Hey im starting to teach a freind how to play the banjo and because I started out on the mandolin I just use mandolin fingering with my left hand to press down on the frets when playing the banjo......so when im teaching my friend to play is it ok to use the
first finger to cover frets 1 and 2
second to cover frets 3 and 4
and third finger for 4 and 5
and little finger for 6 and 7
I know some people use their little finger to play the little finger to press down on the 5th fret .........would it be wrong to teach banjo using the fingering i have above that I use for the banjo and mandolin??????
IM - I can't get you the URL from my phone just now, but Mike Keyes (who's on the board here) has provided great on line resources for this. Try googling his name with banjo and you'll find it. Generally I'd say that if your friend has a short scale banjo and they have a good reach, they could get away with mandolin fingering, but best to read up on it a bit.
I generally use mandolin fingering on even the long scale banjos. I do have large hands, but I don't think it's really because of that. I think people with smaller hands can do it, if they learn a good hand technique, where the hand is relaxed and floating a bit, instead of anchored to the neck in first position.
The base knuckle of my index finger used to get sore, being the pivot point for reaching up to the B. But at some point, all the advice about relaxing kicked in, and I haven't had issues with that for years.
Keep in mind that a lot of people use "mandola fingering" for banjo, and that's OK too. If you play that way, you have to get more comfortable moving your hand around more. I can actually switch back and forth between the fingerings during a tune, which can be handy if I'm doing a hammer-on with a finger at a fret that would normally be handled by the lower finger, etc.
Maybe the best advice when you're teaching, is to show them how you do it, talk to them about the differences, and let them make up their own mind about it over time...
Mike does advise using the four finger approach if I remember correctly. I started playing about 16 months ago and I found his site a fantastic help and guide. I also have a mandola and a 'zouk and I think it does make sense to use the four finger approach. Still that's only my preference.
I use the four finger approach,it really strengthens the little finger[useful when youwant to play the fiddle].
however many good players use the three finger technique.of course every players anatomy will be different, some will have bigger fourth fingers than others.
both systems are ok,let your friend do what he/she finds easiest.Dick Miles
I advocate the four finger style, especially for beginners, because I think it is the most efficient way to play the tenor banjo. That being said, there is nothing wrong with the mandolin style, it is just a little harder to learn and play cleanly unless you have experience that you can bring to the banjo. The two styles both have drawbacks and advantages and the many accomplished players end up using both. If you listen closely you can hear the stylistic differences. Barney McKenna, Mick Moloney and a host of others use the mandolin style exclusively.
I find that he four finger syle is easier to learn and to use. There are some passages ( K:G G2BG DGBG G2 Bd cAFA with triplets on the G2) are easier with four fingers as you don't move your fingers at all .
I am a mandolin player who came to the tenor banjo and I found that i can easialy transition from one instrument to another, but it took a lot of practice to do so. Also, the instruments are very different from one another and if you use different fingering schemes it makes it easier to find a different style for each instrument.
Teaching the Banjo
Teaching the Banjo
Hey im starting to teach a freind how to play the banjo and because I started out on the mandolin I just use mandolin fingering with my left hand to press down on the frets when playing the banjo......so when im teaching my friend to play is it ok to use the
first finger to cover frets 1 and 2
second to cover frets 3 and 4
and third finger for 4 and 5
and little finger for 6 and 7
I know some people use their little finger to play the little finger to press down on the 5th fret .........would it be wrong to teach banjo using the fingering i have above that I use for the banjo and mandolin??????
# Posted on May 30th 2008 by Irish Mandolin
Re: Teaching the Banjo
IM - I can't get you the URL from my phone just now, but Mike Keyes (who's on the board here) has provided great on line resources for this. Try googling his name with banjo and you'll find it. Generally I'd say that if your friend has a short scale banjo and they have a good reach, they could get away with mandolin fingering, but best to read up on it a bit.
# Posted on May 30th 2008 by Keith Dubinsky
Re: Teaching the Banjo
I generally use mandolin fingering on even the long scale banjos. I do have large hands, but I don't think it's really because of that. I think people with smaller hands can do it, if they learn a good hand technique, where the hand is relaxed and floating a bit, instead of anchored to the neck in first position.
The base knuckle of my index finger used to get sore, being the pivot point for reaching up to the B. But at some point, all the advice about relaxing kicked in, and I haven't had issues with that for years.
Keep in mind that a lot of people use "mandola fingering" for banjo, and that's OK too. If you play that way, you have to get more comfortable moving your hand around more. I can actually switch back and forth between the fingerings during a tune, which can be handy if I'm doing a hammer-on with a finger at a fret that would normally be handled by the lower finger, etc.
Maybe the best advice when you're teaching, is to show them how you do it, talk to them about the differences, and let them make up their own mind about it over time...
# Posted on May 30th 2008 by Reverend
Re: Teaching the Banjo
Have to agree with Keith about Mike's website, the link is
http://www.mikekeyes.com-a.googlepages.com/irishtenorbanjo
Mike does advise using the four finger approach if I remember correctly. I started playing about 16 months ago and I found his site a fantastic help and guide. I also have a mandola and a 'zouk and I think it does make sense to use the four finger approach. Still that's only my preference.
# Posted on May 31st 2008 by tctelboy
Re: Teaching the Banjo
I use the four finger approach,it really strengthens the little finger[useful when youwant to play the fiddle].
however many good players use the three finger technique.of course every players anatomy will be different, some will have bigger fourth fingers than others.
both systems are ok,let your friend do what he/she finds easiest.Dick Miles
# Posted on May 31st 2008 by dickens metrognome
Re: Teaching the Banjo
I advocate the four finger style, especially for beginners, because I think it is the most efficient way to play the tenor banjo. That being said, there is nothing wrong with the mandolin style, it is just a little harder to learn and play cleanly unless you have experience that you can bring to the banjo. The two styles both have drawbacks and advantages and the many accomplished players end up using both. If you listen closely you can hear the stylistic differences. Barney McKenna, Mick Moloney and a host of others use the mandolin style exclusively.
I find that he four finger syle is easier to learn and to use. There are some passages ( K:G G2BG DGBG G2 Bd cAFA with triplets on the G2) are easier with four fingers as you don't move your fingers at all .
I am a mandolin player who came to the tenor banjo and I found that i can easialy transition from one instrument to another, but it took a lot of practice to do so. Also, the instruments are very different from one another and if you use different fingering schemes it makes it easier to find a different style for each instrument.
Mike Keyes
http://www.banjosessions.com
# Posted on June 1st 2008 by mikeyes