Spaw - Gosh they sure look cute (natural!!) in that one, before the 1980s hit their hair and costumes. Dolly is amazing with her nails - no picks needed, but how does she get anything with her left hand??

[I've just paid Smithsonian-Folkways $0.99 for two tracks from Pete Seeger's "Folksinger's Guitar Guide". Am trying to figure out if the "church lick" and "Carter scratch" are one and the same, or if the term "church lick" ever existed independently...]

I do have some idea about strumming. I used to strum the nylon-string guitar with the backs of my fingernails (down on the index and middle, up on the thumb). For a flatpick, I've got to learn to hold on to it... and I find if I hold it close to the point, I don't have too much trouble finding individual strings if I want to.

Overall, I'm think I'm a better player now, having played the banjo this long, than I was when I left off. I have a lot more skill in my left hand than I did.

Need a lot of work on the callouses, though. And it sure takes a lot more to hammer on or especially to pull off on guitar strings than on banjo strings!

~ B in T