1935tb-11 - Posted - 05/12/2026:  05:30:51

i have always thought it was Smith Hammett from limestone, south carolina. has anyone found any info that says someone was earlier then 1910s and 1920s.



young Smith Hammett

shame he only lived to be 42 

csacwp - Posted - 05/12/2026:  05:57:49

Picking with three fingers dates back to at least the 1850s.

banjoboyd - Posted - 05/12/2026:  06:24:24

Not only is there info that people were picking with 3 fingers <1910s, there are commercial recordings!

cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/sea...rles&nq=1

cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/det...=8&of=102

But as John refers to, written instructions on fingerstyle can be found all the way back in Briggs' Banjo Instructor of 1855. Presumably, it was not radically new at that time either.

Joel Hooks - Posted - 05/12/2026:  06:41:58

Frank B. Converse, who likely wrote the "Briggs' Banjo Instructor", 1855, claimed in his Reminiscences that he first learned to play banjo fingerstyle and later learned to "use the thimble" (aka stroke style) from John Butler (who was with a minstrel show playing in Elmyra, NY). His older brother, Charles Converse was an accomplished Spanish Guitarist.

Drilling down to a narrower scope of wire strings and metallic fingerpicks, an early promoter was Tom Carey. Carey wrote a method that I have not been able to locate, but I do have his folio of music. Carey ran ads selling his fingerpicks or "thimbles" for banjo.

The fingerpicks as we know them came from the Hawaiian Guitar, generally and reliably believed to have been developed by Joseph Kekuku.

With "Bluegrass" banjo, I believe that the influence of Hawaiian music was very strong, though this popular music does not fit the narrative that has been sold.

Here is Carey's folio:

archive.org/details/banjo-solo...om-carey/

1935tb-11 - Posted - 05/12/2026:  09:21:05

quote:

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Originally posted by banjoboyd

Not only is there info that people were picking with 3 fingers <1910s, there are commercial recordings!



cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/sea...rles&nq=1



cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/det...=8&of=102



But as John refers to, written instructions on fingerstyle can be found all the way back in Briggs' Banjo Instructor of 1855. Presumably, it was not radically new at that time either.

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i had never heard those recordings before... very cool stuff and he's pretty dang good at it with those quick inserts of 3 finger rolls. 

Joel Hooks - Posted - 05/12/2026:  09:25:13

1935tb-11 , so that I can better understand the question, how or with what method, do/did you think people played banjo before 1910?

GS - Posted - 05/12/2026:  10:56:24

Joel, my grandpa told me old timers played four finger style. Apparently, it was too difficult. I generally take what he says with a pinch of salt.

Joel Hooks - Posted - 05/12/2026:  11:58:13

quote:

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Originally posted by GS

Joel, my grandpa told me old timers played four finger style. Apparently, it was too difficult. I generally take what he says with a pinch of salt.

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It was not uncommon to use the ring finger when playing chords. But usually one would only be using thumb, index and middle.  The arbitrary "rules" that seem to be applied to "old time" banjo did not seem to exist before the folk revival.  Strict "thumb lead" or whatever would not have even been a thing.

One would play however one needed to make music within economy of motion to play smoothly.

There were also special techniques like the "drum strike"/ rasgueado, "zither effect" (arpeggio by dragging the ring finger up) "strike" (striking down at a chord with the index nail) "tremolo" (rapid oscillation of the index finger to sustain a note) and so on.

The original "banjo style", aka "stroke style" or "thimble style" has its own special techniques. 

 

chuckv97 - Posted - 05/12/2026:  12:55:14

I do a “brush” with my middle finger pick upwards from first to fifth string , opposite of most bluegrass pickers. Do I break any “rules” doing that? ;-)

pinenut - Posted - 05/12/2026:  13:38:13

quote:

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Originally posted by chuckv97

I do a “brush” with my middle finger pick upwards from first to fifth string , opposite of most bluegrass pickers. Do I break any “rules” doing that? ;-)  

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"When you break rules, break 'em good and hard."  ~ Nanny Ogg ~

Edited by - pinenut on 05/12/2026 13:41:11

1935tb-11 - Posted - 05/13/2026:  07:45:48

quote:

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Originally posted by Joel Hooks

1935tb-11 , so that I can better understand the question, how or with what method, do/did you think people played banjo before 1910?

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i figured it was either frailing , claw hammer , 2 finger or flat pick .  i knew van eps and dock boggs did a version of rolls but never seeing them i thought it was the 2 finger style.

i never immersed myself too deep into pre- monroe/earl pickers since earl was the one who twanged my bud when i heard it the first time.... funny thing is i didn't take up the banjo until i was 20 years old.... from the age of 14 to 19 i was a rocker and roller. although my dad tried to get me to come over to the classic country side but i loved my zepplin and skynyrd.

Edited by - 1935tb-11 on 05/13/2026 07:52:06

The Old Timer - Posted - 05/13/2026:  07:56:36

Considering the OP's question to perhaps be about "country style" banjoists, was Smith Hammett older than/preceding Charlie Poole who played 3 finger among other style?

Uncle Dave Macon had a wide array of banjo styles and included 3 finger, did he precede Smith Hammett?

banjoboyd - Posted - 05/13/2026:  09:40:41

quote:

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Originally posted by The Old Timer

Considering the OP's question to perhaps be about "country style" banjoists, was Smith Hammett older than/preceding Charlie Poole who played 3 finger among other style?



Uncle Dave Macon had a wide array of banjo styles and included 3 finger, did he precede Smith Hammett?

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My question would be, what exactly makes someone a "country style" banjoist, especially if they were active at a time before the country music/entertainment industry existed? 

banjoboyd - Posted - 05/13/2026:  09:52:36

Terry, you might want to check out this album:

fieldrecorder.bandcamp.com/alb...ray-alden

Glenn Davis (first 3rd of album) played in a 2-finger style that was clearly influenced by "classic" 3-finger banjo. But the tunes are old-time. There were probably a lot of other players like Davis who were simply never recorded or who went in the bluegrass direction once it became popular. He apparently started playing music as a teen in the 1920s. But this style didn't appear out of a vacuum. Urban banjoists were doing exactly that kind of ragtime-y, up-the-neck playing from the 1890s.

1935tb-11 - Posted - 05/13/2026:  10:48:10

now that i have time to think about it,, i did listen to some charlie poole stuff as i was learning.... a younger friend of mine was really into the old timey fiddle and banjo players... if fact he has become one of the best authorities on that stuff now. with recordings in the smithsonians masters of the banjo collection.
but i did listen to charlie poole because of him ,, and i was fortunate enough to go play at the charlie poole festival in 2009 or 2010 in the banjo competition and got 1st place.. i did an instrumental version of charlies "if the river was whiskey" .
i did one pass in the scruggs style,, the 2nd pass in reno style and a 3rd in charlie poole style or as best i could.
anyway the judges likes and gave me 1st place....

but charlies fame was short lived ,, best i remember he died at a very early age from drinkin so hard.