Why I love old time music
Here's an example. A buddy (Greg, who plays banjo on this one) sent me this recording. The tune is an obscure one: I Love That Girl. Nobody in the group knew the tune, led by fiddler Bill Galloway from...
View Article"Frail" Frailing fingernail
I was wondering if anyone had any solutions to beefing-up your frailing fingernails. My second fingernail splits as soon as it gets any length to it. I've seen a player use scotch tape on his nail....
View ArticleJamming &/or Social Groups
Hi. Just wondering how one would find old time groups in his or her area who are open to new members. Thanks.
View ArticleI need a monotonous melody line, please
I'm trying to develop an intuitive grasp of embellishment, particularly around a melody line that is somewhat monotonous (this has to do with playing banjo in front of guitar for folk singing stuff)....
View ArticleVolume playing at the scoop
Hi there ,I have been using my scoop more and more and enjoy playing there.the only thing is it feels quite low in volume. Is it normal to tighten the head a bit more when playing there all the time?...
View ArticleLooking for Am tunes
I would like to find a few tunes in A minor, there must be some out there. What do you like?
View ArticleQuestion about Ken Perman DVD's?
What's the difference between Ken Perman's DVD's:1) "Clawhammer Style Banjo: A Complete Guide For Beginning and Advanced Banjo Players, Vol. 1 & 2"2) "Beginning Clawhammer Banjo" 3) "Intermediate...
View ArticleFinger pressure
In clawhammer style of playing should you release the pressure of the fretted finger before a rest? Larry
View ArticleQuestion about working through a clawhammer tutor book?
When working through a clawhammer banjo tutor book (like the ones available from Dan Levenson or Ken Perlman) for beginners, do you guys and gals commit a tune to memory before moving on to the next...
View Article"Plucking" stroke in clawhammer
Hi all,I was going through a bunch of my old music books the other day and ran across "Clawhammer Banjo" my Miles Krassen, copyright 1974, which someone must have given me, since I wasn't even...
View ArticleTOTW for 7/26/2013: Black Hills Waltz
Hi All,This week’s Tune of the Week is Black Hills Waltz. I learned this tune from Lisa Ornstein last year while preparing to play for a contra dance with her and my buddy Joe Moore.From The Fiddler’s...
View ArticleCool Hand Luke Banjo Playing
So I am about as beginner as it gets when it comes to the banjo. I just got a banjo like two weeks ago, and though the only one I could afford is the cheapest old-time banjo out there, it still has...
View ArticleTuner Question for Minstrel banjo
Hi All,I bought my husband a minstrel banjo. It has wooden tuning pegs that are not geared pegs. He is having a very difficult time keeping the banjo in tune. We were told what we could do to help...
View ArticleNew Member interested in learning Old Time/Clawhammer
Greetings, My name is Don Andrade. I am a new member of this forum, with a forum/screen name of Bladesmith as I make hand forged chef knives for a living. I had a lucid-dream about playing banjo and I...
View ArticleE-Mail From Chance McCoy
I was sipping a cup of coffee this morning watching the warm haze slowly burn away in Nashville and I thought of you, the folks who have taken the time to listen to my music. A few years ago I was...
View ArticleJen's Kruger "Don't Think Twice"
I stumbled across Jen's wonderful arrangement of Dylan's "Don't Think Twice". I would like to work it out, but can't seem to figure out what tuning he is in. It appears that he is capoed at the 4th...
View ArticleMetal Cover on the banjo
Greetings people of earth! As a clawhammer player who’s allow terribly interested in the metal scene I’ve decided to smash these two genres together. The first song I decided to “arrange” is a song...
View ArticleFavorite sawmill tunes?
I'm having such fun with this A minor thing, now I want to make playlists of all your favorite songs in Sawmill tuning. What do you like? What do you know, even? I have to get in the zone. So far I can...
View Articleusing a thumb pick to play clawhammer and frailling Banjo style
I have a skin graft to my right thumb which is irritated when I try to do the above style without the protection of a thumb pick so could I use a thumb pick as I do on the guitar?
View ArticleHow large is your shelf?
No, not THAT shelf - your MEMORY shelf. A fiddler made a comment at the last session that when he learns a new tune now, it's at the cost of another tune falling off the (memory) shelf. Is that true?...
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