Watching youtube and reading a couple of recent topics about "popcorn" style got me thinking about "clucking" in clawhammer. Personally I don't care for it at all.I don't mean any offense to anyone who does like it, I don't think it's a particularly pleasing sound. I notice I hear a lot of it in videos of festival jams from clifftop etc.
It just got me thinking. Is "clucking" in clawhammer and stuffing the head a lot a relatively recent thing? It seems to fit a certain type of jam from what I can see on youtube, but I'm just wondering if it's been around longer than I think? Does it have it's origin in the distant past or the last few decades?
It seems quite popular on this forum whenever "that sound" comes up. What is the appeal of that style of playing and also of major stuffing of the banjo head? I understand the concept of stuffing a little to remove certain harsh overtones, in some cases, but when it comes to that dull plunk I hear on a lot of videos, it just seems sort of like a toneless and dull sound and a very different sound from an un-stuffed banjo. Do people find it more rhythmically interesting than more conventional playing? Do people dislike the "natural" tone of the un stuffed banjo. What is the appeal of banjos with a deadened sound. What is the point of deadening the 5th string with tape or foam? Isn't the ringing drone the entire "thing" about banjo/clawhammer? Obviously not to everyone, which is why I'm interested to hear the opinions of those who prefer that sound.
I hope this doesn't come off as looking for trouble, I'm just interested in hearing opinions about the appeal of this style of playing, because obviously there are lots of people who like the sound and I'm just curious.