What is clawhammer style

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: BSeed
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 12:11 AM

Nope. Not quite right. Lemme try again:

1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 -

--seed

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: BSeed
Date: 09 Sep 98 - 12:05 AM

That was supposed to be

1 - 2 - - 3 - - 4 - - 5 - - 6 - - 7 - - 8 -

--seed

I hope this comes out right this time.

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: Art Thieme
Date: 08 Sep 98 - 11:28 PM

I'd love to get Cathy Fink and Cathy Barton to do a BANJO DUET CD. Two wonderful frailers---no end to what they both can do---ALL styles actually.

Art

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: BSeed
Date: 08 Sep 98 - 09:42 PM

I first learned to play from Pete Seeger's book and got stuck for years up-picking: the basic strum is

one: pick up on one of the top three strings
and:
two: strum down across four strings with the nails
and: pluck the fifth string with your thumb

the rhythm is boom tid-dy, boom tid-dy.

after that you add at one and a hammer on, pull off, or slide:

one: pick up
and: hammer (or pull off or slide)
two: brush down
and: thumb on 5th string

I got as far as doublethumbing: on the one and, instead of a rest or pause, the thumb would pick a note on the second, third, or fourth string; on two, instead of brushing down, you pick a string with your index finger and follow with another thumb on 5th string. I got pretty good at doublethumbing melodies, but I was still pretty much stuck with that plus guitar style picking and a rhumba rhythm I also learned from seeger and used for calypso music. I was playing almost exclusively solo at the time, primarily to back up my singing.

I tried frailing, following seeger's instructions, but it felt so unnatural that I didn't stick with it long. I finally learned a bit of three finger picking--it came fairly easily once I started accenting the first, third, fifth, and seventh note of a three-finger roll:

not 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8- but
1-2-
3-4-
5-6-
7-8-.

I never got very fast, but it didn't matter: I was still playing solo (no wonder!) and still playing mostly to accompany singing.
It wasn't until about thirty years after I picked up the banjo that I started playing regularly with a guitar player and an autoharp player, both of whom also frailed the banjo, and the kind of songs we were playing cried out for frailing, so I started learning it. The basic frailing strum has the same boom tid-dy rhythm that up picking has, and is decorated in the same ways, hammering on, pulling off, sliding, and double thumbing, or more exactly, drop thumbing. The distinction is of vital importance: in up-picking doublethumbing, you use a pinching motion: finger up, thumb up, finger up, thumb up. Maintaining a solid rhythm is easy because your hand kind of rocks back and forth between the finger and the thumb actions.
but if you try to pick up with your thumb after picking down on a string with the nail of your index (or middle) finger, you'll find it damned near impossible to combine consistent rhythm with speed and accuracy or thumb placement on any but the fifth string. That's why it's important to make the distinction between double and drop thumbing: in clawhammer style as the finger picks down on a string, the thumb drops into place on the string it is going to sound (vital note--neither the finger nor the thumb provides the motion to pick strings; the motion comes from the arm, pivoting at the shoulder:

one: finger picks first (or 2nd, 3rd, or 4th string) as thumb drops into position behind second string
and: thumb picks second (or 3rd, 4th, or 5th) string as hand rises
two: finger picks string
and: thumb picks fifth string

I'm still not as fast drop thumbing as I am double thumbing, if you see the distinction, but I'm getting there. Another thirty years of practice ought to do it for me.

--seed

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: Bill in Alabama
Date: 08 Sep 98 - 06:25 AM

Murray--

Clawhammer banjo is as you describe it--using the nails (actually a particular nail, usually a bit longer than the others) to brush the strings--usually two down strokes and then a pick-up with the thumb on the fifth string. No picks are required. Clawhammer style is not limited to open-back instruments. In my part of the country, folks played whatever was available through the Monkey-Ward or the Sears catalogs or from local sources, and it was availability rather than style which ruled one's decision. Many of the old-timers I knew growing up provided their own resonators in open-back banjos by inserting a pie-pan in the pot. Old-time fiddle players, especially the older ones, seem to prefer a clawhammer banjo as a back-up instrument, as the style accentuates the down-beat, and provides a percussive sound not unlike a brushed drum. I learned the style from a fine gentleman known as Uncle Arthur Kuykendall, who used a "drop-thumb" style in which he used his thumb on all strings rather than just the fifth.

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: BSeed
Date: 07 Sep 98 - 07:59 PM

Perlman's book Basic Clawhammer Banjo is anything but a basic clawhammer book--it contains tablature for a few dozen fiddle tunes, few of them part of the repertoire of most bluegrass players. The latest edition of that book comes with a CD of one time through each of the tunes (just AB, not the traditional AABB) with no accompaniment. To give an idea of how far from basic the book is, the first song includes triplets.

Perlman does have another book, Clawhammer Style Banjo which is a basic text. There are both audio and video tapes available for the lessons in this book. Pedagogically speaking, the video tape is extremely useful, showing clear closeups of both hands (esthetically speaking, the tape is one of the ugliest I have seen). The song selection in this book is much more useful than in the other book.

When you play up the neck, although you go physically lower, you go higher in tone. That's why it's called "up the neck." Some clawhammer players use finger picks--backwards, of course--and a thumb pick, both to protect the nails and to get greater volume and crisper tone. I've never been quite comfortable with them, but i've also never been very comfortable using picks for three finger picking. For a while, I was going every week or two to a manicurist to have the nails on my index and middle fingers built up because my nails are not very thick, but I stopped it because the manicurist was filing my nails almost down to the skin before applying the polyester or whatever it was. I stopped doing that because I stopped whamming on the strings and head as I learned drop-thumb (double thumbing). I sometimes put scotch tape on my nails before a long session. It works for a while, and can be easily replaced.
Again, I strongly recommend the book and video from Ken Perlman. --seed

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From:
Date: 07 Sep 98 - 07:30 PM

Let me get some details straight. By bargain-basement banjo book describes what it calls the "basic banjo strum" which sounds like claw-hammer style.

As I understand it, in this style the nails are used to brush the strings rather than actually pluck them. Is that right?

Dale's point interests me. What kind of strings are traditionally used with the open-backed banjo and the claw-hammer style?

Does tradition dictate using picks, or the nails?

Murray

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: Dave T
Date: 07 Sep 98 - 09:18 AM

I was at the Blue Skies Folk Festival this summer and Ken Perlman ran a clawhammer workshop; too bad I'm not a banjo player. Some players use layers of kleenex and crazy glue to build up their nails. This is also used by some fingerstyle guitarists. Bruce Cockburn's advice on this is "...don't try it after drinking too much...". Sounds sensible to me.

Dave

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: takeo
Date: 07 Sep 98 - 03:57 AM

frailers use a nail side of finger to down pick the string, it sounds like cartar family picking on guitar. did maybell invent this style from frailing banjo? -takeo

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: Dale Rose
Date: 07 Sep 98 - 12:51 AM

No, that is not the way it goes. Fiddlers in the know buy banjo cases for their fiddles. That way they know that no one will bother stealing them!

About the clawhammer terminology~~around here you are just as likely to hear it as frailing, rapping, drop thumbing, old time, or best of all, the right way! Like Dave T says above, most frailers use open back banjos, but the use is not universal. Notable exceptions are Uncle Dave Macon, of course, and Missourian Cathy Barton. On the other hand, I have really only noticed one person playing three finger style on an open back banjo, and that was someone who usually frails.

Another point that no one has addressed yet, and I really am not well enough versed on this, but I will start it. Many frailers use a combination of metal and nylon strings, rather than all metal. Also frailers who play constantly use some sort of hardener on their finger nails, or even false nails because of the wear and tear on their nails. OK, I will let someone who really knows what they are talking about take it from there.

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 06 Sep 98 - 08:57 PM

In 1974 I bought a Seeger type long necked Epiphone 5 string made In Kalamazoo. It had been sitting in the warehouse for (maybe) 10 years and did not have a case. Because it was the nicest thing I had ever owned I arranged for a case to be made for it. What eventually arrived was a case that housed it beautifully, but was unfortunately guitar shaped. The gigs I was doing at the time enabled me to stuff large quantities of free beer and cheese (kilos of the stuff) into the spare space in the case at the end of an evening.

Perhaps I should have included this in the recent thread of tips for musicians. Buy a guitar case for your banjo.

Regards John

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From:
Date: 05 Sep 98 - 04:20 AM

Thanks for the answers.

Since the posting, I found a book for sale at our local library for about $US.60 called "Beginning the Five-String Banjo" by Jerry Silverman. He describes the technique very clearly and has a lot of traditional songs in it.

Nonetheless, he never uses the term "claw hammer", so I am glad for the descriptions.

Now that I have a book Jon, all I need is a banjo! I will start with soft-soled shoes.

Banjomad, It is you who should join the support group!

Murray

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: Art Thieme
Date: 04 Sep 98 - 04:35 PM

I had a banjo once that frustrated me so much I destroyed it with a clawhammer---ie. the name!!

By the way, in the olden times, when banjos were strung with possum guts, one possum was only good for 4 and a half strings. That's why the 5th string stops part way up the neck!

Art

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: Barbara Shaw
Date: 04 Sep 98 - 03:50 PM

It sounds like you two were meant for each other and are saving two other spouses. Social life is not necessary nor desirable when you play the banjo. Those faces speaking to you when you are staring glassy-eyed off into space as you tune the tuners are just a nuisance.

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: Banjomad
Date: 04 Sep 98 - 02:54 PM

Dear Barbera Shaw - can you please enrol my wife in your support group. I stooped to the ultimate degredation in trying to get her to understand my first love (the banjo) by buying her one of her own. Now I have become a Banjo Husband with little or no social life as she is out with every local banjo group you can think of.

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: Jon W.
Date: 04 Sep 98 - 10:35 AM

I began by taking a community education class where the teacher taught Scruggs style picking and bluegrass songs. I gave up hope of ever having enough practice time to get fast enough on the right hand "rolls" to accomplish anything (plus I don't like wearing fingerpicks) so I started to explore claw hammer techniques. I bought the Ken Perlman book mentioned above, published by Mel Bay and now named "Basic Clawhammer Banjo." It's an excellent book for anyone interested in playing Irish/American fiddle tunes on banjo. It is, however, lacking in the explanation of technique. I've been able to learn a few of the tunes well enough to play up to speed, but my technique is backward. I still use my finger to pick up on the strings, only brushing down with a finger nail if I am playing more than one string. But what the hey--I'm only doing this for the fun of it anyway.

The book comes with a CD of all the songs played clearly and slowly, and cost me about $18 US.

Murray, stop being so passive. Jump in with both feet. Jump with your shoes on if you get frustrated.

Jon W.

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: Barbara Shaw
Date: 04 Sep 98 - 07:50 AM

By the way, that phrase "down the neck" is pronounced "UP the neck" by most experienced banjo players. When the left arm, which is up in the air, is repositioned so that the fingers can move down closer to the banjo head, this downward motion is called UP. There are other intricacies, but take it slowly.

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: Barbara Shaw
Date: 04 Sep 98 - 07:33 AM

My husband plays old-timey clawhammer style as well as Scruggs 3-finger rolls and the occasional melodic licks down the neck. As a result of this exposure, I am founder and president of the Banjo Wife Support Group, so if you do take up the instrument and have a mate at risk, get her in touch with us. An emergency Mudcat thread will alert the rescue team.

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: Dave T
Date: 04 Sep 98 - 07:23 AM

The actual technique of clawhammer is quite different than the more often heard "Scruggs" style. Instead if using the fingers to pick upwards from treble to bass as when finger picking guitar, you use the back of your fingernails to strike downard at the strings. Your thumb works the same way as normal. I think there's a book by Ken Perlman on clawhammer if you're interested (I believe it's put out by Mel Bay). Usually "frailers" use banjos with an open back and quite often they have wooden rims rather than brass. The only real variant in 5-string banjos is a Seeger style which has a longer neck. Pete Seeger started this and normally played with a capo for regular songs. He remove the capo to get access to lower bass notes. There a four-string banjos (tenors). I don't play banjo but a good friend does. Q: What's the difference between a banjo & a trampoline? A: You don't wear shoes when jump on a trampoline. Anyway I hope this helps. Any banjo players out there that can expand on this???

Dave

Subject: RE: What is clawhammer style
From: Bill in Alabama
Date: 04 Sep 98 - 07:00 AM

Murray--

Clawhammer, sometimes called Frailing or Rapping the banjo, is the traditional style that was predominant, at least in most of the Appalachian U.S. south, prior to WWII. You can hear/see examples of the style on albums/videos of Grandpa Jones, of of most old-time Appalachian string bands.

Banjo makers at one time did make the 5-strings in different sizes, but I suppose current ones are mostly of a uniform construction. A friend of mine has an old "piccolo banjo," which is favored by backpackers in my part of the country, and which must be tuned in C.

Clawhammer banjoists quite frequently re-tune the banjo to play in different keys. Because many banjos were originally home-made, many of them were without frets, and there are still a few luthiers selling them at folk festivals and such places. The fretless ones are fine for solo work, but they don't make you particular with other musicians when you work with a group. More later.

Bill

Subject: What is clawhammer style
From:
Date: 04 Sep 98 - 06:46 AM

I have been reading some literature about old-time music and they refer to the banjo accompanyment as being "claw hammer style". Can anyone describe that.

By the way, in reading this stuff I am getting interested in the banjo (passively for the time being, I hope). Here are some questions for banjo experts

Do the five-string ones come in different sizes, and if so do the sizes correspond to different tunings, or just to acoustic differences like the difference between a dreadnaught and a parlor guitar.

What other kinds of banjos are there besides five string? Actually I recently saw a film of somebody playing a fretless banjo.

Thanks,

Murray