Hank Smith on using the picking hand

The image on the right says that Hank Smith's latest video of banjo technique advice is on 'the power of the right hand', but this is not just about loudness and impact. On YouTube the video is entitled 'Right hand fundamentals', and on the Deering blog David Bandrowski calls it 'Adjusting your tone with your right hand'. The emphasis of both video and accompanying text is on controlling volume, dynamics, and tone with the picking hand (whether right or left). J.D. Crowe is cited as an example of the tone difference that results from positioning the hand so that the thumb hits the strings forward of the fingers.

© Richard Hawkins