"Who uses picks or bare fingers with old-time?"
Bare fingers, mostly because I don't like to keep track of picks. This is may change in the future.
Also, bare fingers have a warmer more personal tone whereas picks produce stronger more focused notes.

"And if it's bare fingers, do you play with your nails or the fleshy part of your finger?"
Definitely the fleshy part; it keeps the tone more even. This may change in the future.

"Do you have callouses?"
This question is difficult to quantify. I play clawhammer more often and my hands tend to develop toughness instead of specific callouses.

What is the "ragtime piece"?

This is going to sound odd, but when I finger pick, say replicating Uncle Dave or Charlie Poole, I pick bare fingered, index and middle but use a Thumb pick. I have never thought if it was the nails or the flesh that hit, from my nail wear and the oxidation left on my finger tips, seems to be a combination. Technique being a holdover from learning guitar in the 70’s….

When I play Clawhammer, frailing, or what ever it is called now, I use an old National finger pick, turned upside down on my index finger. Picked that up in the 70’s/80’s also. Most likely from seeing K Creed do it and not really knowing what he had on his finger. Not seen too many people do that over the years.

It’s a self-penned piece Joel.

I fingerpick only occasionally, but w/o picks. I have great nails, which makes things easier. For bluegrass, I use picks.

The second break on this recording of Clinch Mt. Backstep is fingerpicked. 

https://www.banjohangout.org/myhangout/media-player/audio_player2.asp?musicid=18105&archived=

My current M.O. is I wear a pick on my index finger for clawhammer, at least on Minstrel Nylguts for a clearer sound. However when I TFTL I use the middle finger instead of the index which frees me up to mix CH and TFTL. Some songs like Four Strong Winds I prefer three fingers, no picks. banjered

FWIW, until the Hawaiian guitar came along, and with it "picks", the banjo, when played "guitar style" (opposed to "stroke style") was played with bare fingers.

Even after the Hawaiian guitar hit big, bare fingers continued to be the default way to "pick" the strings.

It’s my understanding that picks (and resonators) were a response to larger audiences, more volume.
But maybe there’s more to it.

quote:

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

It’s my understanding that picks (and resonators) were a response to larger audiences, more volume.
But maybe there’s more to it.

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Yes, but plectrums--not finger picks.  Plectrum played banjo was a popular choice for the vaudeville stage.

When I play in public I use finger picks. Depending on the banjo, i'll use and plastic thumb pick and either a steel finger pick or a pastic one. With plastic picks it will sound more mellow. With the steel finger pick, more twang. And when home or in an intimate setting i use bare fingers.

Two finger player, no picks, just skin.

I generally prefer a mellow/plunky kinda sound (openback, ren head, medium strings), and if I lost or broke a pick I'd probably make even more mistakes than normal.

Simplify.

I used to play with metal picks on my fingers, and a plastic thumb pick when I played blues and folkie guitar as a youngster in my teens and 20s, but fell out of it pretty much even though a friend once gave me a whole mess of metal finger and plastic thumb picks for a birthday present about 15 years ago, .

I have very rarely used finger picks of any kind as a banjoist although in recent years I play finger styles pretty much.

When I retired about 15 years ago I started playing banjo much more and obtained a very nice big tubaphone with medium gauge strings and eliminated my finger nails frailing .  I then used several original banjo thimbles until my nails grew back. 

I settled on the banjo thimble produced by our friend and hero Joel Hooks, when I was first retired about 15 years ago and was playing a lot for the first time for down picking or frailing.

Even though I play mostly 2 finger, and 3 finger, and four finger finger style, I do have acrylic nails on the first three fingers of my right hand for frailing.    During the height of the Covid epidemic  I reverted to thimbles, for a year or so for some picking when local nail salons were either unsafe or closed.

I respect bluegrass banjo too much to play it, but if i did I would use metal picks

The adoption of metal finger picks seems to have originated from Hawaiian and Dobro guitarists.

Several people whose integrity I trust and whose life experience and playing suggest they know from life have told me that Earl Scruggs was of the opinion that finger style banjoists of his generation who learned to pick before picks were commonly used developed stronger hands that those who always played with picks..

Any device that helps you produce the proper sound is good enough.  For me, that often often involves my turning up the volume either on the studio monitor speakers I have in my music room, or turning up the volume on my hearing aid.

quote:

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

I recently finished a ragtime piece that didn't sound right with picks. So I opted for bare flesh. It took me a while to find my "touch", but in the end I got the sound I wanted.
So it got me to thinking - who uses picks or bare fingers with old-time? And if it's bare fingers, do you play with your nails or the fleshy part of your finger? Do you have callouses?

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In response to the last question, it depends on the banjo.  Even though I have acrylic  right hand nails for frailing using the nail for finger picking can make less than satisfactory sounds and get your fingers caught.

I have always pretty much assumed that playing old time the approach was to use your  bare hands for finger picking.   There was an infinitely famous old time revivalist banjo master I used to know, now gone to glory, who confessed to me that he had started trying to be a bluegrass picker wearing picks.   He told me that  on some tunes he played only 2 finger style, he would keep a metal National finger pick on his middle finger he was not playing with because he was used to the feel.

Unless someone is trying to exactly reproduce an historic style,  I think a player should do whatever she or he can do to create the sound they desire and also protect their hands.

I don’t use finger picks when I play TFTL. I have nails though. I use the nails when I claw, mostly the right index. I have a finger pick that was made for clawhammer that I use when I’m playing at a dance to protect my nail and provide a little extra volume.

I do use a thumb pick when I finger pick guitar, which is also the main reason why the nails on my right hand are a little longer (and been that way since high school). Even though I have nails I keep my thumb nail trimmed close. I like the sound of the bare thumb on the banjo, so I wear a thumb pick when I finger pick the guitar for the added volume and clarity.

I play my Fairbanks Electric without picks, but tend to go with picks on steel strings, I am not a bluegrass player, so it is mainly fiddle tunes.

I sometimes mess around with clawhammer style banjo but I'm not very accomplished and I use just fingers no pick.
As a three finger Scruggs style banjo player I always use picks.
When I play guitar with a group or as accompaniment I will use a guitar pick, but when I play guitar by myself it’s most always fingerstyle Country Blues with the flesh of my fingers, no fingernails involved.

When I play electric guitar I sometimes use a pick and sometimes fingerstyle depending on the song and if I want a clean or dirty blues sound rolling out of my Gibson humbuckers 

Interesting.
Depending on the instrument and the sound I'm trying to get, I have used: all nails; thumb pick and nails; flat pick and nails; all picks. But bare fingers is new to me and took a lot of getting used to. I do like the tactile feel of fingertips on the strings, probably even more so with nylon strings. Don Borchelt uses picks, as does Nick Hornbuckle. Maybe they are the exception as I expect a lot of OT players to use bare fingers.
Bare fingers do have a unique sound, one I associate (rightly or wrongly) with players from the classic era. I might as well add This demo of the bare fingered sound I was going for.

Thanks for the discussion!

quote:

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

Interesting.
Depending on the instrument and the sound I'm trying to get, I have used: all nails; thumb pick and nails; flat pick and nails; all picks. But bare fingers is new to me and took a lot of getting used to. I do like the tactile feel of fingertips on the strings, probably even more so with nylon strings. Don Borchelt uses picks, as does Nick Hornbuckle. Maybe they are the exception as I expect a lot of OT players to use bare fingers.
Bare fingers do have a unique sound, one I associate (rightly or wrongly) with players from the classic era. I might as well add This demo of the bare fingered sound I was going for.

Thanks for the discussion!

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Be careful not to presume that some current or recent "classic" players who have a soft touch reflect the power and clarity that can be achieved from bare fingers on thin nylon strings.  Part of the problem is that strings are very thick now which make the tone quite dull.  Then there is the dreaded flabby unwound 4th that is a thing for some reason. 

With some practice and a confident right hand one can get nylon to sound however one wants. 

Another problem is that "modern" banjos are set with back angles, this is going to cause buzzing with nylon unless a VERY tall bridge is used.  And that tall bridge is heavier and dulls the tone.

Rectified strings are also an advantage as they provide a bit of tooth.

I play a two finger thumb lead style on several banjos including a cello banjo. As mentioned above, the use of finger picks kinda depends, mostly on your circumstances and preferences. I love the sound of flesh on the strings when I am at home and i practice without picks most of the time. When I am in a crowd, I use finger picks because a) I can't be heard otherwise and I am usually playing melody or a contrapuntal accompaniment and b) after a few minutes my fingers hurt like hell because I try to increase the volume and/or stay with the speedy tempos that seem to dominate jams with people I don't know (and those i do know most of the time.)

What I have found is that I need to change my technique when I play with finger picks. I arch my hand a little more, I have to change the angle of my thumb a little to accommodate the extension of the pick and have to pay pay more attention to the different contact point with my finger. Each of my banjos seems to want a slightly different thumb pick and I have settled on brass finger picks because I like their sound.

Playing without picks required that I develop a callous on my thumb and continue to monitor the shape of my thumb nail. This took time and a lot of stopping to deal with the pain while my skin toughened up. Now I can play without issues as long as I am not turning the volume up to 11 and pay attention to both my thumb nail and first finger nail (which I use to play a down stroke as an alternative to a pinch when it seems right.)

Occasionally the OT police will look askance at my use of picks in a jam, but when i talk to them, they are still of the opinion that old time music was developed in a five mile radius of a small town in western North Carolina and have no idea about the rich history of two and three finger banjo playing in VA,TN, KY, GA, WV and NC (apparently some guy in a small community called Flint Hill did very well with it.)

The use of picks also has a distinct effect on the sound of a banjo. Depending on where you play on the neck there seems to be more of difference on the mellow-to-bright scale as you travel up and down than going bare although that is only one factor in sound as we all know. The type of pick, the materials and pick technique all have some contribution to the sound. (And, of course, your banjo makes a huge difference.) I have found that my setup for finger picking is distinctly different from clawhammer players, mostly in the string gauges, tailpiece, type of head, drumdial numbers and bridges (which is about everything .)

Mine is only one experience, however, and figuring out what you want to do - including the style you play - is up to you. Finger picking was common in the past and we have one descendant that has become very popular even though there are plenty of other styles to choose from. The information is out there if anyone is interested.

Mike Keyes

Thanks for your measured response mikeyes . My feeling is that the banjo is capable of many variations in timbre/tone coloration - why not use them all? Of course, I don’t attend jams, mine is a recording perspective so I can see why using bare fingers at a jam would be impractical. And I know that many players feel the peer pressure of playing the “right way “ (true of any genre). I don’t feel any such pressure.

Bare fingers, fleshy part. Like here...

quote:

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

I recently finished a ragtime piece that didn't sound right with picks. So I opted for bare flesh. It took me a while to find my "touch", but in the end I got the sound I wanted.
So it got me to thinking - who uses picks or bare fingers with old-time? And if it's bare fingers, do you play with your nails or the fleshy part of your finger? Do you have callouses?

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Hi Laurence, I often play with bare fingers using short nail... (btw I don't play old time music) 

banjopaolo love the tone you’re getting.