Fretting: Left Hand Technique
Basic Fretting
 In
order to sound different notes on the same string on a banjo
you must shorten the length of the string by fretting. Frets
are the strips of metal that run across the width of the fretboard
up and down the length fretboard. In tablature, they are numbered
starting with 1 at the fret closest to the head (where the
tuning pegs are). Make sure not to confuse the nut with the
fret. The nut is the white strip of bone, ivory, or plastic
at the top of your fretboard nearest the head. When you depress
a string with your fingertip just behind a fret so that it
touches the fingerboard, this is called fretting. It is important
that you press down on the string firmly as close to the fret
as you can without touching it. If you touch the fret, you
may mute the string. If you are too far from the fret the
string may buzz against the fret. Your fingertip should be
as close to perpendicular to the string as possible to avoid
muting another string while fretting. Also note that if tablature
indicates that you are to press down at the fifth fret, it
means that you should press down behind the fret (in the direction
of the head).
Hammer-Ons
Once you have gotten the hang of fretting a string, you may
want to try a hammer-on. When you hammer-on, you pluck the
string with your right hand, and then quickly and forcefully
fret the string with a finger of your left hand. The force
of "hammering" onto the string with your fingertip
sounds the string again without the need for plucking it a
second time with your right hand. This technique is used often
in clawhammer banjo to add rhythmic variety and makes it possible
to play more of the melody line than would be possible without
it.
Watch a video demonstration
of the hammer-on.
A hammer-on from an open first string to the second fret
(as shown in the video above) would be noted in tablature
in this manner:
Pull-Offs
The opposite of a hammer-on is a pull-off. In a pull-off
you start by fretting the string with your left hand, while
plucking the string with your right hand. Then you quickly
and forcefully remove your finger from the string, pulling
your finger towards your hand slightly as you release it so
that it sounds as though it were plucked. Once again, this
allows you to sound two notes in rapid succession while only
plucking the string with your right hand once. Often, a pull-off
follows a hammer-on, which is a nifty effect.
Watch a video demonstration of
the pull-off.
A pull-off from the first string fretted at the second fret
to an open first string (as shown in the video above) would
be noted in tablature in this manner:
Slides
In a slide you fret a string at one fret, pluck the string,
and then quickly slide your finger to a different fret on
the same string keeping pressure on the string the whole time
so that the tone rings through.
Watch a video demonstration of the
slide.
A slide from second to fourth frets on the third string (as
shown in the video) would be noted in tablature in this manner:
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