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I just bought my first banjo last week and have been trying to learn clawhammer. Are there any guidelines for when you should pluck with your thumb? Initially I thought I should only use my thumb on the high g, but I've been watching some of the old-timers on youtube and see that they often drop their thumb all the way down to the B string and alternate between their thumb and nail. It makes sense to me to alternate for speed, but I'm hesitant to use my thumb too much since I prefer to sound of my nail striking the string to my thumb.
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Jul 13, 2011 20:30
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 04:02 |
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Cool, thanks guys. Yeah I've been practicing the basic bum ditty pretty religiously. I'm impatient so whenever I learn an instrument I try to go a bit too far ahead. Bad idea, I know, but it keeps me interested at least. I found this version of cripple creek on youtube which I really like, so I've been trying to copy it (albeit at a slower tempo), hence the drop-thumb question. The guy in that video is pretty awesome, btw. You banjo players have probably already come across him, but if not, check his stuff out! In a lot of his videos he's playing a banjo he threw together from an old gas can and getting some pretty good sounds out of it. Also, thanks for that pdf-- it's next on my list once I've gotten good enough on the current exercises I'm working on.
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Jul 14, 2011 15:59
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Planet X posted:
Ah ok, that's good to hear. Like I said I prefer to sound of my 'claw' strumming the strings to plucking with my thumb, so I'll just try to keep the drop-thumbing to a minimum. I guess I won't really NEED it till I get my speed up anyways, but I suppose it's still good to get the technique down. I got this epiphone to start out with. I'm happy with it so far, although there's a buzz on the G-string that I've yet to find the source of. I don't think I'll be buying any more specialized banjos until I've been playing long enough to know what sorts of features I like and what I don't.
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Jul 15, 2011 18:04
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The banjo seems harder than the guitar to me, although I've only been learning the banjo for about a week. But then again, any instrument can be as hard as you want it to be. One thing I can say is I'm having more fun learning the banjo than I did the guitar or bagpipes. It's just a cool little instruments and I really enjoy the rhythmic playing style of clawhammer and the strong connection the banjo has to its folk roots. I'd say go for it, if you're not in a rush you can pick up a used starter banjo for 100 - 150 at most.
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Jul 16, 2011 15:38
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Darth Windu posted:Augh, so, I've found both banjos and fiddles around here in my price range, and lessons for either. Which should I go with? I've been listening to a lot of Sam Amidon, so I am inclined toward banjo at this particular moment, but the fiddle seems more versatile and perhaps more interesting. I've also heard that banjo can be a son-of-a-bitch to learn for people who are used to playing guitar, which I am. Help! One good reason to choose a banjo is there a lot of old timer banjo gurus that post videos of themselves playing on youtube. The few songs I've been working on so far I've learned just by watching these people play. rpeek is awesome, and here's an example of the sort of stuff I'm talking about : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkzfZbXDA-Y I'd imagine this sort of thing would be a fair bit more difficult with the fiddle considering how it's played.
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Aug 7, 2011 17:15
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Can anyone recommend a good lesson book for clawhammer banjo? I've been teaching myself off of youtube, but I'm finding it'd be a lot easier to have a bunch of songs and, more importantly, exercises all in one book.
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Nov 24, 2011 19:44
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Remember you can take the resonator off.. I took mine a day or two after I bought it and haven't put it back since, aside from the odd time to compare the sound differences. If you're just looking to play by yourself and learn the instrument, then don't worry much about a resonator. I guess if it happens to have one (like mine did), then cool, maybe you'll have a use for it later on down the road.
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Dec 15, 2011 20:44
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I've been learning clawhammer banjo since July-- I've been wanting to start playing over the neck, but my banjo doesn't have that fretless section like a lot of clawhammer banjos have. Would do any undue harm to anything by taking a dremel and sandpaper to the neck to create enough of a gap to be able to pluck the strings?
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Jan 14, 2012 18:47
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I mean I would pop some of the higher frets off and dremel/sand the neck around there down to create enough of a gap to be able to pluck the strings there. I don't see myself adapting any van halen songs for the banjo ever so I don't think I'll ever miss those frets. I was concerned it may mess up the structure of the banjo, but the chunk I'd be taking out isn't putting pressure on the pot at all. I'm able to get the four main strings over the neck just fine, it's the drone string I can't pluck since it's closer to the fretboard.
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Jan 15, 2012 19:23
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| # ¿ May 4, 2024 04:02 |
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It seems to me that the sharp snappy sound you get with a pick is a key aspect of Scruggs style, so if that's what you're after then it'd probably be worth it to get used to finger picks. Once you got used to them, switching back and forth probably wouldn't be that big of a deal. On the other hand, one thing I've learned from watching all the old timers playing banjo on youtube (mainly clawhammer, mind you) is that the banjo is one of the least strict instruments in the world with respect to "right" and "wrong" ways of playing. So many players have their own little nuances... if you feel more comfortable without picks and are happy with the sound, then you may as well just go with that.
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Mar 9, 2012 01:05
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