I’d like to clean up my picking, but here’s the thing. If the fingers don’t hit the right spot the first time, I can adjust and get clean, but that first note is dirty.
For example, I often miss getting my ring finder down on the 4th string when making an F chord, but by the time I pick the next string, I’ve adjusted and it sounds fine (we’re talking microseconds here.) But that very first pluck was bad.
I know. “Play slow to go fast.” But even when I go slow, I will miss that ring finger -to-4th string maybe 50% of the time. I end up using the pad of the finger rather than the tip.
Any thoughts on how to encourage my finger to come down tip first rather than pad first?
How Do You Practice Playing "Clean?"
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@BanJoe, my experience is that when we consider ourselve to be ‘Banjo players’ you, we can hold our own, make a good solo, that kind of thing, we tend to be almost ashamed of problems like this and just pass over them to more fun stuff. I’m gonna say, it will be real slow, real slow. But you gotta stick with it. Focus on every note exactly how you are fretting it. I don’t care how slow you go, but slow enough that you can conciously think, 'I’ve gotta fret that 4th string properly right…now. That slow. It will be awefully boring and equally frusterating, but suddenly it will be second nature. And then comes the gratification. Just my advanced expert advice.
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*my 2 cents worth… 
This could be an issue on any string instrument…
Continuous repetition (can be done at any speed) is what works for me, & also fitting it (the troublesome fretting, dud note, string, or phrase) in between other stuff I’m playing - even purposefully out of context- just to try & nail it. Obviously the goal is not to practice a “bad” technique repetitively & reinforce it, but “can’t get there from here” without working it out somehow.
Sorry but I don’t really have any ‘normal’ (haha define normal!) suggestions on how to train that finger to land tip 1st - except maybe do the ring finger to 4th move excruciatingly slow while being painfully aware of the curl or flatness of that fingertip (over & over). Or - try it in the total dark, lol, ya never know! Sounds crazy but I’ve done that a few times and was pleasantly surprised at the result of not being able to see my fingers or fretboard or distractions. Ok now that yall think I’m really strange, I’m out! 
You’ll nail it eventually!!! 
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I would just say don’t give it a thought. My full D chord, for example, sounded horrible at first, but one day I realized I could play it with clarity. It was kind of in my subconscious.
Oh, and make sure that you have the proper playing posture.
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Painful as it is the key to playing things cleanly is to practice slow. We all hit bad notes @BanJoe even Earl himself hit a few in his time. Don’t beat yourself up, accept the fact that you’re gonna make a few mistakes.
Isolate the measures that are causing you problems, Spend more time working on these trouble spots. I have been playing for over twelve years and I still have rough days and I resort to going back to the basics where I’ll play/practice the same few measures over and over trying to figure out what finger should fret or strike a string… Trust me you are not alone in your struggles. I didn’t start learning to play banjo till I was 61 so it’s been an uphill battle all the way.
Here is a practice tip for the F chord shape. Practice putting the ring finger on the 4th string first. Focus all your attention on nailing that fret, first time every time. Make a conscious effort to practice this for 10 minutes every day for the next two weeks. Then go back to placing all your fingers down on the strings together.
What is happening here is your still at the stage where your thinking about every minute detail. By the time you think about it the moment has passed and your thought process simply spirals out of control.
When you get in you car and drive down to the shopping mall, you never hesitate to think about all the detailed actions you perform. You just get behind the wheel and go. Learning to drive you will have focused on all the detail but once you built up enough confidence you switched to autopilot and trusted in your own ability to drive to the mall. It’s the same with the banjo you have to believe in yourself that it’s doable. Once you get beyond that there will be no stopping you…
One final thing, check your banjo angle. Ensure your wrist is forward enough so that you are able to lay down all your fingers on the F chord shape comfortably.
Check out @BanjoBen 's lesson on fretting the strings
https://banjobenclark.com/lessons/banjo-hand-positions-banjo/video/intro-to-the-fret-hand
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Actually, that’s a good idea that I’ve used before. It’s kinda of fun, in a tightrope walking way, to pick in the dark or with my eyes closed. It is surprising how often I get it right.
Thanks for the reminder!
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“First time, every time” is the goal, so this is a really boring, but probably very valuable tip.
Thanks Archie.
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Boring it may be but if it fixes the problem what does it matter. It worked for me - I have nothing left to suggest. Good Luck
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@banjoe
I am continuously working on this problem myself
I have noticed results by practicing the hand right + metronome alone for 5-10 mins everyday.
Choose a roll pattern and do it for the first 5 minutes while looking at your hand. Focus on your fingers and hand placement, do it super slow and clean, your brain will record the movement . You can speed up if the sound is clean. Then do it again for another 5 minutes looking away from your hand . Rinse and repeat daily - No need to do it for more than 10 mins in my opinion
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“How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
Thanks!
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How do you learn to play banjo? One day at a time. Sweet Jesus
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