Intro | Background | Observations | Benefits & Challenges | Getting Started | More Getting Started | Applying it to a Song

Have you heard of this yet? Picking a 5-string banjo with 4 fingers instead of the usual 3, as in Scruggs style. Greg Liszt is one banjoist who is experimenting with this new style and it sounds very interesting to me. After all, Earl Scruggs popularized three-finger style playing at a time when two-finger and clawhammer styles were the norm. I’ve been playing banjo for 30+ years, mainly Scruggs and melodic, along with some single string, clawhammer and two-finger styles, but I’m just learning four-finger style. Hopefully, I’ll have some good lessons learned to post here as time goes by.

So I’m starting a series of blogs here on playing a 5-string banjo in 4-finger style. What I’ll do first is examine the historical background, then blog on the practical challenges and benefits of playing a 4-finger style of banjo and finish up with looking at how to get started and some of my own experiences in learning a new style, coming from a Scruggs, melodic and single-string perspective.

Next blog, I’ll go over some background and other observations.