Wee AL - Posted - 03/24/2007:  21:57:25

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Aye folks
I just got myself aTenor Banjo and its tuned G D A E I also play Mandolin in the same tuneing but with the Banjo Im finding it kinda hard to work with the pic and should I be planting my little finger on the skin or will that dull the sound ?
any advice would be great Thanks

AL

if its not fun ye aint doin it Right

Tim2723 - Posted - 03/24/2007:  23:04:27

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Hi Al,

To some extent it would affect the tone, but it all depends on your personal preference. If it doesn't bother you, go for it. Playing with one finger down sure beats not playing because you're uncomfortable. Do what works for you.

Scarecrow - Posted - 03/25/2007:  17:04:14

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The strings are further apart, so it is harder, or at least slower at first, not least because you're used to mandolin.
This is only a personal view, but I would never recommend planting the little finger when playing with a plectrum. It seems to me that it would limit the necessary movements from arm and wrist.
If you really don't get along with the string spacing, it's easy to cut grooves in a blank bridge, using a needle file. I use two: oval section and "D" section; it's worth having at least one anyway. Take care not to cut too far, as they're very effective. Measure the spacing you have, and reduce it a little, as 0.5mm makes a real difference.
That said, it may pay to persevere for a while first, as you'll have to adapt anyway.

"A man's gotta know his limitations."

billmill22 - Posted - 03/25/2007:  18:00:19

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This my shed some light on holding a flat pick and where to place your fingers; http://www.banjoseen.com/banjotips.html However, I play a plectrum banjo and this works well for single string or chords.
Bill

http://www.banjoseen.com
"Where there is a Tu-ba-phone Banjo,
there you will find musical happiness."

mikeyes - Posted - 03/25/2007:  23:10:34

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I am assuming that you are playing irish music or at least single string. Anchoring your finger on the head is a very bad idea.

While you do need an anchor, it should be your forearm on the arm rest. You can use your hand and fingers to orient yourself by brushing the head, strings, or bridge, but do not anchor them there as you need to move your hand in order to have a consistent pick angle and to change the tone of the banjo by traveling up and down the sweet spot. I think that the same should be true of the mandolin, too, at least that is what Roland White says and I have benefited from his classes. Anchoring your hand on the head, the way the bluegrass players do, will not only slow your stroke down (because you end up using only the fingers to make the stroke) but will ruin your tone (because you will not have a consistent pick angle), and tone is the most important thing when you play any string instrument.

I have a page on the Irish tenor banjo on my personal web site that will give you a number of cites concerning right hand, triplets, etc. (http://www.mikekeyes.com-a.googlepa...shtenorbanjo) and you can look at a series of articles I wrote in www.banjosessions.com on the subject. There are videos of various players and several that focus on the right hand. I hope that these will help.

Mike Keyes
http://www.banjosessions.com
http://www.mikekeyes.com

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Edited by - mikeyes on 03/25/2007 23:15:29

pweller - Posted - 03/26/2007:  10:59:10

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Depends where you're comfortable. However, beware, because shortcuts can end up hampering your playing. I sometimes anchor my little finger on the head without affecting the sound. However, as mikekeyes, a far more experienced player already told you, this is bad form. Gerry O'Connor also says in his book to not anchor any of your fingers on the head. I suppose it's OK for slower pieces, but if you pick up reels, it will slow you down.

Tim2723 - Posted - 03/27/2007:  11:07:21

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If you're used to mandolin and have no problem with speed or pick angle, you might benefit from a narrower string spacing on your banjo. I have mine set up so that it 'feels' more like my mando, at least to my right hand. It's probably a sloppy technique, and I'll probably never be a famous virtuoso, but I have fun and still manage to earn my living playing full time.

Wee AL - Posted - 03/27/2007:  13:57:19

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Lads
Thanks so much for the input and the sites you have put up for me its all good stuff and Im checking it all out..
the sites are great and full of great info
Cheers
AL

if its not fun ye aint doin it Right

diarmaid - Posted - 04/04/2007:  21:36:42

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alright there wee al!
i started off on the mandolin too, i try to lightly anchor the wrist of my right about an inch behind the bridge, and so the plectrum is hitting the strings about 2 1/2 inches in front of it (where theres a nice tone for me, and i use that as a pivot point). i try to steer clear of putting my fingers on the skin, as theres a while dead sound from doing that. experiment around and do whatever sounds best to you, and remember you get more tension (and a harsher tone) closer to the bridge...if where you're used to from playin the mandolin sounds and feels ok.... (did for me)..theres no need to change it. good luck...diarmaid

Wee AL - Posted - 04/25/2007:  20:11:08

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Aye folks

well I have started taking lessions from a guy at SCat (where I also teach Bodhran)
its amasing what 2 hours with the right teacher can do for someone ..
There are 6 of us in the class 4 with mandolin's and 2 with the Banjo's
Ken is an amasing Tenor banjo player and the first thing he had us doing was holding and useing the pic properly.. That took an hour along with the way to use it i.e down up down up.
Second thing he said to me was get rid of the wrist guard and it realy does make a diffrence to my playing ... kinda rips the wrist to bits but hey no pain no gain lol

let ye all know how I get on next week

AL

if its not fun ye aint doin it Right

mikeyes - Posted - 04/26/2007:  23:16:30

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Al,

I'd put the armrest back on and put it right down to the tension hoop. The slight difference in height will not make a difference in your stroke but it will be a lot more comfortable. None of the well known pros go without an armrest.

Mike Keyes
http://www.banjosessions.com
http://www.mikekeyes.com

Tom Hanway - Posted - 04/27/2007:  00:20:31

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Mike is right. Still, I like the idea of no pain no gain, but not when it comes to playing banjo. Ted Williams, the last of the .400 hitters in baseball -- played for the Red Sox and fought in WWII -- used to take batting practice until his blisters bled. He wrote a killer book called The Science of Hitting. It had nothing to do with banjo, but it had everything to do with hitting a baseball and not swinging at bad pitches, which is a good rule of thumb in any field. Williams was meticulous and painstaking in his approach to batting excellence. Every time one picks up an instrument, one is taking a swing. Make it count.

I don't believe in cryogenics, not even for Ted, whether it's the A plan or the B plan (just freezing the head). Keep the fingers off the head.

TH

Cheers,
Tom

http://www.tomhanway.com/

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Edited by - Tom Hanway on 04/27/2007 00:34:46

Hugh Merless - Posted - 04/27/2007:  03:52:27

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quote:

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Originally posted by mikeyes

None of the well known pros go without an armrest.

Mike Keyes
http://www.banjosessions.com
http://www.mikekeyes.com

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Gerry O'Connor doesn't use an armrest. A fact he makes a point of mentioning on his DVD. Having said that, I agree with Mike totally that an armrest at it's lowest position will have minimal impact on hand position and will be a whole lot more comfy.

If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you ever tried.

mikeyes - Posted - 04/27/2007:  11:18:59

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GO'C doesn't use an armrest, that is correct, but he told me that he hates the pain part <G>

GO'C is very meticulous about his arm position, hand, the use of wrist strokes only, and even the picks that he uses with various types of tunes. He normally uses a Dunlap Nylon .63 (He gave me one that I have enshrined somewhere) but will use the .70 for jigs, it is on his web site.

But everyone else I have seen or interviewed uses an armrest dialed down to the tension hoop. It only raises your hand a millemeter or two and it is much more comfortable.

Mike Keyes
http://www.banjosessions.com
http://www.mikekeyes.com