Last Chrismas I bought myself a banjo.  I did this because I’ve always liked listening to really good banjo players.  I can fingerpick a little bit – I’m not good at it but I’m not awful.  So I figured I’d just get me a banjo and apply my admittedly limited finger picking skillz and sound like an OK banjo player.  Did it work?

Well… yes and no.  I did buy a set of metal fingerpicks like many banjo players use, and I went and found a few fundamental tutorials to teach me how to play the most common patterns.  Given enough time and enough practice I could do it, but I hated playing with those metal picks.  It felt like walking on stilts.  And I’m not motivated to spend 30 minutes a day for a year to get good.  So I stuck with using a pick, or fingerpicking without the metal thimbles.

As a result, I’m able to put down a banjo part on a track now, if I want to.  My upcoming album “Songs About Dogs” will have some banjo on it.

Anyway, here are some tips for you, the guitar player, should you decide to buy a banjo and fake being able to play it:

  • Try the metal fingerpicks.  You’ll hate them, and put them in a drawer like I did.  But I’m sometimes wrong, so try them.
  • If you can fingerpick, don’t let anyone tell you you can’t play a banjo with just your fingertips.  Of course you can.  Plenty of people have.
  • If you fingerpick, you might consider growing your nails on your picking hand.  Then use an emery board or file to shape them and keep them at the right length.  You might already do this if you’re a serious fingerpicker.  Some fingerpickers put a clear coat of nail polish on their picking hand fingernails.  You decide how far to go, from none of that to full blown Freddie Mercury.
  • Hammer-ons and pull-offs will get you part of the way there with trying to simulate real banjo playing.
  • Once you’ve learned some tricks on the banjo, try those tricks back on your guitar.  They can be very interesting.

I’ve gained a new level of respect for real banjo players – one day I might have more time to actually learn how to really play it.  In the meantime, I like having a banjo and pulling it out every so often.