The Pinch
Playing Two Notes Simultaneously
The pinch is a common technique that you'll hear in bluegrass banjo vocabulary. Here you'll learn how to play a first and fifth string pinch.
With your thumb on the 5th string and your middle finger on the first string, play both of those notes simultaneously. That's a pinch! It's called a pinch because of the motion that your fingers are making on the strings. Just as there are several different roll patterns, there are many different types of pinches including a 1st/2nd string pinch and 1st/3rd string pinch.