Hi Nathan! I think what Ben has said in the past is that once one can play something from memory and can do it without thinking through each note is the start of proficiency. In other words, you don’t have to be able to play it at the highest speed before working on other things.
I hope that answers the right question.
Hi @nhorgan23 Nathan 
to @BanjoBen 's Forum. Mike nail it. Just work on through the beginners learning path at your own pace and you will find everything begins to fit. Work through each lesson till you are comfortable then move on to the next. You can always go back to a previous lesson to refresh your memory or practice what you have already covered. Once you complete the beginners learning path you’ll be ready to try your hand at lessons from the Intermediate & Advanced sections.
Yep, great advice from these guys! Keep it up!
I am very much a newbie learning the banjo. One thing I have been doing that I hope is ok is I pick whatever 3 chord song that comes to mind while playing a roll and sing it while I play. It forces me to switch chords and gives practice with the roll.
Welcome to the Forum Rachel !
to the Forum Rachel! Glad to have you on board. You have definitely come to the right place to learn banjo. @BanjoBen get’s into all the detail that many other teachers skip over and his lessons are fun and informative, your gonna love it here. If you have any questions just holler, this is a family friendly forum and if Ben is not around to help, someone will try their best to answer your query until Ben is free to get back to you.
These lessons are like a good novel I just can’t put down. Thank you!
Really thought I was doing good with square rolls, then I became a gold pick member and started from the beginning. This was humbling but awesome!!!
I have a quick question on left hand fingering for measure 42.
Can the beginning of the last eighth note (4th fret, 4th string)
be played with the pinkey finger instead of the ring finger ?
Yes, @kooseman Steve. But why would you want to? It’s an exercise to help you with your finger coordination. The purpose being to get you using that ring finger on the 4th string. It’s a common walkup in Bluegrass
Archie the problem is the stretch is just not happening physically without leaving the other strings.
My pinkey seems to land naturally and feels more comfortable.
I know compensation is often acceptable but, as a beginner, I wanted to ensure that doing so
here would not create any hard-to-break bad habits later on.
However, if you have some suggestions/creative ideasexercises on how I can get my ring finger on that
string I’d appreciate it. 
Hi Steve If you watch the part 4 video closely you will see @BanjoBen shifts his hand position for the walk up. Placing his Index on fret 2, Middle on fret 3 and Ring on fret 4. So there is no stretching involved. Trust me going forward you really need to learn this walk up. Later on you’ll learn to add a slide from 4 - 5 using the ring finger. So by using your pinkie you are in fact creating a bad habit
Hi Archie,
Sorry, maybe stretch was not a correct word to use.
I did review the part 4 vid and the Middle 3rd fret and Ring on 4th fret is what I’m referring to.
For some reason my ring finger just doesn’t cooperate to get to that fret.
I’ve tried and tried but no go. But, my pinkey just seems to fall into place on that fret/string.
I appreciate the advice about the slide as this is what I wanted to know.
As such, I guess at this point, persistence (although seeming impossible at this time) will likely be
easier than trying to repair a future bad habit.
Challenge accepted.
BTW do you know of any suggested exercises in moving a stubborn ring finger to 4th fret while anchoring
the middle on the 3rd fret ?? 
Sure I understand fully Steve. As it happens Alan Munde has a great Banjo Workout DVD see link below. It is a bunch of exercises just like a keep fit workout but for your fingers. I had a hard job trying to reach certain frets with my pinkie ( Up the neck Cumberland Gap Licks ) My brain just wouldn’t allow me to move my pinkie on it’s own. Alan’s video helped me fix that issue.
A big part of coordinating finger control is to practice scales. I have to add I hated learning scales in the beginning. I thought they were a waste of time. I just wanted to learn tunes. Over time I learned that learning scales helped me with my finger dexterity and accuracy. @BanjoBen has a bunch of scale lessons on the site.
A good exercise for working that ring finger on the 4th fret is hold down the 4th string at the 3rd fret with the middle finger and hammer on the 4th fret with the ring finger. Again you will come across this lick later on in your studies. It’s a challenge that need lots of perseverance and practice.
Here is that link to Alans Website if your interested in his DVD. Be sure to tell Alan you are one of Banjo Ben’s students and that I recommended this DVD to you.
When you get on the site scroll to the bottom of the page. This is what your looking for>
THE BLUEGRASS BANJO WORKOUT DVD
In ten information-rich lessons, master teacher Alan Munde de-mystifies many right and left hand playing techniques. Work with these lessons will add to the player’s dexterity, will increase left hand stretch, solve difficult left hand fingerings, increase speed, and help with the visual organization of the fingerboard.
(93-MU-B2) $29.95
THE BLUEGRASS BANJO WORKOUT DVD
$29.95 plus shipping add to cart
https://almundesbanjocollege.com/dvds/
Thank you very much Archie.
DVD headed my way.
And thanks for the heads up about BB’s scale lessons and
the exercise suggestion.
Just a quick ?
Does the ring finger hammer on any string on the 4th fret ??
Hi Steve the more you study @BanjoBen 's videos you’ll see he uses his ring finger to hammer-on and pull-off the 3rd string too. This is not a common practice other banjo players use, this is just Ben’s preference. I don’t use my ring finger to hammer-on or pull-off the 3rd string but I do on the 4th string. I was taught to hammer-on and pull-off the 3rd string with my middle finger. My first teacher was Murphy Henry
Going to chord C is my problem. I haven’t gotten it where my fingers land on the strings at the same time.
So here is a little exercise to educate your brain to land all three fingers on the fret board. Start with the ring finger. Place it on the first string second fret. Now place the other two fingers Index on second string 1st Fret middle finger on 4th string second fret. Repeat this exercise for about ten minutes making sure you place the fingers accurately. Take your time this is not a speed exercise.
Now starting with the Index on second string 1st Fret followed by the middle finger on 4th string second fret lastly the ring finger. Place it on the first string second fret. Repeat this exercise for about ten minutes making sure you place the fingers accurately. Once again take your time this is not a speed exercise.
Now start with your middle finger place it on 4th string second fret Index on second string 1st Fret followed by the ring finger on the first string second fret. Repeat this exercise for about ten minutes making sure you place the fingers accurately.
Now try placing All fingers down at the same time. Repeat the exercise until you can land all fingers accurately and with confidence. This is how I learned to do it.