Greetings everyone. This is my first thread-starter.
I'm a beginner learning how to play the banjo clawhammer-style. Fairly new to this wonderful forum as well. Without going into my trials & tribulations, as well as fun and progress of my journey so far, I will get straight to the problem I'm having. When playing single notes with my finger (right-hand index), I struggle to consistently hit a clear note when striking any given string. That said, the 2nd and 3rd strings are more troublesome than the 1st and 4th. The problem is worse if I'm trying to play with drop-thumb, but it exists even without drop-thumb playing. It may be difficult to describe the actual problem, but it seems as though my finger inadvertently mutes the string it just played...in other words, I'll strike the string but the pad of the finger will sometimes not get out of the way and mutes the note. Or other times, as the fingernail strikes the string, it sort of "slides off" the string without producing much sound. I am hoping some folks out here in BHO world has addressed this problem before in others or themselves and can pass along advice. So far, I've tried slowing down, changing the angle of attack and changing the shape of the curl of the fingers, but haven't stumbled upon a good fix yet. Perhaps the answer is that accuracy will come with many more hours of practice. Just seems like I would be seeing less and less of the problem at this point.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.