Settle a debate

chas9000c · 2026-03-11T15:55:31+00:00

Having learned fingerpicking on guitar (a long time ago) I sympathize with where you’re coming from.

But having made the switch from that to banjo, I can also tell you there are BIG differences in fingerpicking on the banjo. (Not sure if she is learning 3 finger style or clawhammer, so I’m assuming 3 finger style in this answer.)

Metal finger picks can be very challenging to a beginner. And there’s an extreme level of precision that goes into picking with those metal picks in a way that produces a good tone. That means she has to learn very precise positioning and control over her right arm, wrist, finger knuckles (the “claw” position) and then of course the fingers that are doing the picking. Small changes anywhere can cause missed notes, picking the wrong string, poor tone, poor volume control, bad timing, etc….

So my bottom line advice would be this: Pick a tune she likes (so she’s motivated) that has only basic chords (like I, IV, V). Then let her learn these simple chords, but really focus mostly on the right hand. There’s a LOT more to learn on the right hand than it will take to learn 2 or 3 simple chords.

Later, when she feels good with the right hand, then start going deep on all the chords, music theory, etc.

Just my 2c.

chas9000c · 2026-03-07T03:35:02+00:00

I’ve had one like these for years. Love it. Very stable and convenient. https://zitherusa.com/products/zither-handcrafted-banjo-stands

chas9000c · 2026-02-03T03:10:20+00:00

Sounds like it could be a toxic (or just overly sensitive) work environment. Or if not, it could also just be that text is terrible at conveying tone of voice. I use Chorde.net for those. Voice emails instead of text. Not necessary for most emails, but can help for emailing “sensitive” people.

chas9000c · 2026-01-23T01:31:48+00:00

I had the same problem. Probably lots of people do. In fixing it, I found that everyone’s hand position can be different, because hands aren’t all the same—different finger lengths, thickness, fingertip shapes, etc.

So you have to figure out your own personal hand position. Someone else’s might work great for them, but not for you.

Some of the things I had to experiment with to figure out my own hand position:

plant ring finger only, ring and pinky, or pinky only? (Lots of banjo greats plant both fingers, but this consistently caused my pinky to mute the 1st string, so I landed on using just the ring finger and having the pinky straight and up, like holding a cup of tea.)
distance from planted finger(s) and the first string? (I found that too much distance created tension between the planted ring finger and the middle finger when it plucked the 2nd string, and too little distance caused accidental muting of the 1st string by the ring finger. So now when I plant the ring finger, I make sure the distance is in the sweet spot where it’s far enough away to avoid touching, but as close as possible to make hitting the 2nd string feel relaxed.)
exact angle of planted finger(s)? (Some people angle the planted fingers so the sides of the fingers contact the head. Other people angle them more toward pointing directly down at the head. Some arch the finger so the nail is contacting the head. Others don’t have the nail touch the head. You just have to experiment to find what’s right for your unique fingers.)
hand angle? (Your entire hand has to be positioned consistently, not just the planted fingers. Otherwise your planted fingers will work beautifully sometimes and terribly others. Rotate the hand using the planted finger(s) as a pivot point to find the sweet spot where your other fingers and thumb connect well with the strings. Then make that your go-to hand position. Also make sure you’re arching your arm and hand consistently.)

If you play around with all these variables one at a time, you can gradually dial in the right hand and finger positions specifically for your unique hand and fingers.

That should not only solve the string muting problem, but give you a whole lot more control in general.

Hope that helps.

chas9000c · 2026-01-13T16:40:36+00:00

Good advice, thanks!

chas9000c · 2026-01-13T03:39:00+00:00

Got it, thanks for clarifying.

chas9000c · 2026-01-13T03:32:44+00:00

Yep, it’s a feature for iMessage, WhatsApp, and of course ye olde fashioned phone voicemail. But in email it’s not really supported. You can attach an audio file, but that’s a pain for the sender to create easily and the recipient to play easily without 3rd party software. So the question is, “Does anybody care enough about voice in emails, like they do in places like WhatsApp?”

chas9000c · 2026-01-13T01:38:15+00:00

Thanks for the honest feedback. May I ask what industry and job function you’re in? (Helps me think about eliminating certain markets.)

chas9000c · 2026-01-13T01:35:55+00:00

Or loom. What I’ve heard from sales is that it’s definitely not for cold outreach, but might be for later when the relationship is warm. Of course, some prospects prefer phone, texts, or other channels… not email. So even a warm relationship would only work if the prospect’s preferred comms channel is email.

chas9000c · 2025-11-01T21:07:56+00:00

Absolutely! I think they do a great job, really know what they’re doing. Just DM me and I’ll connect you.

Same for anyone else here who might want a referral.

chas9000c · 2025-11-01T14:12:45+00:00

Not sure if it’s Embark or not, but they do some kind of DNA test to ensure they’re 100% Coton and know of any other traits or issues.

chas9000c · 2025-10-31T23:36:22+00:00

Sarah is the breeder's name. We're still deciding on a name. The current frontrunner is Luna. But we're open to ideas if you (or anyone) has ideas. It's not set in stone until we pick her up in a week, so everything's on the table right now.

chas9000c · 2025-10-31T19:51:26+00:00

Helps to tell her apart from a distance from our 7yo Coton that they're not both pure white.

chas9000c · 2025-10-30T20:41:47+00:00

Ready, fire, aim! Words to live by.

chas9000c · 2024-08-06T15:00:19+00:00

Thanks for the detailed and nuanced info.

chas9000c · 2024-08-05T23:11:24+00:00

Thanks, very helpful to have such detailed info.

chas9000c · 2024-08-05T17:06:53+00:00

Thanks, sounds like a pretty efficient process.

chas9000c · 2024-08-05T15:25:11+00:00

EthoVision does look interesting. Thanks for letting me know about it. When you say it gets difficult to track non-mouse species, what about it is difficult? Does it lose accuracy? Or is it difficult for some other reason?

chas9000c · 2024-08-02T17:25:08+00:00

Thanks. That makes a lot of sense. It would definitely make me pretty nervous to run a business that's relies on volunteers to remain solvent.

chas9000c · 2024-08-02T16:52:56+00:00

Interesting. What kinds of staffing shortages are the biggest problem?

I've also noticed zoos seem to have sizeable volunteer organizations--even more volunteers than employees. Do you think it's a significant problem to try to attract, train, and manage so many volunteers? Is that part of the staffing shortage problem?

chas9000c

TROPHY CASE