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I've been learning clawhammer for a while and I'm starting to get into more advanced versions of basic fiddle songs. Nothing at speed or in time, really, but I can string together a few phrases here and there. I notice that my ring and little finger are extremely uncoordinated, though. Anyone recommend any exercises to improve lesser finger agility?
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Nov 26, 2013 21:08
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Kobayashi posted:I've been learning clawhammer for a while and I'm starting to get into more advanced versions of basic fiddle songs. Nothing at speed or in time, really, but I can string together a few phrases here and there. I notice that my ring and little finger are extremely uncoordinated, though. Anyone recommend any exercises to improve lesser finger agility? On your fretting hand? Most things technique related are often fixed by playing with a metronome. It will help with your timing and speed too. Just set it at a tempo that you can comfortably play with in time and go. I'd recommend starting with a major scale until you get used to playing with the beat. Try and relax your hands as much as possible even if it means you are playing quietly. When playing at a given tempo becomes easy, increase the speed and start over again.
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Nov 27, 2013 03:17
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You could try something like spider exercises from guitar. Maybe adapt it so you're going Index-Ring-Index-Pinky, Middle-Ring-Middle-Pinky or something like that. I honestly don't use my pinky finger much unless it's for a chord, so take that with a grain of salt. Earl Scruggs and the 5 String Banjo might have something in it, but I haven't picked it up in awhile. In any case I'd worry about getting what notes you can hit to be in time before spending hours exercising right hand dexterity. I don't think I've seen it mentioned in the thread, but https://www.rocketsciencebanjo.com is a pretty good resource for learning clawhammer style. It focuses heavily on the rhythm hand, but that's extremely important for banjo. I haven't been practicing my frailing exercises lately and it's really starting to show.
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Dec 4, 2013 06:54
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What is a good clawhammer pick? I am going to bash my banjo against the wall if I have to deal with another loving broke fingernail.
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Dec 5, 2013 05:38
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You could get an acrylic done. It can be dual purposed as a nifty tool for cutting lines of cocaine. I take plastic Dunlop finger picks and wear them upside down. I also cut the tip down to match the contour of my fingernail. They work really well but I still go back to my nail once it grows back in. The natural sensitivity seems to make a difference for me.
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Dec 6, 2013 01:06
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PoorPeteBest posted:You could get an acrylic done. It can be dual purposed as a nifty tool for cutting lines of cocaine. thanks a lot I'll give that a try. Unrelated note: Does anyone know where to find a tab for The Blizzard's Never Seen the Desert Sand by The Tallest man on Earth? I have been obsessed with this song for like a year now and have yet to find any sort of tab.
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Dec 11, 2013 07:37
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Miltank posted:thanks a lot I'll give that a try. Ahh I worked this song out years ago and wrote out what I could in the 16 bars that free TablEdit lets you have. It's in a weird tuning and its not a perfect tab by any means, but if you'd like to take a look at it go ahead. There's a couple bars I know aren't right (5&6 for one thing) and I'm sure plenty of other mistakes. It's missing a few of the grace notes which get slipped in around the place. Hope it helps though. Tuning is GDF#AD, with a capo on 2nd, except the 5th string which has a capo on 4th. Captain Mediocre fucked around with this message at 14:22 on Dec 11, 2013 |
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Dec 11, 2013 14:17
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Captain Mediocre posted:Ahh I worked this song out years ago and wrote out what I could in the 16 bars that free TablEdit lets you have. It's in a weird tuning and its not a perfect tab by any means, but if you'd like to take a look at it go ahead. Thank you so much! I am really loving this tab. E:I really can't afford to make a bad purchase so can anyone tell me if either of these suck? http://www.ebay.com/itm/1970s-Pirle...=item4acd65f8ea http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-60-...=item19e5db4cc8 Miltank fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Dec 17, 2013 |
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Dec 17, 2013 05:18
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I posted earlier about how I was learning banjo. It's going well I'm getting my practice in. I did my introductory class and the level 1. We've covered. Alternating Thumb, Forward Roll, Backwards Roll, Basic Roll The songs we've covered are Handsome Molly, Shady grove, Cripple creek. Here's my problem. I am having the just a horrible time learning Vamping. I am practicing and practicing, but that finger shape is just horrible to me, any tips on Vamping? Also, I finally am hitting the C chord and D without looking so I am pretty happy about that. I still have to look down occasionally at what I am playing. My practice schedule is 2x a day for at least 20 to 25 minutes each. After that my hands are sore. I practice vamping for a few minutes get frustrated quit. Then play cripple creek and work on my alternating thumb forward roll and forward back ward rolls. Any finger exercises I could do or fret board exercises would be great. My next class is the repertoire class, it reinforces the lessons learned in Level 1 then I'll move on to Level 2. Class Structure is Level 1 Blue Grass Repertoire Level 2 Blue Grass Repertoire Level 3 Blue Grass Repertoire Beyond Blue grass Scruggs class. Hollismason fucked around with this message at 20:29 on Dec 17, 2013 |
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Dec 17, 2013 20:22
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Hollismason posted:
What finger shape? The F shape? Just keep doing it, it'll be second nature after a while. Are you having trouble doing the actual shape, or getting the timing / finger pressure release of the vamp right? If the former, just use your barre shape to practice vamping until you get the timing down AND until you get the F shape down. A lot of vamping is done in the F shape, but also in the D shape. There's three primary shapes - A (barre), F, and D. The C shape is actually the D shape moved down two frets if that makes sense. You're just not fretting the middle G string. Does this make sense? Keep at it. Make sure each note rings clear and clean. A good, but tedious and ultimately rewarding exercise is to pick any roll, but practice emphasizing ONE string out of that roll. Do it for all the strings. It's hard! We had a good time at the jam last night. What are other folks working on? Planet X fucked around with this message at 01:38 on Dec 19, 2013 |
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Dec 19, 2013 01:36
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Managed to sort of straighten out what I was doing wrong in class today, I was going F, Chord , Strum, but releasing when I strummed instead of of 1 2 Release, Press 1 2 Release Press. It's F , with D and C chords added for playing the songs. We have a hand out for the other shapes. Got a new one to work on over the break that mostly focus on the Forward Reverse roll, I think Hard Times or something like that. Pretty cool song and just uses the forward reverse structure. That's bout it, super enjoying it got a nice winter break between classes to work on my chord change exercises. What I'm doing now is just doing either a alternating thumb or forward reverse then go through all of my chords. I'm still having trouble at breaks with changing over to C but I can now at this level put my hands where C is suppose to be most of the time.
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Dec 20, 2013 07:14
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If anyone likes clawhammer and also Shape Note singing, there's a YouTube channel of two young women (couple?) who have a bunch of great clawhammer tracks including some SN hymns, and clips with them teamed up with modern folk legend Tim Eriksen: http://www.youtube.com/user/banjoape Their version of "Restoration" is great: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5upf2Byf-_w.
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Jan 19, 2014 05:34
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UPDATE: Books are gone. They're in kind of tattered shape since I thought I lost them in a move, only to have a renter of mine find them in a box in my shed. So totally usable, just worn. A couple of them have CDs (fortunately stored in my CD album and not the shed), so I'll put those back in for you. I have five books total, and what say I'll sell them in a lot of 2 and a lot of 3, for say [/b]$5 per person/lot[/b] to cover shipping. Since these are next to free, I'd prefer they go to poor young goons, so if you're flush with cash, please hang back to let the kids get them first. If only one poor goon wants books, I'll make it all 5 books for like $8 total or whatever. Email me at my username at Yahoo if you want books. Here are the books I have, I think 2 or 3 with CDs and one with vinyl:  
TapTheForwardAssist fucked around with this message at 02:33 on Feb 4, 2014 |
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Jan 20, 2014 21:55
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It's been awhile since I posted here, I'm well on my way but vamping is still just kicking my rear end. Any tips would be appreciated.
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Jan 29, 2014 06:48
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Hollismason posted:It's been awhile since I posted here, I'm well on my way but vamping is still just kicking my rear end. What are you having trouble with specifically? I'm gonna assume we're talking 3-finger edit: For a little more content, it is a little awkward transitioning the thumb from banjo rolls and fills to primarily alternating downbeat bass notes with pinches. If you're having trouble getting your thumb on the right string like I do just practice the thumb alone until you get it down and then add in index/middle finger for the pinch chords. TheCondor fucked around with this message at 09:35 on Feb 9, 2014 |
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Feb 9, 2014 09:28
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I'm trying to practice chords specifically and I have a great chord book to do it with but I'm a little lost when it comes to finding the right ones to practice in the right order. And when I find them, should I just find rolls that fit and go through them back and forth? Iron Horse's Metallica cover album is great and I don't usually like metal. Dr. Gene Dango MD fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Feb 15, 2014 |
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Feb 15, 2014 05:17
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I would start by learning the primary 3 chord shapes first, and get used to moving between them quickly. Even just rolling or vamping over G chords all the way up the neck would be beneficial. open, 3rd fret, seventh, 12th, 15th, 19th. Make sense? Then try, say, doing the same thing over C, then over D. Once you can move between chord forms, move onto minors and seventh. Edit: Primary chord shapes being the F form, Barre form, and D form, all major chords. If you want me to put up a video or something for what I'm referring to above, I can. Planet X fucked around with this message at 21:59 on Feb 16, 2014 |
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Feb 16, 2014 19:24
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I understand some of that, this is the book I'm using to get chord shapes (Hal Leonard Banjo Chord Finder) http://imgur.com/4cLL7Y8 From what I understand Major chords are the first on each page, and have barre chord with each of them, Then minors are next to that and minor sevenths are on the next page (all three are underlines int hat image). Does "Going through the primary chords" mean C Major, Dflat Major, D Major etc... with the barre chords and just going up the neck or is there a different order? Or are Major chords just the ones under the C section and I should specifically focus on a certain order on that page? This is something I have to figure out if I want to really play Banjo well but sometimes music theory is extremely confusing. I appreciate any help, believe me.
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Feb 17, 2014 20:14
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Forget minors and sevenths for a sec, and we'll focus on G, C and D major. Three major chord shapes you must know as a banjo player are: "F chord form", commonly played at the third fret as G "Barre" chord form", commonly played at the fifth fret as C "D chord form", commonly played at the second fret as D Learn these first. Your chord chart book will likely confuse you. I did a quick video that will hopefully make sense. Basically if you learn these three shapes, you can move them all over the neck. https://vimeo.com/86945795 I play mainly Scruggs style in open G tuning. If you're looking for clawhammer and other tunings, someone else may want to chime in here. Lastly bear in mind that we do a lot of partial chord forms in bluegrass, like, we may not fret the fourth (thickest) string when playing a G chord way up on the 15th fret. The frets get close together and it's hard to get the fingers all together fretting and ringing notes clearly. If you learn these three chord forms and are able to switch between them cleanly and in time with the music, you're well on your way. Fret them cleanly, make sure every note rings. Speed will come. Planet X fucked around with this message at 01:39 on Feb 18, 2014 |
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Feb 18, 2014 00:44
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That clears a lot of things up, thank you. Are there only certain frets I can play the chord forms or is anywhere on the neck good as long as it comes out clear? ad just to be clear, when you say "on the third" it means the highest fretted string is on that fret, right? Thanks for the help
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Feb 18, 2014 17:16
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You can play any of those shapes anywhere on the neck and make them different chords. Play a bar form on the second fret and it's an A chord. Fourth fret a B, seventh fret a D. Play a D form on the fourth fret and it's E. Fifth fret it's F. Etc. If I understand your question correctly, in the case of the F form G, your pinky and ring are actually on the fifth fret, and your index on the third fret - so the *lowest* fretted string is on that fret. Like, if I say fret a D form "on the second fret", I mean that your finger closest to the headstock is on the second fret. For now, I'd say just practice fretting those chords. If you're a bluegrass player, you can do a LOT with JUST those chord forms. You'll end up doing the different forms all over the neck to get different voicings. You may, while you are learning, want to stick to the lower part of the neck, but don't be afraid of the upper register of the neck. You'll quickly want to do some cool stuff up there for some neat licks and voicings. The minor and seventh forms are simple, get those next. Reply or PM if you have any other questions.
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Feb 19, 2014 04:19
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I'm loath to buy another instrument right now, but a used Fender FM-52E popped up at a local music shop, and they're putting it on sale for $150. I've always liked the sound of the mandolin, but after seeing the Del McCoury Band recently I realized that it's hopping to the top of my instrument shopping list. Should I jump on it, or wait and save up for a better one? EDIT: FM-53, I misread the label on it, it's not electric at all. Ghost of Reagan Past fucked around with this message at 02:16 on Feb 23, 2014 |
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Feb 23, 2014 00:56
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7mlaGOhWCg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD9Qxb6-vO4 I am obsessed with this guy's two songs right now. does anyone here know of any similar sounding artists to listen to/ where to find music like this to play. The Cold Icy Mountain video says he is using "up-style" picking but I can't find anything about that elsewhere.
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Feb 26, 2014 07:28
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It sounds like a hammer-on followed by an alternate string pull off (where the note is played by plucking with your fretting hand.) Roscoe Holcomb made frequent use of that technique, you might check him out. I'll try and tab out the "roll" for you when I get a chance to grab my banjer.
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Feb 27, 2014 21:04
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That's really cool, thanks for sharing. There's a guy here in Baltimore who's very prominent in the clawhammer and old time scene. I asked him about what you've posted, and this is what he had to say: Why yes, I know a bunch of "Knott County" style banjo players. It's a very rhythmic style of playing unique to Knott County Kentucky that dates back many many years. I actually know Matt Kinman from various Old-Time festivals. He's a regular at Clifftop and some of the other big ones. One of my good friends, Chris Ousley of the Bumper Jacksons, is a fine Knott County banjo player. Perhaps you know him? You've probably heard of the Bumper Jacksons but if not, you should check them out! They used to be from Baltimore (now DC) and they play trad jazz, swing, old country, folky music. They're an awesome band! Here is a video of Chris playing Knott County style banjo at the Windup Space: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuVstg1rR5o Hope this helps. Also, for Reagan Past, I know nothing about Mandolins. I play a cheap one from time to time. Probably worth the money, but they will have the limitations that inexpensive instruments have, of course.
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Feb 28, 2014 01:19
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Planet X posted:Hope this helps. Also, for Reagan Past, I know nothing about Mandolins. I play a cheap one from time to time. Probably worth the money, but they will have the limitations that inexpensive instruments have, of course. Sadly, I know basically nothing about bluegrass music other than what I saw at the Del McCoury Band concert  .
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Feb 28, 2014 03:01
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Why be sad?  There's so much to learn now. Lots of bluegrass - traditional, progressive, jammy. Del McCoury is a fantastic place to start. I can add a recommended bluegrass (and old time) listening list to the OP if people are interested and others want to contribute. Mando isn't hard, but the frets are way smaller and the chords are tighter. Not impossible. Jam on it a while in the store and see if it speaks to you. Del's son is like one of the best mandolin players out there right now.
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Feb 28, 2014 04:33
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Planet X posted:Why be sad? One of my friends is an accomplished old-time clawhammer banjo player so I can learn lots of old-time songs easy, but a playlist would be nice, thanks!
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Feb 28, 2014 05:03
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Well this is the closest thing we've got to an Irish music thread. I just wanted to share https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZP23XDfCWk e: not really Irish music technically, but whatever
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Mar 2, 2014 03:59
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Planet X posted:That's really cool, thanks for sharing. There's a guy here in Baltimore who's very prominent in the clawhammer and old time scene. I asked him about what you've posted, and this is what he had to say: This is awesome thank you so much! I am obsessed with this style, but now I need to figure out a way to play it. With all the hammer ons and pull offs it seems very difficult. PoorPeteBest posted:It sounds like a hammer-on followed by an alternate string pull off (where the note is played by plucking with your fretting hand.) Roscoe Holcomb made frequent use of that technique, you might check him out. I'll try and tab out the "roll" for you when I get a chance to grab my banjer. I would very much appreciate a roll if you get the chance thanks!
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Mar 3, 2014 01:59
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Is there a dedicated mandolin thread or do those discussions happen here?
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Mar 10, 2014 01:31
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Please discuss Mandolins here. Postin' from Ireland  
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Mar 11, 2014 00:34
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dem tenors
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Mar 11, 2014 05:07
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dem pipes!
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Mar 11, 2014 05:49
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Have you guys heard of the Song-A-Week social group over on the mandolin cafe forums? http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/group.php?groupid=67 I'm going to make a recording of Bridget Cruise for this week, and I think I'll try and participate regularly. My first impression is that they have a pretty good selection of tunes, this weeks is a slower air, but last week was Blue Moon of Kentucky.
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Mar 11, 2014 16:36
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Roctor posted:Have you guys heard of the Song-A-Week social group over on the mandolin cafe forums? http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/group.php?groupid=67 Yeah I've been a member over there for an embarrassingly long time given my current mandolin abilities. Tell you what, I will try and join you on the song a week project. It will give me an excuse to learn how to use the recording equipment I just picked up...
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Mar 11, 2014 22:37
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Planet X posted:Please discuss Mandolins here. Amazing looking session. Were both ends of the table playing the same or different tunes?
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Mar 11, 2014 22:37
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They were playing the same tune. I'm incredibly lucky to be in Galway for business, and one of the folks at work plays tenor banjo. She insisted that I head to the bar they jam at this past weekend, and I got there early and was seated right up with the musicians. I don't know much Irish music apart from a little bit of Pogues, Chieftains, Dubliners, so this was new territory for me. The music is so intricate and hypnotic, and definitely not as simple as some of the I-IV-V Bluegrass I'm used to playing and listening to. Lots of parts to it, and key changes in some of them. My Mother's maiden name is of Irish ancestry, so I felt really connected to it, especially in the moment. I had the pleasure of being invited to a house session this week, so I actually got to sit in and play today! They don't get a chance to hear bluegrass banjo players often, so they handed me a 5 string, and I played a few tunes. One of the Irish tunes we played sounded a lot like Clinch Mtn Backstep, so when we were done I played that to show them how Irish trad music manifested itself strongly in bluegrass. The session leader and I jammed Blackberry Blossom a bit (he on accordion!) and they all got a big kick out of it. Glad I was able to bring something to the circle, because all the rest of the time I was listening intently, noodling, and doing backup chords.  Does anyone here play traditional Irish music? Planet X fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Mar 12, 2014 |
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Mar 12, 2014 00:26
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Planet X posted:Does anyone here play traditional Irish music? Not exactly, but I'm getting into it. There's a regular session here (in Phoenix) that I try to go to.
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Mar 12, 2014 00:41
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I play fiddle tunes, some ITM, but mostly with bluegrass stylings (hammer on/pull off instead of trills, different rhythm, etc.). Its easy enough to pick up ITM and old time because they are all variations on a theme. [ETA: Not saying that learning the song catalog is easy, mind. Some of those guys are walking encyclopedias] In fact I will be going to a session hosted by a work mate that will be more ITM (including an irishman on uillean pipes) so I have been recently expanding my song book at the TheSession.org to get ready. Galway session though, I'm totally envious. I sought out a session when I was in Dublin but I very quickly realized that is not best done in Temple Bar. Bilirubin fucked around with this message at 03:06 on Mar 12, 2014 |
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Mar 12, 2014 03:00
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