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As you may have noticed, in some videos I play with fingerpicks on, and in others I’m playing with my bare fingers.

In this latest installment in the Banjo Song of the Week, “Shoes and Stockings,” my fingers are bare.

And some of you have wondered if this was random, or if there was a method to my madness?

The answer is yes, I do have some general principles that guide this decision as to whether to don the metal picks. And since the question of “do I need to wear fingerpicks” is asked by virtually every budding up-picking banjoist, I thought it might be a good idea to review the topic here.

Why Fingerpicks?

There are two primary reasons for wearing fingerpicks. The first is that they increase the volume of the banjo – i.e. you can play louder.

That’s not to say you can’t play loudly with bare fingers, it just requires more effort (likewise, it’s harder to play softly with fingerpicks on).

The second reason is that they change the tone of the banjo. A string plucked by a metal sounds significantly different than one struck by bare fingers.

Thus, the decision to wear them is based on whether or note those features – the change in volume and tone – are desired…or not.

Both of these are welcome features for bluegrass banjo.

Bluegrass banjo is typically played in a band setting, where the banjo is playing along with other instruments like the mandolin, guitar, bass, dobro, etc. So, that extra volume comes in handy, as does the tone produced by metal picks, as the frequencies produced help the banjo carve out a nice space in the sonic mix.

Plus, many now consider the sound of a banjo picked by metal fingerpicks to be an essential part of bluegrass music.

When playing solo banjo, however, the extra volume isn’t usually needed. Furthermore, that extra volume can be a disadvantage if you’re playing and singing.

Additionally, without other instruments to fill out the sound, the sharper, pinched tone of a metal fingerpicked banjo can sound a little thin and harsh (and bare fingers will almost universally be preferred by those in earshot).

In the world of traditional banjo fingerpicking that’s not bluegrass, many – perhaps most – players did not use them. So, as is usually the case with all things banjo, the most traditional approach has been just to do what suits you.

I encourage those getting started to learn to play with and without them. That way you’ll be able to explore the entire range of sounds the banjo has to offer, and will be ready for any playing situation that may arise.

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Clawhammer Version

You can listen to the clawhammer version of Shoes and Stockings in the video below (click here for the tab, which will take you to the clawhammerbanjo.net).

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“Shoes and Stockings”

gDGBD tuning, 3 finger banjo (Brainjo level 3)

Recent Banjo Songs and Tabs of the Week:

• Feast Here Tonight
• East Tennessee Blues
• Walking Cane
• Pretty Polly
• Home Sweet Home
• The Miller’s Will

Notes on the Tab

For more on how to read the tab, click here for the How To Read Banjo Tabs article.

 

Click on the button below to get the PDF download for this tab delivered to you, and get a new song and tab delivered to you every week!

Click Here To Get The Tab

For the 5-string banjo player, playing in different keys can present a bit of a challenge.

The 5th string drone, while providing the banjo with one of its most defining and cherished sounds, also presents some limitations. It can be tempting to spend all of your time within the comfort of standard G tuning.

Now, the capo does offer some options. For the keys that are close by and higher in pitch – G#, A, A#, B, and even C – we can capo all 5 strings up.

But if you’re ever going to be playing songs, either backing someone else, or playing and singing yourself, then being able to venture even further outside the land of G is essential, as the chosen key is often dictated by the singer’s vocal range.

Case in point, “Feast Here Tonight” sounds much better when I sing it in D than it would in G or A.

And that G on the 5th string just doesn’t sound so hot as a drone note in the key of D.

So how do we handle this situation?

One way would be to avoid the 5th string altogether. But that’s no fun, is it? If we wanted a drone-less banjo, we’d have bought one with 4 strings!

Another is to leave strings 1-4 at the same pitch, DGBD, and tune the 5th string to an A (the 5th note in the D scale, which is a much better sounding drone note for this situation), leaving us with aDGBD.

One advantage of this particular tuning for this key is that it allows you to make ample use of the lowest string, which is now tuned to the root note in the key (D). I like having those deeper tones to sing against.

For this reason, I tend to choose this particular tuning, aDGBD, for songs in the key of D (and if we make use of the capo, we now have access to the keys of D#, E, F, F#, G)

(RELATED: If music theory isn’t your strength, you might enjoy “Essentials of Music Theory for the Banjo Player”, a 3 part video course inside of Breakthrough Banjo. It covers all the parts of music theory that are really useful to know, and none that aren’t! Click here to learn more about Breakthrough Banjo.)

 

Alternatively, we could also tune to an “open D” tuning and play it there, the most common one of those being aDF#AD.

For an entirely different take on this classic, here’s a version, using 2 finger style on the gourd banjo. Once again, I’m playing in the key of D, but the tuning here is dADF#A. This is just standard G tuning with all the strings tuned down 5 half steps to take advantage of the lower tones of the gourd banjo.

You’ll find the tab for this version presented below as well.

“Feast Here Tonight” – 2 finger version on gourd banjo

“Feast Here Tonight”

aDGBD tuning, 3 finger banjo (Brainjo level 3)

“Feast Here Tonight”

gDGBD tuning (dADF#A on the gourd), 2 finger banjo

 

 

Notes on the Tab

For more on how to read the tab, click here for the How To Read Banjo Tabs article.

Recent Banjo Songs and Tabs of the Week:

• East Tennessee Blues
• Walking Cane
• Pretty Polly
• Home Sweet Home
• The Miller’s Will

 

Click on the button below to get the PDF download for this tab delivered to you, and get a new song and tab delivered to you every week!

Click Here To Get The Tab

This week’s tune, written by fiddler Charlie Bowman and recorded in 1926 by his group The Hillbillies, was introduced to me by my friend and former Sedentary Rambler bandmate, Jim Sims. Back when we performed it, I’d play the fingerstyle version you hear above.

Listening, you may wonder: what style of fingerpicking is this?

I’m using 3 fingers, so “3 finger style” would be appropriate. Is it “Scruggs” or “bluegrass” banjo? Old time 3 finger? It does include a lot of the notes that the fiddler plays, so perhaps “melodic” 3 finger?

Who knows? Who cares!

It doesn’t fit neatly into any rigid stylistic classification system, which is precisely the point. 

This arrangement was created by starting with the sound, or the end result I wanted to achieve, and then working backwards to figure out how to use the techniques of fingerpicked banjo to get there.

If you listen to recordings of fingerpicking banjoists in the pre-Scruggs era, you’ll find that this was clearly their approach, one that resulted in a rich and delightful variety of sounds. Sounds that would defy any attempt to capture inside of a single stylistic box.

Sounds that I hope I can encourage other fingerpicking banjoists to rekindle.

This is another example of how these boundaries that exist in our imagination (i.e. banjo “styles”) can impose unnecessary limits if they make their way into the learning process, and another great illustration of why it’s so important not to conflate the two, not to confuse technique – the motor and cognitive skills needed for banjo playing – with the style in which a particular tune is played (a reflection of a consistent way in which the techniques are assembled to achieve a particular aesthetic).

Start with the sound, the end in mind, then work out the details. And let others worry about how to label it!

(RELATED: If you want to learn more about the hazards of confusing style and technique, click here to read “Banjo Essentials: How To Pick the Banjo in any Style“ at fingerstylebanjo.com)

 

And here is the clawhammer version for East Tennessee Blues, which incidentally also doesn’t fit neatly into any stylistic category (click here if you’d like to view the tab for it, too).

East Tennessee Blues – clawhammer banjo version

East Tennessee Blues

gCGBD tuning, 3 finger banjo (Brainjo level 3)

 

Notes on the Tab

For more on how to read the tab, click here for the How To Read Banjo Tabs article.

Recent Banjo Songs and Tabs of the Week:

• Feast Here Tonight
• Walking Cane
• Pretty Polly
• Home Sweet Home
• The Miller’s Will

 

 

Click on the button below to get the PDF download for this tab delivered to you, and get a new song and tab delivered to you every week!

Click Here To Get The Tab

I must confess to knowing little of the history of this week’s song until very recently, despite the fact that I’ve known it for a bit.

A little background research revealed a fascinating backstory.

“Walking Cane” was written by Jimmy Bland, an African American musician and songwriter.

And a minstrel performer. Not just any old minstrel performer, mind you, but one often referred to as “The World’s Greatest Minstrel Man.”

And not just any old songwriter either, but the author of over 600 works (including “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” and “Golden Slippers”).

I’d encourage to check out Bland’s biography on Wikipedia – though, if you’re like me, it’ll probably leave you wanting much more!

Prior to this research, I had no idea that the song was this old. It sounds like it could’ve easily been written in this decade, not two centuries ago.

Not entirely sure what the magic sauce is that makes a tune timeless, but this one surely has it.

And here is the clawhammer version for this song, which not surprisingly creates a slightly more dance-able rendition (click here if you’d like to view the tab for it, too).

Walking Cane – clawhammer banjo version

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(RELATED: If you’d like to learn 2 and 3 finger style banjo, click here to check out the Brainjo course for Fingerstyle Banjo).

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Hand Me Down My Walking Cane

gDGBD tuning, 3 finger banjo (Brainjo level 3)

 

 

Notes on the Tab

In this arrangement, I’ve tabbed out the part I play in the banjo “solo,” as well as the vocal backup I play on the banjo while singing.

For more on how to read the tab, click here for the How To Read Banjo Tabs article.

Recent Banjo Songs and Tabs of the Week:

• Feast Here Tonight
• East Tennessee Blues
• Pretty Polly
• Home Sweet Home
• The Miller’s Will

 

Click on the button below to get the PDF download for this tab delivered to you, and get a new song and tab delivered to you every week!

Click Here To Get The Tab

 

Banjos and murder ballads go together like peas and carrots.

The murder described in this week’s song, Pretty Polly, has been traced back to a story, known as “The Gosport Tragedy,” that was originally published in the 18th century, and based on real events. Our protagonists actual name was Molly.

In the early 20th century, Polly was reimagined as a banjo song in the states, and has remained a favorite of fans of the five. B.F. Shelton, Dock Boggs, Hobart Smith, Stringbean, and Ralph Stanley have all recorded their own distinctive version.

It’s one that’s equally beloved by frailers and fingerpickers, which is one reason I’ve included both up and down-picked breaks in this version (click here if you’d like the clawhammer tab).

As demonstrated in the video, the fingerstyle solos are played in both the 2 finger (“thumb-lead”) and 3 finger styles, which are tabbed below.

(RELATED: If you’d like to learn 2 and 3 finger style banjo, click here to check out the Brainjo course for Fingerstyle Banjo).

Pretty Polly

gDGBD tuning, 3 finger banjo (Brainjo level 3)

Pretty Polly

gDGBD tuning, 2 finger thumb lead

Recent Banjo Songs and Tabs of the Week:

• Feast Here Tonight
• East Tennessee Blues
• Walking Cane
• Home Sweet Home
• The Miller’s Will

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