I’ve been very frustrated with my banjo (a starter level banjo) sounding “dead” every now and then. It’ s not all the time and I couldn’t find any particular area on the strings that would make it better or worse. I can’t wait to get to it and check out the pick rotation. My guess is that’s what’s happening. Thanks, Banjo Ben!
Discuss the Banjo lesson: Pickin' Your Banjo Picks
1 Like
This was a great lesson and just what I needed!!
I am taking lessons from a local instructor and they never covered how to wear picks. Turning them to align with the strings made my picking so much brighter. Duh, why didn’t I think of that already?
I can’t wait to watch more of these videos!!
4 Likes
Another person here who wore the finger picks straight ! twisted em’ and well there ya go…
2 Likes
Can anyone share how they go about adjusting the blade of the pick? I get how to adjust the bands to fit the contour of your fingers. I also know, as was shared in the lesson, that the blade should follow the contour of your finger. I just don’t know how to make the blade of the pick follow the contour of your finger.
Any help would be appreciated!
Mike
2 Likes
I used a set of needle nosed pliers on mine. Be very gentle, and if you leave any scuff marks, smooth them out with some steel wool or very fine sand paper (like 400-600 grit.) You want that string contact surface to be nice and smooth.
3 Likes
I just bought a pair of sammy shelor picks and am contouring them and noticed that to hit the strings square it sits way crooked on my finger and the opening in the band is all the way over to the edge of my fingernail is this an issue?
I haven’t had that problem with my Sammies. I’d be curious to see your picking hand and how it compares to Ben’s in this video.
https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/banjo-hand-positions-banjo/video/pick-hand-anchor-techniques
2 Likes
Actually, I think that is how both @BanjoBen and I like to wear fingerpicks… it doesn’t need to be perfectly square to get good tone out of them- a little bit of an angle is fine, but it is normal for the picks to need to be crooked relative to your finger to get a good amount of squareness.
3 Likes
Ok thanks I have them striking the string square now and they are working good, I will be checking my hand position out again though.
2 Likes
The photos didn’t come through unfortunately! You may need to shrink them.
1 Like
They showed last night. Something just have gotten changed…
1 Like
They are showing for me…
Here they are reduced by 90%
2 Likes
You might should give these a shot: https://store.banjobenclark.com/collections/picks/products/dunlop-mini-finger-picks-36r25
Also, I would curve the picks a bit more toward the end of your finger, so that the pick curvature more closely resembles the curvature of your fingertip.
6 Likes
That’s what I was thinking too.
1 Like
I have trouble finding a good fitting thumb pick because I have a wide thumb. I like some of the plastic ones, but is there a way of fitting them - maybe by cooking them first?
2 Likes
Hi @premragman Marek 
to @BanjoBen 's Forum. Thumb picks come in different sizes so keep that in mind when buying new ones. No one I know cooks their picks, but I guess you could dip them in boiling water which should allow the plastic to be a little more malleable.
You can, but this is one reason I love the BlueChip picks because they have an easily-shaped metal thumb band:
They’re expensive…and they’re worth it.
2 Likes