Banjo Response and Playability

A customer who plays an inexpensive Chinese made banjo called me and was confounded by not getting it to sound the way he wanted. 

I asked him about the set up: how high was the first string above the 22nd fret? How tight was the head?  Was the bridge adjusted to the exact spot?  How high was the tailpiece adjusted?  What was the truss rod adjustment?

His description told me that his adjustments were, for the most part, pretty much what they should be.  So I asked him, “So, what’s the problem?”

He said, “I got this set up done but it doesn’t play as easily as my best friend’s Goodtime banjo.”

Of all the explanations I have been asked to deliver in my 40 plus years of banjo experience, the answer to his question is the most difficult for most folks to believe.  I know I’m here to sell Goodtime banjos, but this explanation makes me sound like I’m exaggerating the quality of the Goodtime to sell them.  So I decided to put the words on paper to organize them more coherently.

Interlimb Response

What you do with your right hand affects the left.  What you do with your left hand affects the right. 

When your picking hand plucks a string and the string feels “lively” or “quickly responsive” or “easy to draw sound from” your hand feels like it is not working as hard so your hand relaxes more: it becomes looser, or moves smoother. 

When your picking hand plucks a string and the string feels “dull” or “dead” or “slow to respond” or “hard to get a sound from” your hand tightens, the muscles become more stiff as your brain is trying to sort out how to free the sound that is in your imagination.

Tension, stiffness or struggle in your picking hand can make your shoulder, arm and back tighten.   This un-wanted muscle action causes your fretting hand to tighten up.   When your fretting hand works stiffly, the lowest action will be hard to push.  The neck that you normally should be able to reach across will feel like you are straining to reach the strings. 

The Subtly of the Interlimb Connection

Since human beings are thought to be the most adaptable creatures on the planet, it’s no wonder that when we experience this “struggle of the limbs” we usually blame ourselves. 

It is also true that we can usually adapt to discomfort to an extent that we can learn to play on an un-responsive banjo.

But, the subtly of “responsiveness” is very difficult for a beginner to discern.  The difficulty in learning to play is compounded for many beginners who buy poor instruments to “see if they can do it.”   The irony is that the beginner is the player who needs the most encouragement and really needs a better banjo as much as a professional. 

The problem here is that the subtlety of “an un-responsive” banjo can so discourage a beginner, because we tend to blame ourselves, and because when one hand is having trouble, that causes trouble in the other hand, that many beginners “quit” or “give up” because they believe THEY just can’t do it.   That is a tragedy because more times than not, it’s the banjo, not the student. 

What often opens our eyes is when we play a really well made banjo after learning on an un-responsive one…. “Wow, this thing plays itself!” is the most common response when a player first plays a really great banjo. The banjo strings seems to jump to life with the slightest touch and others just sound dull no matter how you play.

Discerning Responsive Quality

But how can a beginner know which banjo is “responsive” and which banjo is not?

Some beginners can sense responsiveness and others cannot.  It is not a good or bad thing, because everyone develops their “musical sense” or “music ears” differently. 

The best approach is to buy the best banjo you can as a beginner.  It may seem odd to spend $3,000 on a banjo as a beginner, but once you have played a great banjo for one month, anything less will be extremely noticeable and disappointing.  We see this when customers play one of our professional banjos and then play their poorly made banjo, their eyes light up with awareness. 

However, the Goodtime banjos share several features with professional banjos that help make them more responsive than other banjos in their price range. The clarity and responsive quality of Goodtime banjos increases the student’s chances of success.  This combination of responsive quality and affordability has made the Goodtime banjos favorites of many, many banjo teachers around the world.

Hard to Believe?

You can do an internet search for interlimb response and find some references to one hand affecting the other.

You can read other articles on our blog that detail what makes a Goodtime banjo as responsive and easy to play as they are.

You can also read on our blog why the cheaper banjos made in the Far East can’t sound as good as a Goodtime banjo.

You can read about how police departments train officers to keep their trigger fingers away from their service weapons to prevent the combination of interlimb response in conjunction with a startle reflex when they grip something with their non-weapon hand to prevent pulling the trigger accidentally.

You can read about how experiments have taken children with a palsied right hand and after massaging the right hand until it is open and relaxed, the child grips a ball in the left hand which causes the palsied hand to cramp up again.  Physical therapists are very familiar with this one.

Experienced players will read this and often say, “Well duh…everybody knows that.”

Intermediate players will sometimes read this and say, “Well…I do know that my Deering plays a lot easier than my first cheapie banjo and I feel more relaxed when I play a good banjo than a cheap one.” 

Beginners often say, “It sounds logical, but really….one hand affects the other?  Aren’t we reaching a little bit here to sell a banjo?”

The Research is Real

Like I said earlier, this is one of the hardest descriptions I’ve ever had to deal with as a banjo teacher, banjo salesman and banjo player.

As a teacher, I’ve seen beginners who developed a smooth relaxed picking hand through hours of slow roll-practice be almost unable to pick the same roll when trying to make a chord with their fretting hand. 

But, because this is all part of the learning process, it is almost impossible to tell someone about it until they experience it. 

If it Plays Better, It IS Better.

So, as a guide, I like to recommend that each person buy the best (not necessarily expensive) banjo they can afford and practice slowly and focus on staying relaxed.  Teachers recommend our Goodtime banjos because the banjo is both responsive and adjusted to play with great comfort AND it is not expensive.

Look up the interlimb response, but also, trust your intuition.  If it plays easier, it IS easier.