What is frailing?

Subject: What is frailing?
From: Homeless
Date: 13 Mar 00 - 05:03 PM

Can someone give me an accurate description of what frailing is and how to do it? From the various three-finger banjo books I've seen, it seems like they equate frailing with clawhammer style. But when I was talking to a friend of mine, who plays clawhammer, he said that what I was doing (a three-finger alternating thumb roll) was frailing. Is frailing just another name for either three-finger or clawhammer, or is it another beast altogether?

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: Amos
Date: 13 Mar 00 - 05:34 PM

Claewhammer and frailing are thought of as synonymous in some circles. here's a link which discusses it in detail.

A

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Mar 00 - 05:48 PM

Frailing is where you take a long pole and knock the pecans off the trees

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 13 Mar 00 - 06:37 PM

FRailing is NOT three-finger picking. Nothing like, except that the strings are being disturbed to make musical tones.

Frailing is sometimes seen as synonymous with clawhammer, though some consider that clawhammer is frailing plus double-thumbing and the like. That is to say, clawhammer, if not the same, is a special subset of frailing.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: tar_heel
Date: 13 Mar 00 - 07:29 PM

frailing is what my dad did to me when i got in trouble.in his words."frail the daylight out of you." a remedy that kept me on the road of the straight and narrow,the rest of my childhood days!!!

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: GutBucketeer
Date: 13 Mar 00 - 09:39 PM

There are several websites that give good descriptions of frailing and dropthumbing. Three that I think do the best job are:

Uncle Ben's Banjo page http://wkweb5.cableinet.co.uk/jolly.rodger/frames.htm

Kafiristan.com home of the Down Neck Gazzette http://www.kafiristan.com/

EZBanjo.com Richard Heffner's great site http://www.ezbanjo.com/

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: Homeless
Date: 13 Mar 00 - 11:14 PM

Thanx everyone that volunteered helpful information. It really cleared things up.

JAB - and extra thanx to you - I checked out EZBanjo.com and had one of those breakthru moments. I've been trying to do clawhammer for a few weeks now and just couldn't get the hang of it. On ezBanjo I saw the tab for "Cat's in the Cradle" (a favorite of mine since I was a kid), grabbed my banjo, and played it right - on the first attempt. I guess I just had to try clawhammer on something I really liked before I could get it.

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: bseed(charleskratz)
Date: 14 Mar 00 - 02:27 AM

My favorite frailing/clawhammer site is

www.dwightdiller.com

which contains links to lots of tabs with soundfiles.

Frailier than thou,

--seed

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: Margo
Date: 15 Mar 00 - 12:06 AM

I am taking lessons and the style I'm learning is clawhammer. I use only two fingers for picking. My teacher showed me the example in the book of the fellow using the middle finger for picking. He wants me to use my index finger. I've had two lessons and am very pleased. It's a kick in the pants to be playing songs already! Margo

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: JedMarum
Date: 15 Mar 00 - 08:53 AM

hmm, seed, www.dwightdiller.com doesn't answer ... are you sure about that URL?

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: JedMarum
Date: 15 Mar 00 - 08:56 AM

by the way, I just got a Vega long neck banjo from Deering. It is beautiful! Great sound, great neck ... I've never been much of a banjo player (yet) but I am really looking forward to learning. I'm sure I'll spend a lot of time at these websites, thanks y'all!

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: GUEST,Bill in Alabama--at the office
Date: 15 Mar 00 - 09:19 AM

Jed-- You can't go wrong with a Deering. I have two of their instruments, and I'm considering one of their long-neck banjos myself. I have performed with a Deering for nearly 17 years, and have nothing that's comparable. Greg and Janet are great folks. The photo of me in bbc's Mudcat resources is from a Deering advertisement.

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 15 Mar 00 - 10:43 AM

Jedmarum:

Try it again. www.dwightdiller.com comes up fine for me just now, after reading your post.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: Art Thieme
Date: 15 Mar 00 - 10:55 AM

frailing is a strum---a way of playing the banjo from the Southern Appalachian mountains.Hold your hand in with fingers curled up.
(1) strike down on a string or strings with the back of your nail.
(2) do that again.
(3) catch the fifth string with your thumb.

Below is the strum basic to frailing. (To do "Pete Seeger's basic strum" : on BOOM and TI, pick "UP" instead of down.

BOOM--------TI--DDY, BOOM-----TI---DDY...
-(1)--------(2)-(3),--(1)-----(2)--(3)...
nail-----nail-thumb,-nail----nail--thumb...

Art Thieme

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: Margo
Date: 16 Mar 00 - 02:43 PM

Art, I have been listening to Pete Seeger and wondering if he "picks up". In your example of nail---nail-thumb, isn't the second nail a brush down on several strings? Margo

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From:
Date: 16 Mar 00 - 04:32 PM

I have been a frailer since 1966. Learned it from a EduTV show on the Nebraska EduTV Network where I was an Engineer. The Ladie teaching it was Laura Weber. She said it was a Pete Seeger style. The melodie notes were picked up with the forfinger followed by a down brush with the ring finger then the thumb is played last giving the bum-did-di sound. Almost drove my wife nuts until I got it down so it sounded ok. Bill

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From:
Date: 16 Mar 00 - 04:32 PM

I have been a frailer since 1966. Learned it from a EduTV show on the Nebraska EduTV Network where I was an Engineer. The Ladie teaching it was Laura Weber. She said it was a Pete Seeger style. The melodie notes were picked up with the forfinger followed by a down brush with the ring finger then the thumb is played last giving the bum-did-di sound. Almost drove my wife nuts until I got it down so it sounded ok. Bill

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: Art Thieme
Date: 16 Mar 00 - 09:07 PM

Margo,

You're right. Please pardon.

Art

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 17 Mar 00 - 10:57 AM

BillBanjer5:

If, as I understand your post, you're picking up with your finger, that's NOT frailing. Two-finger picking, up-picking, Seeger-picking are all names for it, but frailing or clawhammer it ain't. Frailing and clawhammer are done on the downstroke, with the nail of the middle or index finger, and the thumb string is sounded as the hand rises from that downstroke.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: Help: What is frailing?
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Mar 00 - 11:07 AM

Hey, thanks for the input! Gee, Art,no problem. I suppose I'll stick with the teacher and the book for now, but eventually I'd like to do some of that up picking. I love the way Pete Seeger sounds. I have a CD of his about the birds, beasts and animals (can't remember the exact name). It is just his voice and his banjo. He really shines, and is my inspiration for learning! Margo