Thumb-picking a 5-string banjo
The 5-string banjo became popular in the 1830s, when an American minstrel performer, Joel Walker Sweeney from Virginia, became the first white man to play a banjo onstage. His version of the instrument featured a drum-like body as opposed to the gourd bodies of prior banjos, and introduced a fifth string, higher in pitch than the others. The 5-string banjo is a versatile instrument found most often in country, bluegrass and gospel music. These tips and techniques will help you learn to pick a banjo like a pro.
Basic Instructional Materials
Purchase a beginner's 5-string banjo book to use as a reference as you practice various techniques. A beginner's book will teach you tune your banjo and the primary chords used in banjo playing. You also can find helpful tutorials online to further your studies.
Tuning Your Banjo
Consider using a digital tuner when you first begin tuning your instrument. Over time, your ear will become accustomed to the sound of the strings and you can switch to a pitch pipe or even tune to other instruments, but a digital tuner will ensure you're in tune in the beginning. The strings of the 5-string banjo are G-C-G-B-D, with the first G being the shortest (fifth) string. The strings are raised in pitch by tightening them and lowered by turning tuning pegs to loosen them. A digital tuner tells you if your note needs to be raised or lowered and indicates with a green light when you are in tune.
Clawhammer Picking
Use the clawhammer technique to combine melody and rhythm. The name describes the position of the hand when you properly execute the technique. The right-hand thumb resembles the claw part of a hammer and your four fingers hover over the four longer strings of the banjo. Using this technique, you can use the shorter string as a rhythm accent while you pick note arpeggios with your fingers.
Bluegrass Picking
Use your thumb, index finger and middle fingers for the bluegrass picking style. This technique is sometimes referred to as three-finger picking. This style of playing is one of the most frequently heard in bluegrass. To accomplish this technique, you need to choose appropriate picks. Bluegrass banjo players use metal finger picks on their right-hand index and middle fingers and a plastic thumb pick on their thumbs. You can purchase a variety of picks from a music store.
Rolls
Get familiar with roll techniques. These are the techniques that will have you playing bluegrass banjo like a pro. There are three primary rolls. They are the alternating-thumb roll, the forward-backward roll and the forward roll. The alternating thumb roll is when the right-hand thumb plays every other note while you alternate using your index and middle fingers between the thumb notes. This technique creates a sweeping effect. To accomplish a forward-backward roll, move your fingers in one direction over the strings and back, one at a time, to create a rolling effect. Rolls are the fundamental force behind the rhythmic drive of 5-string banjo playing.
