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This particular page was created 28/11/2003 and last updated 17/05/2005
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| | Irish tenor banjo plectrumThe Irish tenor banjo is played with a pick (plectrum) or with a thimble. What kind of pick you prefer is very much a question of personal taste, but it seems most of the great names prefer a medium to heavy one (.75-1 mm if they're graded). Many beginners prefer a thin pick, or (if they come from a heavy rock or jazz guitar background) a very heavy one. Both may seem like a good idea at first, but they'll soon limit your technique.I'd say medium is a good keyword for the pick in all ways: medium thickness, medium size and medium sharp point. Most important of all: get a smooth pick. Those modern picks made from fancy-named materials may be good for electric guitars, but the banjo is far more sensitive to pick noise, so a good old fashioned celluloid pick (the ones that look like tortoise shell but hopefully aren't) are much better. I use Morgan's "HS" picks myself myself (only available in Norway), but the brand doesn't really matter.
I really won't recommend buying picks on the internet, but you may have to since even large music stores today often only have "modern" picks only suitable for electric guitars. Fender Premium Celluoid (heavy or medium gauge) is a very good choice. If you like a softer and rounder sound I'd recommend a "fake tportoise shell" pick like Jim Dunlop's Tortex. Once you've found the right pick for you, you should make sure to buy a good stock of them. They wear out, they get lost, and the good ones are always out of stock at your local music store when you really need them.
Irish tenor banjo thimbleThe thimble is a small piece of plastic tubing you put on your index finger much like the bluegrass banjoist's fingerpick. The thimble some technical limitations, but it produces a lovely "loose" sound, and many Irish tenor banjoists (especially the "old-school" ones) prefer it to a pick. The thimble is especially effective for reels, jigs and other fast dance tunes.As far as I know, you can't buy an Irish tenor banjo thimble anywhere, so you'll have to make it yourself: - Get a piece of hard plastic tubing wide enough to fit you index finger.
- Cut a piece about 4 cm (1.5") long, one end (the one you'll play with) at about 80 degrees, the other at a right angle.
- Smooth and round off both ends with sandpaper (and a knife in necessary).
- Polish the edges with fine grained sandpaper. Don't make it too smooth though or it'll squeak. (Don't worry, you can always rough it up a bit again if you've polished too much.)
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