Picks Or No Picks: Take Your Pick!

The world is full of accessories for everything we do! Banjos are no exception. One of the most important accessories you will purchase is your fingerpicks and thumbpicks.

I have a great “collection” of picks and find abundant joy in exploring the different types that are available. But, the “experts” do have some sage advice on these wonderful tools and as festival season is right around the corner, today is a good time to review the topic of “the world of banjo picks.”

Find all of the picks we carry here!

Why Play With Picks

It is very true that you do not have to play with picks. As a matter of fact, some styles do not require or encourage you to use picks. Clawhammer style of playing banjo is warm and inviting. Most folks, but not necessarily all, feel that this style of playing is best done with bare fingers and if you have ever watched one of these banjo players you don’t usually see them with finger picks and thumb picks on their hands. Most classical and minstrel style players feel much the same way. One very well-known artist has his thumb, index, and middle fingers coated with artificial nail material to make them thicker so he can make stronger contact without the use of fingerpicks and thumbpicks. This is not uncommon.

Bluegrass players, on the other hand, almost universally play with fingerpicks and thumbpicks on their dominant hand. These give you the ability to play with more volume, more consistent tone, greater dynamics, and a more forceful attack. This is because you have a metal-to-metal contact providing a cleaner connection that does not absorb energy like a softer fingertip would. Moderating that “attack” will allow you to regulate the sound of your music to suit your personal taste; be it sweet or hard-driving.

What Do Picks Look Like and How Do I Wear Them?

Fingerpicks can be made of metal or plastic. They can be adjustable or come in set sizes. At Deering we carry fingerpicks in metal that can be adjusted to the size of your fingers for more flexibility in fit. The fingerpick is made up of a blade-shaped striking surface joined to a “collar-like” piece that goes around the fleshy part of your fingertip. In other words, the hard surface is set on the opposite side of your fingernail.

Some fingerpicks have small holes in the collars and/or the blade portion of the pick. These are there for a better “grip” factor. The flesh of your finger indents into the hole just a bit to give better “seating” or stability to the fingerpick when in place.

The collar of the fingerpick can be adjusted, just as the curvature of the blade around your fingertip, on a metal fingerpick. (More on that subject later in this article.) You should place the collar of the fingerpick just above the first joint on your finger; usually that fits at the base of your fingernail or somewhere above the cuticle.

The thumbpick also has a flat striking surface and a bent section that goes around the thumb of your picking hand. Most thumb picks are made of plastic, but the Propik thumbpick that we carry here at Deering has a Delrin striking tip (harder and more durable than plactic) and a metal collar that you can adjust for fit. We also have the all plastic type of fingerpick. You want the thumb pick to fit snugly so it won’t slip around and the blade to face towards the inside of your picking fingers. The tip/blade of thumb picks can vary in length and thickness so experimenting on finding out which length is good for your style of play is important.

Picks Feel Funny

Picks feel funny at first. I like the way Bill Evans said it in his book Banjo for Dummies, “It may feel like you are playing with a coat of armor over the ends of your fingers…” In First Lessons Banjo, Jack Hatfield makes a great point that beginners “often end up wasting valuable practice time getting used to them later. For this reason, it is best to use picks from the very first day.”  While picks are awkward at first, it is easier to get used to them from day one than to break an ingrained “muscle memory” habit later.

You see, your hands get used to playing at a certain distance from the strings as you learn to play. With picks on, you have to move the hand back just a bit to accommodate the presence of the picks on your fingers. Take the advice of these seasoned players and long-time teachers. If you play 3-finger bluegrass style, start with picks from the beginning to make your practice time maximize a return on your efforts.

How To Fit Your Picks

The curve of the blade (the part of the fingerpick that touches the pad of your finger) can be adjusted with metal picks. You can make it curve up towards the fingertip snugly, have it flatter, or anywhere in between. Ideally you want the tip of the fingerpick to sit just past the end of your finger.

Shaping the tip on a metal fingerpick is accomplished rather simply. You put the fingerpick in place on your finger.  You fit the collar snugly to your finger by pinching it in place. Now take the blade and push it down against a hard surface, rocking it against the table top to make it curve upwards to follow the contours of the pad of your fingertip.

This should work on most fingerpicks as long as they are not too thick. At Deering all our fingerpicks are .0225 thick; the most universal weight. (More on thickness later.)

There is another variation on pick fit that Bill Evans in Banjo for Dummies explains very well. “…fitting the picks at a slight angle on the finger, so that when the finger strikes the banjo string, the pick will then meet the string at more of a straight, or parallel angle. This modification can result in a fuller, more-pleasing tone as well as added volume.”

Which Picks To Choose

There are many styles of fingerpicks and thumbpicks to choose from. Metal picks are recommended for the index and middle finger and thumb picks can be a combination of metal and plastic, all metal, or all plastic. These all come in various sizes to accommodate the rainbow of hands that make up the world of banjo players. At Deering we have chosen to offer picks that we feel are as comfortable as possible and perform with maximum response.

The Propik fingerpicks Deering carries on our site are made of nickel-silver and come in two styles, single wrap and split/double wrap. Inspired by a popular finger pick made in the late 1920's, their website says:  “This vintage style pick has been updated for greater comfort and tone. A special pierced wrap gives you a secure, comfortable fit.” What I like best about Propik is that the double/split wrap offers you a collar that accounts for the shape of your fingertip. If you look at your fingers, you see that the outermost point is narrower than the area around the base of the nail. With a split/double collar pick, you have two bands to tighten to secure the pick on your fingertip; one is smaller than the other. The single wrap pick they make is smooth and comfortable and is great for folks who are already used to that type of collar on their finger picks.

In July of 1928, a vaudeville guitar player by the name of George D. Beauchamp applied for a patent on a “pick for stringed musical instruments.” On December 30, 1930 Patent number 1787136 was issued to George Beauchamp and National. These are the NP2 fingerpicks that are now being produced by National 75 years later. We carry the NP2 National fingerpicks in .0225 nickel-silver in a four-pack on our website. These are a single collar pick with holes in both the collar and the blade. Many professionals prefer this type of pick for their performing.

Variations On Picks

Picks can come in different metals and that does change the sound of the pick. The nickel-silver metal will give you a brighter tone and that is the most common metal used. You can use brass picks, which are a little softer, and this will give the player a warmer tone and a little less pick noise. The brass picks can sometimes be easier to adjust. Stainless steel picks have a long shelf life because they are corrosion resistant and are polished to a high sheen. This results in an ultra-thick surface that minimizes drag on the strings. Tonally, this pick is slightly brighter than nickel-silver. Because the stainless steel has less drag on the strings, they are ideal for studio work.

There are picks whose blades are not solid metal but have a large hole through which more of the pad of the finger comes through. With the exposed fingertip design, the picks lets you touch the string as you play for greater control and a natural feel and increased volume. They will be lighter in weight and not so bulky as standard fingerpicks.

You can buy picks with an angle already built in which gives the player the ability to hit the strings more squarely thus minimizing finger movement, and boosting your tone, speed and volume.

Thicker picks, say .025 or heavier, will give you a brighter tone because of their increased stiffness.

Carrying Your Picks

Once you have your picks, you have to figure out a way to carry them. I have seen many things used and there are lots of commercial pick pouches out there. I have seen old prescription pill bottles used because they have a big opening. Some folks just carry them in their pockets but you can lose them easily this way. You can put them in the pouch pocket inside your banjo case. You can buy a small zippered bag at any department store in the cosmetics dept. The possibilities are endless.

The most unique pouch is the one we have here at Deering. Our cane toad pick pouch is a real cane toad from Australia that has been tanned and has a zipper in it for your picks to fit nicely. Trust me…you won’t lose this unless someone walks away with it. Check it out!

In Conclussion

Picks are necessary tools but you should have fun exploring the various options that are available to you. The most important thing is to find the ones that work best for YOU!