TOTW 5/18/25 - Three Forks of Cheat
This week's TOTW is Three Forks of Cheat from West Virginia's Hammon's Family. I learned it thinking it was an Edden Hammons tune, but apparently it's from his nephew Burl, who learned it from a...
View ArticlePlaying clawhammer ukulele
I got chording down but playing a melody I don't understand. Specifically the non-thumb finger playing.
View ArticleGap in speed playing in clawhammer
I play very slowly. I usually can’t handle a song (I only play two) at more than about 45-55 beats per minute. At 60 beats per min I usually break down completely. I’ve been playing Polly put the...
View Articlethe magic of miles krassen
hi there, i filmed all the tunes of the miles krassen book. hope you enjoyfind me at youtube with my name - gerhard saller - it would help if you subscribe my chanel. i am a apprantice from germany :-)
View ArticleSwiss songs for Banjo
Songs: Dur's Oberland uf 00:00; Gang rüef de Bruune 00:20; Im Aargäu sind zwöi Liebe 01:02; Lueget vo berg und Tal 01:18; 's isch mer alles eis Ding 01:14; Min Schatz ischt ke Zocker 01:47; O du liebs...
View ArticleTOTW 4/25/25 - Calloway (Lee Hammons)
Hi friends - I was surprised no one had picked this tune yet and after having another tune from the Hammons family last week I figured this might be a fun one for folks. One of my all-time favorite...
View ArticleAcross the Plains of Illinois
Hi all. I've loved this tune a played by Bruce Molsky's Mountain Drifters ever since I first heard it a few years ago on a Peghead Nation video. Now I'm trying to learn...
View ArticlePractice, what do you think
Novice here, I practice 2 finger and I wee bit of claw hammer and only when time allows. Only been at it a couple months. I practiced today and it was great, all the way through my practice session...
View ArticleLearning to Accompany a Fiddler
My goal is to spend the next four months focused on improving my clawhammer banjo playing and, specifically, learning to accompany old-time fiddlers, and I'm looking for advice. Where do I start? What...
View ArticleMarching Jaybird tab question
In the included or attached tab Jan-Olov Sundqvist used some strange (to me) notations that I need clarified. In the first 2 measures he indicates the 5th string is to be played open and then has an...
View ArticleCool practice technique from Boot Camp with Tom Collins
Tom Collins is hosting a boot camp this week in his Patreon group. It’s in a tuning of f#DEAD. He had a practice technique for us that I found quite valuable during and after the first session...
View ArticleTOTW 05/02/2025 Sweet Susan
I’ve chosen Sweet Susan for this installment of TOTW. The tune, which was widely known across northeastern Kentucky, sometimes under the alternate title of Susan’s Gone, was first recorded in 1937 by...
View ArticleLesson series on playing backup in the thumb lead 2F style
Folks, I’ve recently launched this lesson series on YouTube. So far, there are five lessons, and a I have few more to go. The lessons are designed to be accessible to beginners, as well as more...
View ArticleMade it through my second song start to finish
Took me a full year to learn my first song which was called Polly (or Molly) Put the Kettle On. It had three separate parts to it. The next song is called “Ducks on the Millpond” and it only has two...
View ArticleGospel for Banjo
Songs: All Day Long 00:00; Come Ang Go With Me 00:17; Do Lord, Remember Me 00:40; Guide My Feet 00:59; Hallelu', Hallelu' 01:28; Just A Closer Walk With Thee 01:58; Mary And Martha 02:22; Mary, Don't...
View ArticleSwitching between songs
I try to practice switching between songs but I find that stuff gets all muddled up. It’s almost like I have to “put away” the first song and reset with playing and trying to re think for song 2. And...
View ArticleHow do You know what the best tuning is for a piece?
Hello, I have perused the forum many times but am reaching out for some advice. I mostly play guitar so I think of tunings a little differently in that I don't think much about the 5th string purpose...
View ArticleIndian Nation
So many versions of this wonderful tune, and I'm having trouble learning it. I'm a fan of Walt Koken's version and Adam Hurt's version - both of which are fantastic. Other versions sound quite...
View ArticleTOTW Rerun 5/9/2025 - Possum's Tail Is Bare
In August 2012, Mary Z. Cox posted “The Possum’s Tail Is Bare” as the Tune of the Week in the Clawhammer and Old Time Styles forum. She also posted her tab for the tune along with links to versions by...
View ArticleOld-Time Banjo and Fiddle workshop safari in South Africa! November
Its official! I am going to South Africa, to teach at an Old Time Music safari, and I am inviting you to join me on this once in a lifetime opportunity. That's right, daily safari drives and Banjo...
View ArticleCzech Minuet for Clawhammer gCGCD tuning Banjo
Songs: Minet II. 00:00; Mam sedivou hlavu 00:36; Nechci, nebudu k vam chodivavat 01:03;arr: Ondrej Sarek
View ArticleGospel for Clawhammer gCGCD tuning Banjo
Songs: Standing in the Need of Prayer 00:00; Singin' With A Sword In My Hand 00:29; Oh Freedom 01:18; Michael, Row The boat Ashore 01:40; Oh, Sinner man 02:09; Kum ba yah 02:36; I'm A Pilgrim 03:03;...
View ArticleThe Jolly Blacksmith, TOTW 5/16/2025
Some months back, the “Merry Blacksmith” was presented for the TOTW by Andy Taylor (post here: https://www.banjohangout.org/archive/397607), and at the time the title reminded me of another...
View ArticleResources/tips for mixed-lead style
The past few weeks, I've been revisiting some OT tunes (I mostly play classic style) and working on developing a kind of hybrid technique that is mostly like 2-finger index lead but using 3 fingers...
View ArticleI love the way sawmill or mountain minor looks and feels
As I’ve mentioned before I have amusia which makes it very difficult to tell tunes and rhythm as something I can remember or play by ear. I basically memorize every note as patterns and play from...
View ArticleTrying to locate sheet music for old time fiddle tune "Pear Tree"
Understand that the tune might go by different titles. I'm sure I could figure it out by ear but like having sheet music where available. Here is a version played on...
View ArticleCuticle pain
I've been playing a lot more recently and am developing some pain around the base of my nail. I like playing with my natural nails and use clear nail polish (only near the end of my nail). My theory is...
View ArticleTOTW, 5/23/25, Blackberry Waltz
Blackberry Waltz is a lovely Ozark tune that fiddling father Lee Stoneking showed his son Fred Stoneking (1933 – 2009), who eventually recorded it and is the one I first heard. Lee’s version was...
View ArticleMy speed drills
I have been playing clawhammer for more than a year which is much less than the lifetimes that others on this forum have. I have had some success with this technique for practice that I borrowed from...
View ArticleSummertime Lessons
Hey All!Summertime is opportunity time for y'all! For the first year in many, I am planning on being home this year instead of traveling the country. With the snowbirds having flown from the Tucson...
View ArticleTOTW 5/31/2025 Cold Frosty Morning from Melvin Wine
My Tale I've sung folk songs since I started talking and have had enough experiences to know about square dancing, American, English, Yiddish and other folk songs, as well as instrumental music...
View Articletechnique question
I've seen tabs where a couple of eighth notes are played with two downstrokes. For example the following set o eighth notes:downstroke second string - downstroke first string - downstroke first string...
View ArticleHelp for Tab
Can someone explain to me how to play this?Are the double notes supposed to sound at the same time or is it more like two sixteenths?Cumberland Gap Carl Baron I would appreciate help
View ArticleBanjo Heritage course?
Hi!Can anyone share their experiences with the Banjo Heritage online course? I am aware of Clifton Hicks and his history, I am not trying to start another debate about him. But I am interested in...
View ArticleTOTW 6/6/2025 Little Maggie
I have chosen out Little Maggie as this week’s TOTW. A lot of people think it is a Bluegrass tune, but the tune can be traced back to the end of end of the 1800’s. “Little Maggie” is considered to be a...
View ArticleI had no idea this was a banjo song.
I grew up a Boy Scout- eagle and worked at many summer camps as staff in junior high and high school. The staff always had to participate in songs and skits at dinner and campfires. I usually just...
View ArticleTOTW 06/13/2025 - Coon Dog
TOTW 06/13/2025 - Coon DogI’ve chosen Coon Dog for this installment of TOTW. The Traditional Tune Archive says Dudley Spangler (1885-1981) of Patrick County, Virginia is the primary source for the...
View ArticleSome tunings where the fifth string is less oft discordant
Hello! So I'm a novice clawhammer banjo player. Often times when I bum-ditty in open G, it's my understanding that the fifth string can be somewhat discordant with the rest of the strings; they say...
View ArticleTackhead tuning advice
Hello. I’ve just bought my first Tackhead (fretless, goat head and nylon strings)My other banjo is a RK-OT strung with nylon strings - rightly or wrongly I never worry or think too much about tunings....
View ArticleTOTW 6/20/25 -- When Johnny Comes Marching Home / Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye
Another familiar tune (with two distinct themes and lyric sets), but not that frequently played on the banjo, especially the 5-string. That's likely because it's in 6/8, a time signature not beloved of...
View ArticleCan I learn clawhammer with short nails?
Hey y'all,I'm getting back into banjo after a few years, and this time around i really want to focus on playing Clawhammer, and this led me to a question. I keep my nails pretty short (have always had...
View ArticleChords in four tunings
You might find this to be useful. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mt5FPTKP5j0SPD1W1X3jFOPHPRfHiBFoLC4fmWXIeUo/edit?usp=sharing
View ArticleGospel for Uke-banjo
Songs: This Little Light of Mine 00:00; My Lord, What A Morning 00:32; More And More 01:05; Hallelu‘, Hallelu‘ 01:23; arr: Ondrej Sarek
View ArticleTOTW 06/27/25: ‘Le Saut De Lapin’ (‘Rabbit Hop’/’Rabbit Stew')
This week’s Tune Of The Week is a fiddle tune from Quebec, one of several tunes with the same (or similar) French name. “Le Saut De Lapin” literally translates as “The Rabbit’s Hop” and these tunes...
View ArticleCarver Fretless Minstrel sound/play?
What do you know about a Carver fretless tack head banjo? How does it sound, is it difficult to play? How does it compare to a cello banjo? I am looking for something that plays lower than my...
View ArticleTOTW 7/4/2025: My Little Home In West Virginia
This week’s tune is “My Little Home in West Virginia,” a three-part tune which comes from the playing of Ellis Hall (1893-1977), a glassblower and fiddler from Morgantown, WV. Ellis Hall recorded the...
View ArticleTension in Right Hand Problem on Clawhammer Banjo
Hello fellow banjo players, So I've been playing clawhammer banjo for about a year and a half now. I know this is a topic that has already been covered, but I thought I would reach out anyway and give...
View ArticlePlaying in an Old Time String Band
My wife, Amy and I will be teaching a class at John C Campbell Folk School, Playing in an Old Time String Band, this September 7 through 13. Come and join us for a fun week and a great place in Western...
View ArticlePlaying a 3-finger picker solo on OT songs
I can lead Old Dan Tucker and Turkey in the Straw but never know what to do whenever someone else takes a break. I usually just vamp the chords and play the occasional alternating roll with a...
View ArticleTOTW 11th July. The Old Churchyard
This week's tune of the week is an old hymn that has become part of the old time folk song tradition. "The Old Church Yard", sometimes called "Come, Come With Me", is found in hymn books dating back to...
View Article