I stopped hearing complaints when I started wearing headphones
Playing Without Finger Picks
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As a teenager, I took my first paycheck from my first real job & bought a pair of headphones. Within hours I was lying on the couch, listening to “Blood Sweat & Tears” and loving the sounds swirling through my head.
I had no idea my mother was standing behind me, shrieking at me for having my feet on the furniture.
Those headphones were worth their weight in gold!
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Ah but I bet you missed out on a few meal calls.
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Not with my belly always checking the time! 
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HaHa I do that ALL the time!! My buddys are always like, “What the world are you doing?” ME is like ,“Playing banjo…”
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well hi everyone.
so i just picked up my banjo - took it to my work area 'cause i just wanted a diversion/break for awhile. anyhow, i noticed something really strange. I PLAYED BETTER! huh? well, for whatever reason, i was able to hit the fretted strings (right hand) more cleanly! my hammer-ons and pull-offs were cleaner too. but i only changed my picking hand by choosing not to use finger picks.
am i losing my mind (probably) or need to try some new finger picks?
Oh - and am a beginner.
thanks!
Jon
Hi Jon, FWIW I tried several makes of picks before I settled on the ones I use now. If you really want to play bluegrass banjo in a three finger style then you need to acclimatise your fingers to wearing picks. As you say your a beginner and as such you really need to practice wearing picks. Are you likely to miss strings and make mistakes? Yes you are, but once you accept that fact you 'll make better progress.
If your not serious about bluegrass and playing with others then the choice of wearing picks or not, is all down to you.
I have a friend who prefers to play without picks. He plays the banjo well but when we play at a jam it’s hard to hear him play.
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thanks for the quick reply. actually … just a bit ago, I experimented and bent up my finger picks and i definitely noticed an improvement. so “pick experimentation” is what I’ll do now.
btw - since you were so kind to reply. what Thumb-pick to you use? I still haven’t found one I really like (hit the drum head often). But maybe i just need to give more time 
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Hi Jon, I use Jim Dunlop Clear Plastic Thumbpicks they cost £1.10 here in the UK about $1.50 I use ProPik Stainless Steel Angled 2-ANG finger picks I think they cost about £10.00 each about $13.00 Not the most expensive picks but I tried many before I finally settled with these and I would strongly encourage you to do your own research. There is nothing worse than wearing picks that hurt your fingers. As a beginner I suffered for years wearing Dunlop Nickel Plated Picks before I started experimenting with other makes.
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@justjon, I’m not sure a different thumb pick is going to help keep you from hitting the head. I would start by looking for something comfortable. The Golden Gate picks I find very nice. I am currently using a Blue Chip and am quite happy with it albeit a little pricey. As for hitting the head, you may want to adjust your hand position. Perhaps a little more arch would be helpful. I find as I flatten my wrist I hit the head more frequently.
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@justjon, the only thing of potential interest to add here is to mention the length of the thumb pick might be a topic to consider. In my case, using the typical thumb picks with longer blades made me much more likely to hit the head as a beginner. To test this theory, I began to look for a short-bladed pick and settled on a speed pick similar to this: https://store.banjobenclark.com/collections/picks/products/fred-kelly-delrin-speed-pick-thumbpick-medium-gauge?variant=9401425231919
Later, I was watching some random thing on YouTube one day and heard someone say that some of the bluegrass legends would file down the tips of their thumb picks to make them a but shorter. The thought had never occurred to me before, so I gave it a try and did some experimenting with some Golden Gate picks.
Today, my current favorite is a BlueChip J D Crow model, which has a shorter blade. If you compare to the BlueChip Russ Carson model, you’ll see a significant difference in the blade length. Like you say, experimentation is important to find what fits you best.
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@xmark makes an import observation. I cut the tip off and file / shape my thumb pick blades. For the same reason, if I didn’t I would be constantly hitting the head with the point of the pick. I also cut off some of the curved grip to prevent the grip catching / hooking on the strings. It takes a bit of trial and error to get it right but at £1.10 a pick it’s not too big a loss if I get it wrong.
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I also use a Blue Chip, my second one. I did some serious wear seriously soon on my first Blue Chip by banging the head all the time.
I’ve tinkered around with a few ways to stop doing it. The one that works is “play slow.” While that is a good way to learn to play fast, it sometimes gets very boring. Then I mutter “Screw it. I don’t care if I’m banging the head today. I want to bang away on my banjer!”
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Check and adjust your wrist angle Check this video for reference
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@xmark thanks for this advice. In fact, i just purchased a golden gate pick and while it fits nicely on my fat thumb, it is WAY too long. so I will try some filing and see how that works. I’ve defaulted for now back to a black mountain spring loaded pick which i like the best of all so far.
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@Archie thanks for this video. gives me some more things to think about re: hand/wrist position.
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I’m a beginner, although I have owned a couple of banjos for a few years. While not applying myself to learning, I would just occasionally pick up the instrument and mess around on it – without picks. Now I am serious about learning and, having committed to the Texas Cabin Camp in March, I am practicing regularly. Wearing picks was a hard adjustment for me and is finally becoming more normal and comfortable. At this point, I will not touch a string without them on my digits. And by the way, I purchased an OB-3 “Twanger” from the Store on Black Friday. I wanted it for the tone, projection, and drive, so picks are a must!
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Seriously, don’t forget to have fun!
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