30 Days of Banjo: Day 7 // Keep on Rolling! 

Just beginning, thanks for adding the tablature it really helps

same! haha Cruzed through days 1-6, day 7, brain to fingers, not enough bandwidth! lol Im guessing, practice practice practice will work!

Same story lol

I’ll let ya know if it works for me!! 😂😂

Thanks this helped a lot :) with nails my fingers was always pushed on two strings, without its way easier to stay on one string by finger. Need Eli to do a quickie on how treat our fingers ^^

Haha, Andrew. Totally with you. Also come from guitar and re-learning so much. These lessons are great for helping the process. PS: If you’re new to banjo and you think this is tough, have you tried Clawhammer??? Wow - That’s got me totally pickled! Sooo difficult to get right! Anyway, loving the learning, and it sounds like you are too. High five.

@@leimaniax yes! I have watched a bunch of clawhammer videos and that has me even more foxed, however can recommend a series by Deering on their channel, the chap presenting those made it click a little as he did it nice and slow etc. I'll be an old man before I can do it at any recognisable pace! Well, back to it, this banjo ain't gonna pick itself..

@@manofguitar @L White I found clawhammer to be strange at first, but it really only took me a little while to get it down. Now, I'm quite adept and can play up to speed, learn new tunes, etc. This rolling finger stuff is what has me flummoxed. Like you said, going ever so slowly... plodding along... making progress but much slower than with clawhammer.

I’m having that trouble also. I’ve tried arching my wrist but to no avail did you manage to fix this

Right on, Richard! I'll be 62 this year and just started with the banjo. I play guitar and trumpet and some uke as well, but you're spot on...never too late to learn. That's good because I still wanna learn mandolin, cello, trombone, and bagpipes! Never quit learning!!

Same here. Ive been muting near strings and I cant find a good position yet. That drives me crazy but I wont give up. I was reading it can take months to master. Im 38, very patient, lets see.

@@romulorocha8704 Would you believe a silly revelation I had? I had to *trim my nails* to stop muting the one string on one of my chords. I didn't even think about that. It's not like they were long, but they were just...long...enough. Long enough to prevent firm contact at the fret.

@@jacobsears5174 hehehehe...great for you! my nails are trimmed at the limit already. I might need some more practice. Tks mate and keep playing!

Eli and Jim are my favorites!

Me too!

@@bernieschreyer8686 so I never got a response or found any clear help. What I ended up doing was just lifting off the string for the next note. It's definitely not as easy or convenient but I've been able to get fast enough that it works and doesn't seem to change anything.

@@nateellenwood5168 Maybe you've figured this out by now, but in case... Make sure you are pressing on the string with the very tip of your finger - close to the fingernail. This will cause you to arch your fingers, which will help them be clear of the neighboring strings. Also, cut your fingernails on your left hand as short as you can so the nail doesn't interfere.

You'll get it!

I've had issue with the D7 chord as well. Mainly that my fingers are touching strings not meant to be touched; including a part of my finger near the palm touching the first string. If you look at the position of his left wrist and try to emulate that, it has helped a bit. I might be wrong on this part, but I find that curling the wrist so that more of the back of the hand is facing the "audience" helps. And lifting the fingers so that only the tips are touching the strings rather than the pads. Please correct me if I'm wrong as I've only been at for a couple weeks.

same here, picks showed up and now im trying to get used to them! lol

Try curling the fingers so only the tip is touching the string. Not easy, but worth the effort!

I'm struggling with the same thing now. I've been trying for several days to work out how to play the D chord. Did you find a technique that moved you past this point?

I got a suggestion on this from a guitarist. Just make sure your thumb is touching the back of the neck of the banjo and so much more power!

I try to hold my fingers perpendicular to the fretboard and fret with the tip near the nail not the flat part that you normally grip with. Like the other poster said fingernails can be an issue but I am not a woman so I don't care! And you don't need a ton of pressure, just enough to get the string down but try to do it near the next fret down the neck.

You have to shape them either by hand or with a needle nose pliers, both how oval the pick is and the angle of the sides towards the tip of your finger. It can take some time to get them tight enough but still comfortable. A good quality pick will stand up to forming more than a cheap one and it can also take some time to find the picks you like best. Starter picks are garbage. I like Dunlop .020s andI like to mark mine with different color nail polish so they go back on the same fingers. As far as the thumb pick goes I use a Golden Gate perloid large. You can't really reform them you have to get the right one for you finger size. Here again a lot of it is personal preference so be prepared to try a few until you find what you like.

Also sometimes I lick my thumb before I put the pick on. I know it's gross, but it sticks like glue!

You’ll get it!

@@EliGilbertBanjo Same!

@@EliGilbertBanjo oh som extra tips on this would be appreciated. I also struggle with this. Can't seem to find a position wher this does not happen

Yep driving me nuts. Frustrating!

Finally starting to get it.

Check the link in the description for the tab!

Yep. Did you get past it?

@@GalacticKushdid you end up getting it? Struggling with muting the string right now as well

@@tradepapers1911 Yea, shorter nails and angling my finger better solved it. It became so easy I wondered how I struggled with it in the first place lol

@@GalacticKush this is the first video where it might take me more than a day to get it. Did you get all the way through the series?

@tradepapers1911 I've been going at it very slowly, but I reached the end of learning this song (day 10) I believe. I'm trying to just get better at playing it faster before I move on. I've been doing more like a few weeks per lesson, but only because i practice maybe 15 minutes a few times a week.

1 month and I still can't get these notes at 1:44. Just thunk.

I would just make sure you can play the examples smoothly without stopping, don't worry too much about speed yet!

It can take a week or more, so feel free to take all of this at whatever pace works for you!

I’m not sure what you mean, the tablature for that section is on the screen and I believe I describe it as being the same position from previous lessons. Am I thinking of the wrong section?

Me too, Chris. Have you ever figured out what we are missing?

I downloaded the book that has the tab days by day. I know what you mean about the full tab, but the pdf is a good 2nd option.

It's just a piece of leather, made by the previous owner of one of my banjos. Sorry!

That's an original tune called Knotty Pine, check it out here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9-R1qfcXE9Q.html

I don't think so...

You sound just like him, check it out. Anyways thanks for the quick response enjoying the banjo vids

Will do!

Have you downloaded the tablature from the link in the description?