Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

To Stretch or Hop?

#1

As I do any of the many warm-up & left-hand finger exercises, I quickly discover that one finger just can’t quite make the stretch to the proper fret. So my left hand does a little hop & many times the finger lands on the right fret. Sometimes it doesn’t.
Meanwhile, the metronome ticks mercilessly, driving me to play in time.
Here’s my question: Should I keep trying to stretch & botch the timing, or should I hop and keep on ticking?

I’ll never get the reach if I don’t practice the stretch, but I can learn songs quicker if I can just hop to the note.

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#2

We are getting auld Joe, we deserve a pass. As long as your having fun why not just SKIP a beat. nod-and-a-wink

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#3

Usually when I hear that phrase it’s in regards to my latest heart tests.
Although I do like your attitude! :smile::+1:

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#4

It might depend on the song for me, but i would usually lean towards “stretch” (at least if that’s how Ben is teaching it). It’ll make you slower, but you could practice it off-metronome and then with a slow metronome to get the hang of it.

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#5

Another option that I find useful, is to look for an easier place to pick the note. An example is Ben’s Fisher’s Hornpipe, in several measures the tab shows an A note played on the seventh fret of the D string. I find it easier to play the note on the G string. The change requires some single string picking, but I can play that easier, faster, and with fewer errors than when I have to quickly move up or down the neck. I also notice the same issue in a lot of tabs in Tony Trischka’s Fiddle Tunes for Banjo book. I just white out the tab and write in the change. I guess it sounds a little different, but it goes by so fast few people would ever notice it.

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