So my question is a fairly fundamental one; if I place my fret hand on the banjo neck with the outside of the lower knuckle of my index finger touching the neck like Ben says to do in the “Holding the Banjo” lesson, it is all but impossible for me to keep from muting the first string. I’ve become used to basically letting my fret hand float freely, usually with my thumb touching the back of the banjo neck. Is this technique OK or is it going to lead to problems?
Fret Hand Position
Hey! It is okay, except that there are times when the banjo neck might want to drop toward the ground and it requires your fret hand to hold it up in the air. It is fine not to do it now, but when you’re required to support the banjo, you’ll want to roll your wrist back toward you a bit to create some clearance, then learn to curl your fingers more to get to the strings.