All banjo jokes aside, I was wondering why my banjo playing was consistantly out of tune, even after tuning up. Then I realized that my teacher had told me the reason, but it didn't sink in. I finally have seen the light and have changed the way I'm pressing the strings.
My teacher told me not to press directly in the middle of the fret, but up next to the bar (I hope this terminology is right). It requires far less pressure, and the string isn't pushed too far which is what was making my notes out of tune. Now that I am following instructions, my playing is in tune.
The added benefit to this method is that my playing is suddenly more relaxed, and more accurate, Because I'm using half as much power to press the string, I have greater agility.
So is this common knowledge? How many of you read this and say "Well, of course!!" I am amazed at the difference in my playing, and I wonder if any of you try this and have the same result as I did. This goes for guitar too.