Right Hand Technique for the 5 String Banjo

This video is about banjo right hand technique. If you have any questions you can email me at: [e-mail]

[@lcj9564]

I just got my banjo, and this video in 14 min has thought me so much. Thank you

[@thomas7johns]

Where have you been!?! You take the time to explain why; the need to; try; experiment; practice (all the key words) on Hand, Wrist and Finger Placement, Picking and Technique. When I asked my Banjo instructor about these topics, I got a deer in the headlights look and a response with no resolution. Everything you covered here could have saved me months of trial and error. This is so empirical and concise! Thanks Gary!

[@RobDigsGaming]

Please continue to make additional beginner banjo videos. This video is the most comprehensive on right hand technique I've seen. Very helpful. Thank you.

[@brunodifonzo4621]

Loved your video. You are a great teacher with a wide audience that now includes myself. I’ll be watching you!

[@davemosher5059]

Thank you, Gary, for this very informatonal video..have had a 5 string for over a year, and this video is really helpful in regard to hand positioning & the anchoring issue.

[@carleroo]

Hello Gary. I'm so glad I found your video. I am a new player (also no spring chicken...I'm 67) and trying to get things right. The video on fingers, positioning, etc.. is extremely helpful. Lots of great tips, and hopefully I am early enough in the learning process to avoid some bad habits from taking over. Thanks, again! Carl

[@hollydoodle]

I am 67 and just got a banjo yesterday. We can do this!

[@billymurray7779]

Great teacher

[@johnjriggsarchery2457]

Good stuff. For beginners you may want to also watch Clifton Hicks because he goes into styles beyond Scruggs and clawhammer. I thought I wanted traditional bluegrass but I'm finding two finger with drop thumb very interesting.

[@dreadnaught90]

Well presented Gary! Watching this video will be a great help for anyone starting out on the five string banjo. You hit all the important points.

[@johnoshea3349]

I changed my hand position tonight as you showed. Incredible difference in accuracy and resonation. My speed increased because of the little change in my wrist angle. And I ran a few rolls I've struggled with and they played smoothly! Thank you, thank you!

[@TimmyTraspie]

This was the best video of the right hand tech, Thanks

[@doriscampbell9775]

Killer instructor, you had me at thank you Jesus..

[@Xezlec]

I've watched a dozen videos on right hand position and this was the one that finally helped me fix my problem. You explain everything completely, without leaving out any details. Thanks!

[@teeteesmansion8568]

Oh my gosh thank you for this!!! I have been trying to learn the banjo for a good few months and couldn’t figure out why my sound was just not what i wanted u solved my problem lol thank you thank you!

[@jfelipino]

Gary, thanks for making this video. It's clear up a lot of problems, if not all, I was having concerning tone, speed, and comfort. I kept feeling jammed up picking the banjo and I couldn't figure out why, and it sounded bad. The relaxed shoulder tip helped immensely. It helped me to relax and bow my wrist which in turn freed up some room under my fingers. Who woulda thunk. All these years playing guitar and those ingrained habits were making the banjo very frustrating. Anyways, everyone picking up banjo should watch this, even those who have played for years. A very no frills approach. You've done a great service. Thanks again!

[@minimal_enthusiasm5971]

Great video, thank you! I'm a complete beginner and your advice has been so useful. Your style of teaching and pace is just perfect. Also, the way you say "don't obsess about it.." is very relaxing, I feel like you would be a great therapist, haha! Keep on pickin' 👍

[@mr.rogers9849]

This was so helpful. There was so much I was always unsure about my right hand technique. Thank you.

[@norseman79]

Gary - thanks so much for this video. The info about keeping your right shoulder relaxed and your elbow down really helped me. That gives an arch to the wrist automatically, but it also helps keep the picking hand relaxed. I also sometimes had a problem with my pinky damping the first string because I was pulling my hand back more towards the fourth string. Keeping the hand more centered over the middle strings helps with that.

[@Stinkdebollo]

I solved my moving ringfinger problem by tying it to my pinky and anchoring them together. Practicing that made me get the right feel for my hand position

[@googlemustdie]

Thank you so much. I'm a new player at 50 (trying ot cary on the family tradition) and your video was immensely helpful.

[@sparkpluggarage]

thanks so much for your help been learning for a month

[@thomwessels2281]

Thanks for the good tips! I'm again playing my Baldwin ODE Model D after a 25 year hiatus, wanna get back to what I used to be. Don't we ALL though.

[@GaryLPuckett]

Thanks! You had a D?!?!? I have a Model C. It was a mess when I got it but it's up a running now....super cool banjo. Thanks for your message and best of luck with your picking! Enjoy the journey:)

[@johnmettler995]

Gary, I've been picking since 1976. Still learning, your vids are loaded with information that could easily get lost in other aspects of the banjo. It took years to get my ring finger to behave. But, it did happen. Thanks for the post. Will follow.

[@someguy4505]

Thanks for the tips. Good advice for a crosspicking guitar player learning to play banjo.

[@61mab]

Great info for beginners, getting a lot out of this and trying to adapt my physical makeup to some version of the right way to position myself and not start bad habits that will be hard to break later on, for any musical instrument. Thanks for this, and no thanks a lot for your time!

[@debalexander5469]

Thanks so much! This is a really helpful video!

[@samuelelias93]

Thank you, this is so helpful figuring out how to get the best sound out of my right hand as a beginner and now i can work on some of my bad habits. Thanks again!

[@videovigilante8428]

Great educational video for first time players, thank you.

[@richmandau6307]

Great advice. I especially liked the pitfalls to avoid. Keep the videos coming!

[@georgescarlett2320]

Thank you brother Gary, I praise the Lord that he blessed you with that Sullivan, keep the Vids a'comin'!!! Gb

[@patogden856]

Thanks Gary just. Love the softer tone , fabulous . Godbless Pat nz (Haha 70 just starting )

[@gregcaudill2511]

I recently built a 6 string banjo and I have been trying to learn how to play it right. This helps!

[@JustinRothberg]

best video out there about right hand! thanks!

[@moosiesmusic3473]

very helpful. I'm a real beginner and you've been very helpful

[@bmetoxen]

Thank you, very helpful! Helps me in my practice...

[@philm9593]

I'm having issues on this very subject. Consequently, I find myself chopping and changing my hand position in an attempt to increase tone and accuracy. So I'll try and put your excellent advice into practice at my next session. Thank you for taking the time to post this.

[@wallacereyes475]

As a novice banjo player I consider your tutorial very informative, even that I'm left handed. So my job is to apply your tutorial to my left hand abilities.

[@PT-rg2vo]

That is a great video for beginners. Thank you.

[@krisross1326]

Fantastic video. I've just started learning to play banjo and my right wrist has been really hurting. Using your recommendations my wrist doesn't hurt anymore and my right hand playing sounds much improved ☺️

[@GaryLPuckett]

Thanks Kris! I'm very happy any advice I could give helped you:)

[@brazilhead]

Here I am watching this, thinking, hell I know all this and then, BAM, that wrist angle of attack for tone and volume! Something I have yet to explore and have thus far failed to fully appreciate. Thanks!

[@crankinrankin3641]

Great info! Thank you.

[@rjmoney9]

great video. useful knowledge presented with a great personality for video lessons.

[@chrisblair1658]

Thank you! Very, very informative !

[@lizstorer000]

Thankyou for the help

[@eugenelayton5231]

I'm very new to banjo but this right-hand information has helped me alot. Thanks for sharing. 👍

[@richardprince5758]

The way I learned to anchor my finger was to put a "Rubber Band" on the last two fingers and practise that way

[@21stcenturydead96]

Thanks for the tips, Gary!

[@kensulman9817]

thanks mate , from Tasmania

[@bartfipolito7593]

Makes all sense. Thanks.

[@zonianinexile]

Thank you!

[@Outdoorsmanlife88]

Very helpful video! I just started a week ago and started with the bad habit Of getting a running start at the strings instead of keeping them close to the strings and plucking towards my palm. Great tips and I can't wait to grow further in knowledge like yourself! Do you have any tips on what happens after you get your rolls down. Where to go after this?

[@schoendominik]

Thanks, great help.

[@thomwessels2281]

And regarding 'anchoring the last 2 fingers' just look at Steve Martin's right hand. His hand id flailing ALL AROUND and he's NOT anchoring ANYTHING! . He's a great banjoist!

[@GaryLPuckett]

Actually, he anchors his pinky. His ring finger doesn't anchor but follows his middle finger. And yeah...he's terrific! I'm not saying you HAVE to anchor your finger(s). The vast majority do, but if somebody can play the want to without anchoring, more power to them!

[@sirgalah561]

Why does the tone change when you move up or down the strings with the right hand??? I was fooling around with my banjo today and noticed the change in tone when I changed where I placed my hand.. Is it because the skin is like a drum head? And you can change the sound of a drum depending on where you hit the head??

[@jamesrockford5145]

good tips, will give them a try.

[@maxwellfan55]

Your views on choices of thumb and finger picks and how they affect tone and attack would be appreciated. Also how to position them for best results. There is such a huge range of styles, makes and materials out there. Thank you.

[@GaryLPuckett]

+maxwellfan55 Great suggestion! I will try to get on it asap.

[@michaelyaussi5481]

Thank you!!

[@Rodolph2012]

Thanks Gary, very helpfull!

[@adrienfourniercom]

thank you

[@rickn.backer1087]

OMG.......what a cool name. LOL.......Loved them in the 60's. ( Gary Puckett and the Union Gap) Bet you had a ton of fun with your name. Just wondering if maybe I should get a banjo, as I play damn near everything else. (Except an OBOE...damn double reeds! LOL). Cheers.

[@GaryLPuckett]

Of course you should get a banjo!!!!

[@tedtedsen269]

the g chord on open strings is that a down or upstroke movementi just got my first 5 stringer

[@chickjones749]

I am a beginner. What type of Bango should I buy. 5 string, the name. The best one for me to begin on. Thank you....

[@blubberbooty]

Hey there brother. I like that tune you play at the end of the video. Do you teach that tune? i sure would like to learn it. Thanks.

[@GaryLPuckett]

+Randall Gordon Hi Randall! That's "Clinch Mountain Backstep" by Dr. Ralph Stanley. I do indeed teach it. I will make a video of it as soon as my new GoPro camera gets here...hopefully any day now. :) Thanks!

[@anamicarai7021]

+Gary Puckett sounds great!

[@therealdiehl4671]

Mechanics are a big deal. Classical musicians are drilled on posture and technique. Beginners often think it's boring and not necessary, but It does pay off.

[@Meany1960]

Hi Gary, I have been playing for about 5 years now. I have had a second carpal tunnel surgery, and since that surgery have lost a great deal of my roll ability. I also have developed a bad problem with the thumb. I tend to move my thumb under my palm and get my thumb tangled with my index finger. I really want to get back to being able to play. Any suggestions to help me get rid of the bad thumb motion?

[@cwilli1024]

I rubber-banded my ring finger and pinky together to get a 2 finger anchor

[@christinescullion4549]

I have to ask, are you the Gary Puckett from the legendary band ( Gary Puckett And The Union Gap)?

[@rjmoney9]

doesn't look like it

[@monellerichmond7208]

Thank you very much for this video. What is the lovely tune that you play at 11:43?

[@GaryLPuckett]

It's called "Cynthia's Waltz"...one of my tunes. You can find it on iTunes or on my CD "Grandfather Mountain." It's available on iTunes, Amazon, etc. or on my website. www.garypuckettbanjo.com Thanks for the kind words!

[@kimross7303]

Every morning I wake up and my little finger (anchor) ring finger (does nothing but wiggle ..won't stay anchored) and my middle finger knuckles are all sore. My index is not, nor my thumb. I play about 1 hr to 1 1/2 hrs. a day. I'm 65 yrs old. I must be doing something wrong. What would it be?

[@GaryLPuckett]

Hmmm. Does you hand feel tired after you've been playing a while?

[@kenbrownfield6584]

...and the Union Gap ?

[@marine7289]

Gary, I am hitting the head with my picks! Any suggestions?

[@tablature6121]

You could try a higher bridge, as well. I know a lot of pickers, of guitar and banjo, seem to fixate over "string height" and "action", but a higher action produces more volume with less "string noise." Hitting the head with your picks while picking is really a pretty common problem, with beginners and advanced players as well. You can see the results with the gray marks on their head, from repeated "bad" practice. I had those too -- a tell- tale sign of doing it -- until I switched to a higher bridge. If you don't like the resulting string height, simple process on a banjo to adjust the neck to get a more favorable string height, over the fingerboard. (Might ought to get someone more experienced to do it, though.) Keep pickin'.

[@garypuckett4101]

Yeah...that's a thing. I do it sometime too. Make sure you have a little bit or arch in your wrist. That seems to fix it for me.

[@mikejustice1196]

Hey Gary Were you in Oklahoma around the late 70’s early 80’s in the AG church’s?

[@garypuckett4101]

No.....must have been a different Gary Puckett.

[@sktrmns6]

my gosh, gary. you are so handsome

[@garypuckett4101]

Finally....somebody who noticed that:)

[@jimweiss5873]

hey gary,,,do you give lessons skype,,,and what area are you out of....,,ive been playing about a year on,,and off,,56 here and just seem to be stuck in a rought,,..ant advice would be helpful,,thanks jim

[@GaryLPuckett]

+Jim Weiss Hi Jim! I'm in Westerville Ohio....just outside Columbus. I do indeed give Skype Lessons, and I'd be glad to work with you. Send me an email to [e-mail] and we can work out particulars. All the best!

[@jimweiss5873]

Ok...its [e-mail] gary..

[@richardprince5758]

Sorry,cann't resist "Gary Pucket and the Union Gap "

[@Celticman197]

You don't have to touch the head at all.

[@GaryLPuckett]

There are lots of ways to play the banjo. For Scruggs based technique, the vast majority of players find achoring the right hand gives a more stable and controllable right hand. If you don't need to anchor more power to you. But with most of my students we work on anchoring.

[@Celticman197]

@@GaryLPuckett Yeah, they should try to keep a finger on the head, if it comes naturally. But my fingers just naturally come off the head, especially play Irish/Celtic and Bluegrass Rock.

[@GaryLPuckett]

@@Celticman197 Well rock on brother!:)

[@sparkpluggarage]

i play by strings dont understand notes at all guess you and other people say learning by ear