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Post by fangor42 on Jan 22, 2009 22:38:40 GMT
Just to be clear.
I don't split my nail frailing; I split my nail either at work or doing chores at home..."Fiddle when I can, Work when I should"
I prefer to frail with my nail as I find it easier and sounds better but sometimes I have no choice if I want to make music... ;D
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Post by granthegardener on Jan 23, 2009 16:11:34 GMT
middle finger banjo
first finger nose.
To avoid split frailing nail - tell the missus that you must avoid doing the dishes!
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Post by Ken from VA on Feb 20, 2009 15:05:09 GMT
I started off switching between index and middle and settled on the the index finger as it seemed a little more natural. Now I find that I get more sound out of the index but if I practice for just a little while I get more accuracy out of the middle finger. The only problem is that the nail on my middle finger is much thinner and seems to break up after a very short time. I wonder if the thicker nail on the index finger was present before I started playing or if it was an adaptation?
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Post by thatbanjoplayer on Feb 22, 2009 19:18:57 GMT
I started out with my middle finger. I don't seem to get as much sound from it though. I now can use both index and middle fingers to play, but the middle is definitely my 'default' finger. It's more comfortable and natural to play with.
Jody
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Post by Fingers n thumbs on Feb 22, 2009 21:18:54 GMT
I have drifted into sometimes frailing with both my ring and middle finger and ring finger at the same time, it seems to add a different texture to the strum. Mostly i try it out during periods when i am accompanying on chords rather than playing melody lines.
I have no idea if this is a bad habit to get into but i can drift in and out of it easy enough when playing.
Roj
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Post by monkus on Apr 11, 2009 18:25:10 GMT
When I started, I was using a DVD from the library by......I don't remember his name offhand, but he taught to use both middle and index. Index for melody, and middle for strum. Then I found Tangier Sound, and had to relearn, but it has been better for me to use just the middle.
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bilbo
New Member
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Post by bilbo on May 23, 2009 0:50:32 GMT
Ok so despite all my inclinations to pluck UP on the first note of the frailing strum, I have disciplined my self to hit Downwards as required on the first note of the frailing strum, trouble is the middle finger nail i have been growing so patiently has now decided to split and break off, so its back to the drawing board. so now what i get is not the ringing note we all desire in this ' melody ' note, but a kind of muted thunk of a sound which is just not right at all, when i took up the banjo I never reckoned my nails would be an issue, this banjo business is so high maintenance on a guy.
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reels
New Member
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Post by reels on May 23, 2009 11:31:27 GMT
I never reckoned my nails would be an issue, this banjo business is so high maintenance on a guy. I had this problem although I've traditionally had nails for guitar I actually find it now works better if I keep middle one a bit shorter now. I really struggled to get the clean and bright note I wanted for quite a while but it really is a practice issue I think. Keep with it, I can now get a decent sound with or without much nail and I definitely don't want it as long as I used to have it for classical guitar. It gets in the way and catches strings it shouldn't. Really difficult to describe but don't think of it as much of a downward pluck. More of a percussive strike. |
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