<< Subject: RE: Clawhammer banjo 101 From: chip a - PM Date: 20 Dec 02 - 03:09 PM
Bob, Tell us about your book. What's in it. Stories, tab, tunes, what? Chip >>
Well, back in the 70s I was teaching banjo and guitar, and didn't like any of the books available, so I wrote one (in 1972) and wrote another, better one, in 1976. That's the one I still have a few of. It has instructions in up-picking ("Pete Seeger" style, though tradition-based), down-picking (clawhammer, frailing, knocking, call it what you will), and two-finger picking (index lead a la Doc Watson and thumb lead a la Hobart Smith). There is also a songbook section, and there are something like 25 tunes total, counting the instruction and songbook sections. Now, my terminology in the book has been brought into question, since I use "clawhammer" to mean "drop-thumb" frailing, but that was because at the time, lots of my students were trying to use the John Burke book and he reserved the term for MELODIC drop-thumb frailing, so I was trying to use terms my students had become used to. If I were to redo the book now, I'd have a section on all the different names people have used for traditional banjo styles (my favorite, from Buell Kazee: "I've been playing banjo since I was six years old, and we always called it 'picking' the banjo.").
So that's the book. I'll check my mail here, but really don't get around to reading mail here, so if you want an answer, use songuitar@starpower.net and you'll get me sooner.