothing is wrong. I use to anchor my hand when playing 2-finger, but I remember when I started playing I had a floating hand. 

banjered - Posted - 09/23/2023:  13:19:21

Almost always I keep the thumb off the first string. The fifth string is for the most part a drone string but the first string is both a drone and melody string. It took a little practice switching from thumb lead to finger lead on the first string but not much. I will also use the finger on the second string if I am immediately going back to first string lead. Sometimes in a song it sounds better for a drop-thumb-equivalent so I will use the finger on any string for a melody note and "drop" the thumb down on the next lower string. I keep my little finger on the head of the banjo. I am still smoothing out passages where there are multiple melody notes on the first string while being interspersed with fifth string drone notes. We are both built different and with different wiring so at a certain point you just have to figure what works best for you. Good Luck! banjered

Eric A - Posted - 09/23/2023:  14:43:24

I anchor a couple of fingers. Index lead.



For a moment lets look at a bluegrass three finger index lead roll. I-M-T-I-M-T-I-M. I play it with two fingers, and get all the syncopation that makes bluegrass so magic. Just leave a space where the middle finger is. You have to leave that timing space open. It's tough at first. I-x-T-I-x-T-I-x.



The first time I tried to explain this on the BHO, people thought I had two heads and a third extra eye in the middle of each forehead.



And you won't find it in any book. But it works for me.

Well none of the old timers played that way!  It's not legitimate! 

So what?

Edited by - Eric A on 09/23/2023 14:47:02

writerrad - Posted - 09/23/2023:  16:34:44

quote:I have been playing 2 finger banjo since I took my first Good Time home about 26 years ago, because I had played various 2 finger blues and folk style on the guitar since I was a kid in the 1960s.

One thing I would recommend for someone setting out in the style would be to try to learn to play index lead and thumb lead each if you are a total beginner especially.   Many like me end up playing thumb lead because it seems closer to clawhammer somehow and it is closer to flat picking and what I call Carter style guitar.     The longer you do not try index lead and learn it, the harder it will be.,\

I am going through this right now taking lessons which involved index lead with an astute and wise banjoist who I have known well for years.  

It is like learning clawhammer.  Too many people learn the bump diddy stroke at first.   Then when other strokes like double thumbing and and drop thumbing are  to be learned they have trained so hard to  bump diddy that it is agony to learn the other strokes.  I advise newbies to try to learn all three strokes at first.  It may take longer but you wont hit that bump of when you need to drop thumb or double thumb it gets awkward.

---

Originally posted by etisdale

After playing clawhammer for about 3 years now, I've casually started some 2-finger banjo--and I've got a couple of questions:



1) In the thumb-lead style, Sebastian Schroeder teaches the thumb on the downbeat, even when the note falls on the 1st string. In contrast, Matt Brown teaches using the index finger for such notes. To me the former seems more consistent, but a little awkward mechanically. I suspect this is just a matter of whatever works best for the player, right? But what's most common for the thumb-lead style?



2) Thinking on the foregoing teaching of Brown, I'm wondering: Is 2-finger banjo best described as being thumb or index-finger /dominant/? I ask because Brown's playing of notes with the index finger on the downbeat seems to be borrowed from the index-lead style if the foregoing teaching of Schroeder is more consistent in the thumb-lead style.



3) Is there a melodic 2-finger style banjo? I recently listened to Episode 212 of Get Up In The Cool featuring Matt Brown. In it, he spoke of the limitations of the 2-finger style of banjo. I think he was speaking more to the thumb-lead style. But if Brown borrows a bit from the index-lead style already for at least those first-sting notes on the downbeat, why not borrow a little bit more?



4) Lastly, are there players out there that don't anchor their other fingers on the head? I don't really anchor when playing guitar, but might there be some advantage in the 2-finger style of banjo playing?

---

jack_beuthin - Posted - 09/23/2023:  18:37:44

Recently I posted a video on YouTube discussing the "Spectrum of Two-finger Styles".  You might fin it pertinent to some of your questions, all of which are astute and will lead you to new insights about 2F picking.

 

youtu.be/wkQoPXuJhkA

Wobba - Posted - 09/23/2023:  19:13:38

I mostly play 2 finger thumb lead. Usually when melody is up the 1st string I move those over to the 2nd string. Sounding those notes on the 2nd string with my thumb gives me a louder, clearer tone then using my finger on the 1st string. Now there are a few, just a few, were I actually play notes on the 1st string. That is almost always because I'm play from the 12th fret. The notes are so high up that I don't want to move them to the 2nd string and have them even higher up.

Bill Rogers - Posted - 09/24/2023:  00:19:06

If you can, track down Peggy Seeger’s Folk-Lyric records from the early 60s. She recorded some two-finger fiddle tunes way back then.

Bob Buckingham - Posted - 09/24/2023:  05:23:47

quote:

---

Originally posted by jack_beuthin

Recently I posted a video on YouTube discussing the "Spectrum of Two-finger Styles".  You might fin it pertinent to some of your questions, all of which are astute and will lead you to new insights about 2F picking.

 

youtu.be/wkQoPXuJhkA

---

Interesting video Jack. My old pal Will Keys played two-finger on steroids and did things that were beyond your description but you did take the time to breakdown the basics of the timing that often befuddles newcomers to banjo. You did a good job of explaining the basics here.

jack_beuthin - Posted - 09/24/2023:  05:51:03

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bob Buckingham

quote:

---

Originally posted by jack_beuthin

Recently I posted a video on YouTube discussing the "Spectrum of Two-finger Styles".  You might fin it pertinent to some of your questions, all of which are astute and will lead you to new insights about 2F picking.

 

youtu.be/wkQoPXuJhkA

---

Interesting video Jack. My old pal Will Keys played two-finger on steroids and did things that were beyond your description but you did take the time to breakdown the basics of the timing that often befuddles newcomers to banjo. You did a good job of explaining the basics here.

---

Thanks Bob!  Yes, I did leave out several things (e.g., cross overs, finger drags), hoping that keeping it simple would stimulate as many questions as answers.  My 2F playing is really a mix of thumb- and index-lead, and every now and then I throw in a third finger, or break into up-picking with brushes.  To a beginner, this can be really hard to decipher. And certainly, many accomplished pickers don't stick to the rules of a single pure style. Heck, someone like Will Keys just seem to have made up their own style to suit what they wanted to play. He still amazes me.

etisdale - Posted - 09/24/2023:  08:39:34

@jack beuthin Interesting video. To your comment above about switching into up picking, it seems that, too, is on the spectrum. To wit, I was just experimenting with anchoring and not anchoring while playing index-lead two-finger style. Take out the brushes of up picking, and that gives you index-lead two-finger style without anchoring.

jack_beuthin - Posted - 09/24/2023:  17:25:21

quote:

---

Originally posted by etisdale

@jack beuthin Interesting video. To your comment above about switching into up picking, it seems that, too, is on the spectrum. To wit, I was just experimenting with anchoring and not anchoring while playing index-lead two-finger style. Take out the brushes of up picking, and that gives you index-lead two-finger style without anchoring.

---

Yes, exactly!

brownsdream - Posted - 09/25/2023:  08:43:03

quote:

---

Originally posted by etisdale

After playing clawhammer for about 3 years now, I've casually started some 2-finger banjo--and I've got a couple of questions:



1) In the thumb-lead style, Sebastian Schroeder teaches the thumb on the downbeat, even when the note falls on the 1st string. In contrast, Matt Brown teaches using the index finger for such notes. To me the former seems more consistent, but a little awkward mechanically. I suspect this is just a matter of whatever works best for the player, right? But what's most common for the thumb-lead style?



2) Thinking on the foregoing teaching of Brown, I'm wondering: Is 2-finger banjo best described as being thumb or index-finger /dominant/? I ask because Brown's playing of notes with the index finger on the downbeat seems to be borrowed from the index-lead style if the foregoing teaching of Schroeder is more consistent in the thumb-lead style.



3) Is there a melodic 2-finger style banjo? I recently listened to Episode 212 of Get Up In The Cool featuring Matt Brown. In it, he spoke of the limitations of the 2-finger style of banjo. I think he was speaking more to the thumb-lead style. But if Brown borrows a bit from the index-lead style already for at least those first-sting notes on the downbeat, why not borrow a little bit more?



4) Lastly, are there players out there that don't anchor their other fingers on the head? I don't really anchor when playing guitar, but might there be some advantage in the 2-finger style of banjo playing?

---

Hi Eric!

Thanks for your questions. And let me state at the outset that I teach lessons via Zoom, and I'd love to work with you! If that is of interest, you can email me here.

1) I find it incredibly awkward to bring my thumb all the way down to the first string. I've tried it, and can make it work, but it starts to feel like 1-finger banjo at that point to me. The reason I tried it, though, is that I am a big fan of the playing of Granville Bowlin, and several of his arrangements seem to employ this technique. He would play the first string twice in a row in such a way that it really seemed to me that the only way to accomplish that sound is to pluck with the thumb and then the index in quick succession, or the index and then the thumb in the same eighth note rhythm. I transcribed four of Bowlin's arrangements in my recent thumb lead tab book. I'm in awe of players who can fluidly pluck the first string with the thumb, it is certainly something I still need to work on.

The way I teach thumb lead, two-finger banjo is that the thumb plucks the 5th string as a melody note or a drone, and the fourth, third, and second strings as melody notes. The index plucks the first string as a drone or a melody note. That's where I start beginning students, and then gradually I introduce the index plucking the second string in the intermediate level, or, at the most advanced level, the thumb occasionally plucking the first string (see above).

I am concerned about teaching Thumb on the Down Beat as a rule, because it immediately prevents a player from being able to play music like Benton Flippen's incredible "June Apple" arrangement. I don't have a particular rule about the beats that I can apply to all the music I teach or play.

2) I don't think you have accurately categorized my teaching. My definition of thumb lead is that the thumb travels across many of the strings in order to play most of the melody notes. My definition of index lead is that the index travels across many of the strings in order to play most of the melody notes. In each case, the non-leading digit tends to stay put and play drones. There are also wonderful hybrid styles where folks do a mixture. I don't have the data to properly describe which option is the most common. I just find thumb lead to be the most comfortable for me. It is what I saw my hero Paul Brown playing in person, and so it is the picking style I tried first and just stuck with all these years since. I find myself most drawn to the source players who picked that way, Roscoe Holcomb being a shining example. There are so many great index lead players, though, and Chip Arnold is an invaluable resource on that front!

3) I think someone(s) could definitely pioneer a melodic-style two-finger approach. It's not going to be me, because I am delighted to explore all the opportunities found in thumb lead's limitations & boundaries. I also like the fiddle and banjo duet sound to be characterized as heterophony, rather than just literally playing on the banjo every note the fiddler is playing. Part of this is because I'm a fiddler. If I truly want to be melodic, I just play the tune on my fiddle instead.

4) There probably are, but I don't know any off the top of my head. Years ago I thumbed through my father's copy of Masters of the 5-String Banjo, which may be the nerdiest book I have ever read. The information that stuck with me the most was that when they interviewed all those iconic bluegrass banjoists, every single one of them anchored at least one finger on the head of the banjo. I couldn't find a single one who floated above like a guitarist does. I was only a clawhammer player at the time, but when I started experimenting with old-time two- and three-finger picking, I kept that in mind and trained myself to have at least one fingertip down at all times.

When I play guitar, though, I usually just float above.

banjered - Posted - 09/25/2023:  16:23:35

Pretty interesting discussion. I've been messing around with thumb lead about a year now, mostly slow folk songs. I don't do the bum-dit-ty on thumb lead yet. I tried your (Matt's) pattern TTF and Clifton Hick's pattern TFT for bum ditty and Clifton's seemed easier, more natural. If you do a TTF patten with a Thumb hammer-on it doesn't give you much time to catch that fifth string where as TFT does. Also I found (for me) that TFT is a good pattern for 3/4 time – T (Um), F (Pa), T (Pa). No right or wrong here, different strokes for different folks. I play regular Clawhammer and I am not sure I could ever play either of the above bum-dity patterns to fit in at typical jam speed. But, it is fun exploring, not sure where it'll end up. banjered

banjo bill-e - Posted - 09/25/2023:  16:33:41

Only matters when playing a bum-ditty pattern, but TFT, which has the same string sequence as clawhammer, does sound different than TTF, which may not matter to anyone but me, but I really like where the fifth string sits playing TTF, hitting on the "dit" rather than the "ty" and with bum ditty you have plenty of time to get there.
Also really like having two different drone strings.

Would also mention that often a first string note can be played on the second string up the neck not too far, and I will do that if easy to reach rather than go for first string, and doing that also keeps the first string available as a quick drone.

banjered - Posted - 09/25/2023:  19:09:10

Matt does a great job on playing Groundhog TTF at his site. Maybe someone could post a Groundhog TFT version for a side by side comparison. banjered

etisdale - Posted - 09/25/2023:  20:01:59

Thanks, brownsdream for your comprehensive response. I might well contact you for some lessons once I work through some of the basic tunes in your book.


For what it's worth, I was just rationalizing your teaching based on a continuum akin to jack_beuthin's spectrum above, wherein the endpoints of the continuum consist of downbeat thumb strokes on one end and downbeat finger strokes on the other end. Real-life two-finger banjo seems to be lie somewhere therebetween.

jack_beuthin - Posted - 09/25/2023:  21:37:10

quote:

---

Originally posted by etisdale

Real-life two-finger banjo seems to be lie somewhere there between.

---

Totally agree about that. When I returned to 2F picking, i started with pure thumb lead, and whenever I would hit a wall with what i wanted to play, and the limitations of the style with respect to that, I would figure out how to sneak in some finger lead. Over time, my 2F playing just spontaneously employed finger and thumb to play beats, and sometimes my finger goes to the second string for both beats and offbeats.  And on occasion, when I find myself up against stylistics limitations of 2F, I sneak in a middle finger, especially for reverse rolls.  But I also use a "finger drag" to emulate that as well.  So, my approach has been to start by sticking with a certain set of rules, then to transcend/bend those rules when it feels like the best way to get somewhere I want to go.  And now I have a 3F style as well, but I wouldn't call it Scruggs/Bluegrass style at all.

Mike Thompson - Posted - 09/26/2023:  04:57:58

quote:

---

Originally posted by jack_beuthin

quote:

---

Originally posted by etisdale

Real-life two-finger banjo seems to be lie somewhere there between.

---

Totally agree about that. When I returned to 2F picking, i started with pure thumb lead, and whenever I would hit a wall with what i wanted to play, and the limitations of the style with respect to that, I would figure out how to sneak in some finger lead. Over time, my 2F playing just spontaneously employed finger and thumb to play beats, and sometimes my finger goes to the second string for both beats and offbeats.

---

I learned 2FTL from Josh Turknett and the Brainjo 2FTL course and Matt Brown's site.  After working through most of the Brainjo material I started looking for more 2F music and started on some of Jack Beuthin's tabs (with included fingering).  It was a challenge at first due to the increased use of the index finger.  Now, this combination 2F is much more natural and allows a lot of flexibility.  

jack_beuthin - Posted - 09/26/2023:  05:56:06

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mike Thompson

quote:

---

Originally posted by jack_beuthin

quote:

---

Originally posted by etisdale

Real-life two-finger banjo seems to be lie somewhere there between.

---

Totally agree about that. When I returned to 2F picking, i started with pure thumb lead, and whenever I would hit a wall with what i wanted to play, and the limitations of the style with respect to that, I would figure out how to sneak in some finger lead. Over time, my 2F playing just spontaneously employed finger and thumb to play beats, and sometimes my finger goes to the second string for both beats and offbeats.

---

I learned 2FTL from Josh Turknett and the Brainjo 2FTL course and Matt Brown's site.  After working through most of the Brainjo material I started looking for more 2F music and started on some of Jack Beuthin's tabs (with included fingering).  It was a challenge at first due to the increased use of the index finger.  Now, this combination 2F is much more natural and allows a lot of flexibility.  

---

Mike that's really great to hear!  My Tunes with Linked Tabs playlist isn't specifically instructional, but I also figured that Matt and Josh (and others) have covered that territory for beginners so well that I would do something to add to their contributions, rather than duplicate/compete.  I'm so glad it is working for you, just as I had intended. One benefit of hybridized playing is that you don't have to decide between the FFT or the TTF bum ditty. You can use both as you see fit, and as you mentioned it creates more flexibility. The 2F spectrum idea was really a breakthrough when it dawned on me.  I already had been combining thumb- and index-lead, but the intellectual leap really solidified what I was doing.  Of course, both Matt and Josh, in their more advanced playing, don't necessarily stick to pure thumb lead--hybrid 2F is actually quite common.  And if you want to hear some hybridized playing on steroids, then I can think of no one more exemplary of this than Zac Sokolow (he's on YouTube and Instagram, as well as her on BHO). Up-picking, down picking, TL2F, IL2F and 3F merge seamlessly in much of his playing--blows me away.  And having said all that,  good ol' pure TL2F and IL2F, in the hands of masters is every bit as brilliant.  It's a world of possibilities, and there is much beauty to discover in all of it.

Btw, for anyone interested, here is my 2F "Tunes with Linked Tabs" playlist on YouTube.  There at currently 37 videos, with arrangements are various levels.  Each video description has a link to a tab stored here on BHO.  And please, if you ever see anything that doesn't seem right in a tab, or a link is broken, do lmk.  I'm my own QC, and sometimes "tab-os" slip through.

youtube.com/playlist?list=PL00...7Di2KiK4j

Edited by - jack_beuthin on 09/26/2023 05:58:16

brownsdream - Posted - 09/26/2023:  06:19:02

quote:

---

Originally posted by etisdale

Thanks, brownsdream for your comprehensive response. I might well contact you for some lessons once I work through some of the basic tunes in your book.





For what it's worth, I was just rationalizing your teaching based on a continuum akin to jack_beuthin's spectrum above, wherein the endpoints of the continuum consist of downbeat thumb strokes on one end and downbeat finger strokes on the other end. Real-life two-finger banjo seems to be lie somewhere therebetween.

---

Thanks for buying the book, @etisdale! 

That makes sense regarding @jack_beuthin's spectrum. It's really helpful to be able to organize thoughts around these sort of things, and then hilarious how "real-life two-finger banjo," as you so aptly put it, doesn't always fall into neat little boxes. As many exceptions as rules, it seems.

Mike Thompson - Posted - 09/26/2023:  06:23:29

quote:

---

Originally posted by jack_beuthin

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mike Thompson

quote:

---

Originally posted by jack_beuthin

quote:

---

Originally posted by etisdale

Real-life two-finger banjo seems to be lie somewhere there between.

---

Totally agree about that. When I returned to 2F picking, i started with pure thumb lead, and whenever I would hit a wall with what i wanted to play, and the limitations of the style with respect to that, I would figure out how to sneak in some finger lead. Over time, my 2F playing just spontaneously employed finger and thumb to play beats, and sometimes my finger goes to the second string for both beats and offbeats.

---

I learned 2FTL from Josh Turknett and the Brainjo 2FTL course and Matt Brown's site.  After working through most of the Brainjo material I started looking for more 2F music and started on some of Jack Beuthin's tabs (with included fingering).  It was a challenge at first due to the increased use of the index finger.  Now, this combination 2F is much more natural and allows a lot of flexibility.  

---

It's a world of possibilities, and there is much beauty to discover in all of it.

youtube.com/playlist?list=PL00...7Di2KiK4j

---

Jack, exactly!  Thanks for what you're doing.

banjered - Posted - 09/27/2023:  13:12:06

The interesting conversation continues. On slow ballads (Pretty Saro) I found that I am often doing thumb, finger first string, thumb fifth string and then finger first string again for a 1-2-3-4 pattern common to guitar. I haven't decided which or if I want to learn a Thumb/Finger clawhammer pattern yet, bum - pause - dit - ty, still exploring in this interesting thread. banjered

jbev - Posted - 09/30/2023:  22:44:42

I've seen 2 people play Scrugg's style with no fingers resting on the head and one was Earl's son Randy. I suspect these are guitar pickers first. I need a good source for 2 finger tabs and recordings if you can recommend someone.

bjcolor - Posted - 10/01/2023:  11:05:33

quote:

---

Originally posted by banjo bill-e

I play some thumb lead and I'm always playing thumb on the downbeat even on first string and do not find that awkward at all. I will use index on first only if the note is on the upbeat. Thumb lead and index lead are two different playing styles and "best" is the one you like the sound of. I could not possibly play freehand guitar style on banjo, must anchor the hand. The only limitation I find with TFTL is that you can't really play Bluegrass rolls; for that you need proper three finger technique.

Also, take what you can from any teacher but remember that they are teaching what works for them, it is not gospel, and you can play any way that lets the music come out. If it works then it works.

---

Thanks for sharing your insights. Great tips about...if it works :-) 

banjo bill-e - Posted - 10/01/2023:  11:21:18

^^ works for me, but the advice is worth what you paid for it!
I should probably modify "do not find that awkward at all" to "yeah it's awkward but I find it less awkward than switching to index lead on the first string, which tends to mess with my rhythm." I mean, everything is awkward at first.

Wobba - Posted - 10/01/2023:  12:55:28

Switching from thumb lead to index lead on the 1st string is not awkward. You just need to give yourself the time to do it. You manage that switch by playing a quarter note with the thumb so that your index is free to grab the next note on the 1st string on the down or up beat.

banjered - Posted - 10/08/2023:  18:40:03

If I am striking a melody note on the first string followed by a quick off beat on the 2d string followed by another melody note on the first string, I'll use the finger for all and drone with the 5th. However if I am headed for strings 3&4 I'll use the thumb on that 2d string as per usual. But whatever "works" for you, whatever seems convenient/more natural. Different stokes for different folks! banjered

Shuffler - Posted - 10/10/2023:  02:52:41

My thumb strictly leaves the first string alone and the higher melody notes are played up the 2nd string. Usually this goes no higher than 7th fret. So in this case both 1st and 5th strings are my drones, typically the 1st and 5th of the scale (see how that worked out?, lol)

As for melodic, you can get a *lot* of mileage out of using hammer-ons and pull-offs to and from the down beat. In a bum-uh-dit-ty where uh is silent, that's space for embellishment. Good luck!

cbcarlisle - Posted - 10/14/2023:  17:03:40

For sixty years I have played index-lead exclusively. In the boom chuck-a rhythm: I up-pick (melody), strum-up, thumb (down) pluck. In other words, for the first two strokes it is exactly the opposite of frailing. For some passages it is without a strum: pick-a, pick-a (up-pick, thumb pluck; up-pick, thumb pluck). I do not anchor my hand.
youtube.com/watch?v=b9C_pjIdKeM
(The movement of the Other fingers of my right hand are purely reflexive and not germane to the playing. It really is Just the index finger and the thumb doing all the work.)