Build it and they will come?

The bluegrass and old-time forums also look back (sometimes fixedly) on the progenitors of the style, then present a contemporary interpretation.
It’s a formula that works. All you need is enough interest and engagement.

Speaking historically (which, as I understand is not exactly the idea here), I can easily give examples of people playing fingerstyle on wire strings. And not just zither banjos.

A. J. Weidt, a very prevalent composer for banjo, guitar, mandolin and tenor banjo with scads of high quality (and playable) compositions converted to wire strings for regular banjo in the 20s.

But Weidt lived on a houseboat in New Jersey and humidity would have been pretty hard on gut or silk.

… so, a guy grows up finger picking guitar, 3 or even 4 finger + thumb… then later in life picks up a banjo and keeps right on playing like he always has, adapting his guitar skills to work on banjo.

Is that what you all are talking about? Or is “finger style” banjo some historical style that’s actually a thing? If it’s the above, I’m game, that’s what I’ve always done anyways. If it’s a defined historical thing, I’m not really interested.

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Originally posted by Dean T

… so, a guy grows up finger picking guitar, 3 or even 4 finger + thumb… then later in life picks up a banjo and keeps right on playing like he always has, adapting his guitar skills to work on banjo.

Is that what you all are talking about? Or is “finger style” banjo some historical style that’s actually a thing? If it’s the above, I’m game, that’s what I’ve always done anyways. If it’s a defined historical thing, I’m not really interested.

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Great post. You hit on the exact purpose of a home for finger-style. Finger-style has a long history. But it isn't bound to or restricted by it's history. 
What you describe sounds like it is very much a part of finger-style. Many of the early banjo players also adapted their guitar finger picking to banjo.

So I could finally find a home for this?
Based on so-called Travis style guitar picking which was in turn based on stride piano rocking bass.

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

So I could finally find a home for this?
Based on so-called Travis style guitar picking which was in turn based on stride piano rocking bass.

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Beautiful playing. More of this please!

There are numerous rich seams; some to be rediscovered, some yet to be found. One example is the relationship between banjo and the fox-trot craze between the two world wars. Sounds dull? That assumption only shuts-off access to great banjo playing. Finger-style was in at the start of that craze, and even as professional dance band banjoists converted to plectrum style the tunes themselves were very often published as finger-style or plectrum arrangements. An extension of the work of player/composers such as Emile Grimshaw, Bert Bassett and Alfred Kirby that is denied by the neglect of finger-style.

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

So I could finally find a home for this?
Based on so-called Travis style guitar picking which was in turn based on stride piano rocking bass.

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Are you playing with a floating r/h? My screen cuts off the lower half of your banjo so I can't see. Just curious.

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

So I could finally find a home for this?
Based on so-called Travis style guitar picking which was in turn based on stride piano rocking bass.

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Are you playing with a floating r/h? My screen cuts off the lower half of your banjo so I can't see. Just curious.

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No , I always anchor my little finger. But there's no reason why floating would not work. What did the old methods recommend?

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

So I could finally find a home for this?
Based on so-called Travis style guitar picking which was in turn based on stride piano rocking bass.

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Are you playing with a floating r/h? My screen cuts off the lower half of your banjo so I can't see. Just curious.

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No , I always anchor my little finger. But there's no reason why floating would not work. What did the old methods recommend?

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The vast majority stated to anchor.  A few notable exceptions are (in America) Frank B. Converse, Albert Baur and William Foden.

For England, Joe Morley taught floating.

Here are the ‘Right Hand’ sections of two finger-style tutors separated by almost a quarter of a century.

Some players did, some didn’t. The absence of emphasis in these British tutor books reflects that choice. In the late 19th century it would be a stretch to claim the ‘precedent’ was the Spanish guitar, as for many players banjo was their first instrument. Certainly the modern precedent for 'planting' the little finger set by Scruggs-style was of course yet to come.

Personally I began with 'planting' and then close study of the Bath group (Morley, Tarrant Bailey Snr and J.P. Cuninghame) inclined me to try out a 'floating' hand. To my surprise ‘floating’ came easily with no practice or adapting time at all. But though my ears can usually discern the differences in bridge tone, I hear no difference whatsoever whether my finger is 'planted' or my right hand is 'floating'. I prefer to keep the skin tension tight so maybe this reduces the pressure effect of 'planting' compared to that on a looser tension skin?

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

So I could finally find a home for this?
Based on so-called Travis style guitar picking which was in turn based on stride piano rocking bass.

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Are you playing with a floating r/h? My screen cuts off the lower half of your banjo so I can't see. Just curious.

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No , I always anchor my little finger. But there's no reason why floating would not work. What did the old methods recommend?

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Also, I'm not familiar with the tune 'Leicester Square'. Is it your original composition?

I’m delighted to see that today, the largest single collection of finger-style notation, organised as a download tune library, has gone live on finger-style player Russ Chandler’s website.

classic-banjo-library.russchan...usic.com/

Sharing and, importantly, making easily accessible, resources that are our collective banjo heritage is a true gift of altruism to all present and future finger-style players.

My warmest thanks and appreciation to Russ Chandler and the anonymous (but known to many) collector.

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

So I could finally find a home for this?
Based on so-called Travis style guitar picking which was in turn based on stride piano rocking bass.

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Are you playing with a floating r/h? My screen cuts off the lower half of your banjo so I can't see. Just curious.

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No , I always anchor my little finger. But there's no reason why floating would not work. What did the old methods recommend?

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Also, I'm not familiar with the tune 'Leicester Square'. Is it your original composition?

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Yes, that's one of mine.

I wonder if you ever came across the name Don Strike in your research? He would have been a professional banjo player in London in the 1930's so perhaps too recent for your area of study.  Don had a music shop in Westbourne Arcade and I used to hang out there in the 1970's and hear his stories. He was quite a character!

Sorry to repeat myself on suggesting that location of this current discussion -- the Playing Adve: All Other Styles -- forum might be the appropriate home for discussions of finger style, but:

When I click on the forum name on the forums section home page, this is the only topic listed! Everything else is archived. The archived topic with the most recent activity (Nashville [high strung] tuning) saw its last comment 107 days ago! The most active topic to had any comments in the last year was Learning the Bano Using Notation (Egads!), with 41 posts, the last one 235 days ago. That's an outlier. Of the 25 archived topics that appear on the first page, more had zero response (8) than had 11 ore more (5)

The truth (as I see it) is there really aren't a whole lot of "other styles" that many Hangout members want to talk about. And some of the "styles" listed in the Other Styles forum description aren't styles at all:  "Discuss playing 6 string, classical, rock and other banjo styles which aren't related to a specific 'playing style.' "   Plenty of people play rock on banjo using three-finger, clawhammer and their own assortment of techniques. I've never heard of "rock banjo" as a identifiable style. Classical (not "classic") is a canon that I imagine people would play in fingerstyle. 6-string? OK, they can stay.

Finger style doesn't need a new home. "Other styles" needs a new sign. I'd say add finger style and maybe "worship" to the description. Delete rock and classical. Keep 6-string (though there's not a lot of activity there, either). All you folks who want a place to talk about finger style can mostly take over this generally unused space.

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

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Originally posted by EEB

quote:

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

So I could finally find a home for this?
Based on so-called Travis style guitar picking which was in turn based on stride piano rocking bass.

---

Are you playing with a floating r/h? My screen cuts off the lower half of your banjo so I can't see. Just curious.

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No , I always anchor my little finger. But there's no reason why floating would not work. What did the old methods recommend?

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Also, I'm not familiar with the tune 'Leicester Square'. Is it your original composition?

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Yes, that's one of mine.

I wonder if you ever came across the name Don Strike in your research? He would have been a professional banjo player in London in the 1930's so perhaps too recent for your area of study.  Don had a music shop in Westbourne Arcade and I used to hang out there in the 1970's and hear his stories. He was quite a character!

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An excellent composition that is right in the tradition of player-composers that is central to our banjo heritage. 

One recurrent thought I have whilst engaged in research is what I'm sure would be the puzzlement of the early banjoists at our relative inertia in regard to original composition. Maybe  greater awareness of the fundamental nature of that grassroots activity will begin to redress the balance between retrospection and creativity. 

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Originally posted by Laurence Diehl

I wonder if you ever came across the name Don Strike in your research? He would have been a professional banjo player in London in the 1930's so perhaps too recent for your area of study.  Don had a music shop in Westbourne Arcade and I used to hang out there in the 1970's and hear his stories. He was quite a character!

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Thank you for this reference to an English banjoist. The parameters of our research have extended, as is typical for initial plans when the extent of connections across and beyond original 'boundaries' come to light. The inter-war period is one of those areas now getting our attention. Don Strike is not currently on our radar, but with a name and location we can search rather than rely on details coming to light in primary sources.

Ken - As has been expressed, it's possible that more people would post if there was a dedicated space for it. We won't really know until it's tested out. There are most definitely people here, myself included, who primarily or even only play (what we are broadly defining as) fingerstyle banjo and who do not view their musical efforts as a miscellaneous "other." Is there really anyone here who only plays worship music (a genre) on banjo specifically or only plays 6-string (a different instrument entirely)? Are these really on the same categorical level as a roughly 175-year tradition with a massive body of published and recorded music behind it? 

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Originally posted by banjoboyd

Ken - As has been expressed, it's possible that more people would post if there was a dedicated space for it. We won't really know until it's tested out. There are most definitely people here, myself included, who primarily or even only play (what we are broadly defining as) fingerstyle banjo and who do not view their musical efforts as a miscellaneous "other." Is there really anyone here who only plays worship music (a genre) on banjo specifically or only plays 6-string (a different instrument entirely)? Are these really on the same categorical level as a roughly 175-year tradition with a massive body of published and recorded music behind it? 

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Revisiting this thread I notice that it currently has 1108 views. Certainly the most traffic that this section has  seen in a long time. And we're not even posting finger-style content yet.

I'm laid back about possible format - as long as there's a technique-specific title that points to and identifies the space. I'm happy for those who may have more a specific spec request to suggest this to Eric.

I venture to say when banjos came about and started being seen in horse and buggie days onward--folks would obtain one and start up picking with fingers--probably a much higher percentage of these folks --than those that got to be professionals or teachers/publishers--

many unknown players are mentioned in the newspapers from those days--they would possibly be doing a finger style-- no doubt to me-the styling varied--when I put my our own nostalgic slant on the surviving knowledge of one aspect and figure I have the whole picture -I feel,I am using "tunnel vision"
finger style --to me --would cover any and all players --that are using fingers to play-

we have this problem already with the term ''chord melody''--it is used to designate  a jazz category when it really is a description to me --of most lead sheet /arrangements outside of that

my opinion I ask no agreement

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Originally posted by EEB

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Originally posted by banjoboyd

Ken - As has been expressed, it's possible that more people would post if there was a dedicated space for it. We won't really know until it's tested out. There are most definitely people here, myself included, who primarily or even only play (what we are broadly defining as) fingerstyle banjo and who do not view their musical efforts as a miscellaneous "other." Is there really anyone here who only plays worship music (a genre) on banjo specifically or only plays 6-string (a different instrument entirely)? Are these really on the same categorical level as a roughly 175-year tradition with a massive body of published and recorded music behind it? 

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Revisiting this thread I notice that it currently has 1108 views. Certainly the most traffic that this section has  seen in a long time. And we're not even posting finger-style content yet.

I'm laid back about possible format - as long as there's a technique-specific title that points to and identifies the space. I'm happy for those who may have more a specific spec request to suggest this to Eric.

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A whole new forum is a heavy lift for Eric because it involves ongoing maintenance plus initial development. Perhaps an interim solution would be to make this post a "sticky". Then load it up with content, and let the numbers do the talking. 

Just an idea.

so here is one I ponder some times --There are great marches that fit the banjo, maybe with a key change--single line with picks or multi line in the classic style set up--
Tony T did a full album once but I never bought it (low funds}
I do stab at Siemper Fedelis and Brian Baru's with my picks on and single line

a lot of grassers hit under the double eagle
marches supposedly had a heyday in the late 1800s --on up --for a decade or two--of course marches would be better suited for playing on the banjo while stationary

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Originally posted by Tractor1

so here is one I ponder some times --There are great marches that fit the banjo, maybe with a key change--single line with picks or multi line in the classic style set up--
Tony T did a full album once but I never bought it (low funds}
I do stab at Siemper Fedelis and Brian Baru's with my picks on and single line

a lot of grassers hit under the double eagle
marches supposedly had a heyday in the late 1800s --on up --for a decade or two--of course marches would be better suited for playing on the banjo while stationary

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Yes. Marches are a sizeable element of finger-style repertoire, numbering in the hundreds. 
Also an internal key change is very common to finger-style. Typically a tune structure that is AABB in one key and a Trio in a second key. The Trio being just another name for a C part. That offers more harmonic possibilities than in most banjo styles where tunes stay rigidly in one key.

Clawhammer has the odd tune that while categorised as in a single key, do modulate between keys e.g. Richmond Cotillion (A but modulates A-D) , Black Mountain Rag (D but modulates D-A). But these are rare exceptions.

Additionally, there is a strong focus on dynamics.

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Originally posted by Joel Hooks

Additionally, there is a strong focus on dynamics.

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...and all the options that provides for musical sensitivity and expression.

I do a few fiddle tunes with their built in key changes and sometimes I change keys on a tune as a variation or to get to a different region--

The Polkas I play have key changes

but I wear picks--I don't like the sound of picks  in  the classic style but I do like them quiet well in other finger styles that are currently filed under others or none chosen

to each their own