Which songs never work for you?
I've been playing for about 4 years now and I love the many different ways you can play a tune in clawhammer. But there are a couple tunes that just never seem to ignite for me however I approach...
View ArticleTOTW 9/21/12 Red Haired Boy - Little Beggarman
Red Haired Boy is my selection for this tune of the week! This is a well known tune that goes by many other names: Gilderoy, The Old Solider With a Wooden Leg, The Little Beggarman, The Jolly Beggar,...
View ArticleFinger nail problem
Hi Guy's... Been picking Scruggs Style for a little over four years and I really would like to do a little frailin. Trouble is my nails are very thin and I keep them very short in case they should get...
View ArticleHow can two nails sound so different?
I've been getting to grips with clawhammer for a while now, still struggling badly but enjoying the journey anyway.... I started off using my index nail, it feels more comfortable and naturaly seems...
View Articleclawhammer
About to tackle clawhammer. This may be a silly question, but can left hand play purely melody notes and not chords?
View ArticleEarl Collins--does anyone remember him?
Lately I pursued a teenage memory of getting to jam with the Missouri fiddler Earl Collins (1911 - 1975) when he was in Southern California and my guitar teacher hosted the jam. I was a new...
View ArticleLooseners
Do you have any tunes that you always play to get started - something that seems to just leap out of the banjo without you having to think about it? For me, it's West Fork Girls (Miles Krassen) if I'm...
View ArticleAnother Thumb Question
Driving me crazy. Does the thumb come down on the 5th string, bend it down and sound only as a result of the thumb coming quickly upward or does the thumb also strike the string with a slight glancing...
View ArticleClawhammer/Frailing Speed
When I first learned banjo years ago, I learned Scruggs style and about 5 years ago started doing frailing and clawhammer. I started with Seeger up-picking but soon transitioned to to downpicking...
View ArticleNoisetrade free album
This week's free Noisetrade album is Chance McCoy backed by a band featuring Adam Hurt: http://noisetrade.com/chancemccoy
View Articleswitching to fretless
How much of a learning curve is there in switching to a fretless after playing a fretted banjo for many years? Other than not having the frets to tell you where notes are, I imagine there must be...
View ArticleBeginner Capo Confusion!
I'm working my way through Ken Perlman's book, and I just got to the section where he introduces some alternate tunings, and then capos. In the first capo song, it says "Capo 2", which I figure...
View Articledoes the banjo play "second fiddle" in otm?
i'm new to clawhammer banjo and i've been listening to lots of otm fiddle/banjo duets etc, but i can't help thinking that fiddle/banjo is not an equal partnership!!! it seems to me that you have to...
View Articlechanging tone ring from whyte lady to brass
hi there i have a goldtone wl250 whyte lady banjo i was thinking about changing the tone ring to this heavy brass one .....
View ArticleAnyone care to help me cluck?
Alright, I've really been working on the cluck lately. I'm tired of having deficient chicken abilities, I'm ready to hone my poultry senses. What I'm doing, though, is not producing much volume, not...
View Articleslapping the head
A thread last week talked about hitting the head to add a a drum-like rhythm. I've been experimenting with this sound and want to find out more about it. I realize it's not a sound everyone likes but...
View ArticleProblems with a slide over two frets.
I'm still at the very basic stages of trying to master clawhammer, and this week i've been trying to learn "Undone in Sorrow" by Ola Belle Reed. I'm working by the tab provided on TOTW here on the...
View Article10 o'clock or 2 o'clock with striking finger?
I developed what I didn't realize was a bad habit of playing with the "2 o'clock" part of my index finger when I struck the string. I went to a workshop and the well-known and respected...
View ArticleCall for Tune of the Week volunteers - 9/27/12
It's that time again! We're getting close to the end of the current Tune of the Week volunteer list, so I thought I would try to get it extended through the end of the year. Actually, I'm jumping...
View ArticleTeacher needed near Columbia City Indiana
Hello Everyone. I am a Newbie here. First post. 64 years of age, retired male. Just finish a week long Banjo school for beginner's. I would like to find a teacher around Columbia City Indiana --Fort...
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