Thoughts
on clawhammer
banjo & old-time 3-finger playing & instructional
video lessons.
(These are exactly that, thoughts. Not intended as Absolute Truth - do
not
construe.)
Want
to
have it for your very own?
($24.95 + S&H):
(Orders
handled by Open Lens Productions, the DVD's producer.) Also available directly from Mel Bay (also as a download: http://www.melbay.com/ondemand.asp - you'll have to download and install Mel Bay On Demand first).
Note: If you buy it as a download, you will get the PDF booklet, but it can
be tricky to find. If you're using the built-in Brainplayer, it will
download to "My Documents" or "Documents". Using Quicktime, you should
see a PDF button on the player.
The DVD should also be available from your local
retail store, ask for it if they don't have it in stock.
Unfortunate
Puppy and Other Fine Tunes: Lessons in Intermediate & Advanced
Clawhammer Banjo (Mel Bay 22208DVD) teaches ten classic
fiddle
tunes
arranged for clawhammer banjo, as well as tools and techniques to help
you
create your own arrangements. 133 minutes (over 2 hours of lessons!)
News: Tabs are now available for the DVD. If you've bought the DVD, go here to get them (you'll need the password, the page explains).
Hunter
Robertson begins each tune with a brief introduction and then
presents each one in four different stages to help you learn it easily.
First,
Hunter plays the tune at full speed. Next, he breaks it down, with
verbal
instruction. The tune is then slowed to half speed so that you can
easily follow the right and
left hand finger positions, which are shown with a split screen
throughout. Finally, the
tune is played at a medium tempo for you to practice along with.
The DVD also includes a video of Hunter demonstrating
right and left
hand techniques and a detailed 26 page PDF booklet with notes on the
tunes,
general
technical information, and thoughts on learning, playing, and arranging
for the
banjo. Note:
The PDF booklet is a digital file on the disc itself which can be read
with "Adobe Reader", a free program. If you buy the DVD as a download,
see the notes under the picture of the DVD cover (to the left) for
information on how to access the PDF.
THE TUNES:
Lonesome
Johnfrom
John Salyer
Candy
Girlfrom
Uncle Bunt Stephens
Boatin’
Up Sandyfrom
Wilson Douglas
Cripple
Creekfrom
Hobart Smith
Unfortunate
Puppyfrom
Elmo Newcomer
Ducks
on the Millpondfrom
Emmett Lundy
Raleigh
& Spencerfrom
Tommy Jarrell
Bonaparte’s
Retreatfrom
William Stepp
Leather
Britchesfrom
John Salyer
Ft.
Smith Breakdownfrom
Luke Highnight’s Ozark Strutters
EXTRA FEATURES:
A brief look at 2 and 3-finger picking.
A full-length performance video of the
song “Raleigh &
Spencer”.
16:9 Widescreen Video
- NTSC -
Region ALL (similar to 0, will play in any region)
- 133 Minutes
Reviews:
-
"This DVD sets a new standard for banjo instructional material, and I
can’t imagine any clawhammer player who couldn’t pick up a few things
while watching it." - John Walkenbach, Banjo Newsletter
- "...That said, this is the best instructional video I've ever seen.
It is well worth your money and more importantly, it is well worth your
time." - Tony Spadaro, aka Old Woodchuck, from Rocket Science Banjo
-
“This is an excellent DVD and should immensely please those who are
interested in the style, who'll find not only beautiful versions of
fiddle tunes but also ideas for arranging pieces of their own choice.”
– Claude Vue, Trad Magazine
- "This DVD stands among the best out there for learning more about the old-time banjo styles." - Bluegrass Unlimited
- "...excellent new instructional dvd by Hunter Robertson that teaches
10 banjo arrangements of fiddle tunes in the clawhammer style." -
Gadaya from Cornbread, Molasses & Sassafras Tea
- "The clawhammer style may seem clumsy and primitive, here it becomes clear how subtle and elaborate it can be… Working
one’s way through these music lessons will cost some considerable
effort, but in the end one surely will have learned something." –
Eberhard Finke, No Fences/Bluegrass Bühne Magazine
What some users have had to say:
Diggin'
it, Hunter. Great set of tunes, fine versions of them, and I like this
form of instruction. The package is packed (!) so I haven't gotten
through it all, but I recommend it highly (and will pitch it to my students as well). – T.I.
The
lessons are wonderfully presented. The half-speed videos are great
because they provide a more realistic view of the fingers in motion
than when one simply plays deliberately slow. I hope many people take
advantage of this most enlightening project. There's much to learn. – R.M.
I
got it yesterday but only got the chance to look at it this afternoon.
I thought there's no way I'll ever be able to learn anything from this.
Half an hour later I had learnt the first half of Lonesome John... It's
wonderful. Thank you. – S.D.
Got
the DVD yesterday and spent some hours with it. May well be the best
old time banjo instructional film since Mike Seeger's Southern Banjo
Styles series. Hunter's playing is inspiring, the presentation is very
clear, the choice of material is good, and I appreciate the way in
which he continually refers the viewer back to the original recordings
of the versions he's playing. – S.L.
It's
really well presented, professionally made and very entertaining. Most
importantly, the tunes are excellent, and even the ones I know have
enough variation and interest to make me want to learn them again. – M.R.
I've
only been playing 15 months but found I could follow it easily. It's by
far the best video tutor I've come across, really clear camera views
and great collection of tunes. 1st class! – N.C.
What an awesome job you did on this project! This is by far the best instructional material I have seen. Just Awesome! – J.Y.
Older Instructional Videos
(these
are a few homemade videos from before the DVD. I was going to take
them down but enough people have said they've been of help that I'll
leave them up for now. There is a better overview of 2 and 3-finger
picking
included as an extra on the DVD.)
Kicking Mule and the Finger-Roll
part 1.
I've been working on these flurried finger-rolls recently, so just
putting this up for fun. Mike Seeger teaches something similar on one
of his instructional tapes, from an Uncle Dave Macon tune. Seems to be
a minstrel or classic banjo ornament. You can dissect it up to a point
but then you just have to get your fingers to produce.
I must
have first heard this tune from Art Rosenbaum, this has a Cajun version
mixed in. Classic guage Nylgut tuned to gCGBD.
Kicking Mule & The
Finger-Roll part 2. I've
been working on these flurried finger-rolls recently, so just putting
this up for fun. Mike Seeger teaches something similar on one of his
instructional tapes, from an Uncle Dave Macon tune. Seems to be a
minstrel or classic banjo ornament. You can dissect it up to a point
but then you just have to get your fingers to produce.
I must
have first heard this tune from Art Rosenbaum, this has a Cajun version
mixed in. Classic guage Nylgut tuned to gCGBD.
Sugar Baby,
3-finger picking. Someone asked for some tips on playing this, so I
made a short video to demonstrate. I got it from Dock Boggs and
although I aim to have it sound close to his, I didn't try to replicate
it exactly. I play it through a few times slowly and then up to speed.
Banjo's tuned gDGCD. Here's a rough tab of it.
Pretty Polly,
3-finger picking. Someone asked for some tips on how to play this, so I
made a short video. I play it a few times through slowly and then up to
speed. Banjo's in gDGCD. The melody is based mainly on Hobart Smith's
fiddling.
I've usually
played Darlin' Cora
out of gCGCC
with 3 fingers but someone asked about it recently and I took a closer
look at the recording by B.F. Shelton. A few sources thought he was
playing out of eCGCC and it does seem to fit just right. Shelton's
tuned a bit flat of D on the recording. Also sounds like two finger
picking.
This clip is a foreshortened version of Shelton's introduction, not
quite what he plays but enough to give the idea. You could keep the
index on the first string or use it on the top two (or whatever,
depending on what you want it to sound like), the thumb handles the
rest.
Another right hand figure which I didn't film that's useful: thumb on
an inside string, thumb on the 5th, index on the first - bum ditty.
Listening again after making the video to what he's doing while
singing, I think he's playing simpler figures rather than the whole
melody. Anyway, have a listen for yourself!
If you're interested in improving your clawhammer playing or learning
some 2 or 3-finger picking with online lessons, get in touch. You'll need a webcam, decent
internet connection and Skype (which is free). To find out more about
the lessons, scheduling and price, send me an email.
Here
are the thoughts (many more included with the DVD, 28 pages!):
Clawhammer,
Frailing,
Bum-Titty, Drop Thumb, Double Thumb etc.
I see all kinds of recommendations and dogma concerning these and other
aspects of banjo
playing and instruction. Index finger/middle finger, neck up/neck
down, held on the lap/leg, thumb cocked/straight,
bump-ditty/bump-a-ditty... There
are a lot of theories
about playing and teaching and they're as
useful as they help someone play. Watch what people
are DOING as well as saying. Examine things for yourself. Find someone
good and learn from them. Even if
what they're
doing doesn't fit the canonical definition of clawhammer - The Council
Of The Elders of Old-Time having formally prohibited any upstrokes in
the performance of the clawhammer maneuver in 1976. Buell Kazee was
known to catch strings on the upswing with the back of his thumb and
Ralph Stanley and Matokie Slaughter the same with the index.
There
are videos out with footage of some of the great players: Buell Kazee,
Roscoe Holcomb, Dock Boggs, Tommy Jarrell and others. Great for
learning.
Tablature
Is
there anything inherently bad about tablature? No, it can be very
useful.
You'll get more out of it if you have a recording of the version of the
tune you have in tab. Tab is a good way of noting the main points of a
tune for a shorthand
version of it (and standard notation the same) - you have a sketch or
outline that needs filling in afterwards. Working things out by ear can
be very beneficial though - you'll likely find that there are different
ways of getting a line, each with its own character and advantages and
disadvantages. Listen to the variations a player puts into a tune. Try
working out different versions of the
same tune
from different players and see how the melody varies. You'll probably
come up with some variations of your own
while you're at it. Take what you
like from all that, add your personality, and make it you own.
Practice
Practice until you have the tune down cold. Once you own the thing you
can do whatever you want with it. Drill it and ingrain it! "Muscle
memory" is part of
it, but remember, you made that muscle memory and you can change it.
Banjos, Buying a Banjo
To hear some, you would think you need at least a 4 figure price tag on
a banjo before it'll do you any good. And an openback, if you please
(assuming it's a clawhammer advocate talking). Well, a beginning banjo
needs
to play decently (action not too high, frets not too worn, nut at a
decent height etc.) and it needs to sound good enough to the person
playing (and to their wife or husband, they have to put up with your
learning on it!)
that they'll keep going. A hundred bucks for a used Kay or Harmony
might do it (though probably best to have someone who knows something
about instruments check it out. Sometimes a little set-up will do
wonders, sometimes they're fine as is. Sometimes they'll be a
frustrating waste of time). Or, maybe a little more for a lower-end
Deering or whatever (and watch out too for new instruments in shops
that don't deal much with banjos. I've seen some potentially decent
instruments in shops that were unplayable, heads too slack, bridges in
the wrong place...). Not that there's anything wrong with having an
expensive, quality instrument - they can be a real joy - my point is
simpy that they're not a necessity. Does it have to be an openback for
clawhammer?
Nope. Two words, Wade
Ward.
Tunes and "Basic" Tunes
Take versions of Old Joe Clark from Hobart Smith, Wade Ward, Marcus
Martin and Luther Strong. There's an underlying structure that can be
recognized as a basic Old Joe Clark, but that's not the tune. It's what
an individual does that makes it the tune
and a work of art. A human being is made up of a skeleton, flesh,
élan
vital and so on. Skeletons can be found in classrooms, and have their
place there, but you don't mistake them for human beings. Any tune
worth its salt is a cohesive melody, not a series of chord changes and
not a series of riffs or licks. Avoid clichés. Keep an ear
out for what
makes a tune sound great to YOU and do THAT. Physics has explanations
for why various notes work with others to sound
harmonious, but if a bunch of random frequencies get played in the
woods and there's no one there to hear them (and even less to create
them),
is
it music?
Electronic Tuners and
Tuning
Tuning when you're starting out can be a nightmare. I got an electronic
tuner after years of playing and was very
happy to have it. Especially
when you're playing with a band, they're a godsend. However, unless you
get a fancy one that you can change the temperament on, it'll put you
in even temperament (temperaments
are a study in themselves, according to Merriam-Webster's dictionnary:
"the slight modification of acoustically pure intervals in tuning a
musical instrument; especially : modification that produces a set of 12
equally spaced tones to the octave". For more in-depth information: link). Even temperament isn't what
old fiddlers and fretless banjo players (and singers,
flute players, pipers etc.) tuned to and played in. This is not the
most
important part of playing, so don't get hung up on it, but a fine point
that makes a difference. If you're playing by yourself or just with a
fiddler, and especially if you've got a fretless, ditch the tuner.
Listen to lots of old recordings and use your ear. I usually start by
tuning the 3rd string to whatever pitch (by ear to match a recording,
or a fiddler, or to a tuner if I want the banjo at standard pitch),
then tune the 4th string to it. Then I tune the 2nd to the 4th by
playing the two of them open, then the 1st to the 4th or 3rd, again
open. Then the 5th to the open 1st or 3rd. Then I check them against
each other (the 5th to the 3rd, the 1st to the 3rd and so on). On a
fretted banjo I find a compromise between the open and fretted strings,
for example in gDGBD, check the open 2nd against the 3rd open and at
the fourth fret. In gCGCD, check the open 1st against the open 3rd,
then check the 1st fretted at the second fret against the open 3rd -
adjust to taste.
Speed
Speed
is a subject that seems to come up often when talking about banjo (and
fiddle)
playing. Along with a muted tone, a slow tempo is one of the
characteristics of a lot of modern banjo playing I hear. Personally, I
think it's a question of taste - and I like my music fast. Most of the
time - sometimes slow is all right. I've heard it said that as
this music
was primarily dance music that it wouldn't have been played fast. Some
of it was dance music and some not, and there are fast and slow dances.
I recall once playing 'The Red Haired Boy' with Casey Abair for some
cloggers - I had to drop out to catch my breath but the dancers thought
it was just right. Of course, if you're not playing for dancers it's a
moot point. Most of the older players that I listen to
did a
lot of uptempo stuff: Hobart Smith, William Stepp, Eck Robertson, Elmo
Newcomer, L.O. Weeks, Luther Strong, Tommy Jarrell and Fred Cockerham
are some examples.
Clawhammer
Instructional Books
Some of the banjo
instruction books that I've had
and would recommend:
- John Burke's Book of Old Time Fiddle Tune for
Banjo
(out of print and going for too much money but worth getting ahold of
if you can).
- Art Rosenbaum's Old
Time Mountain
Banjo (also out of print! Also expensive, also worth
getting...)
- Art Rosenbaum's Art
of the
Mountain Banjo - hallelujah, it is in print and has an
excellent album that accompanies it.
- Brad Leftwich's Round
Peak Style
Clawhammer Banjo. Great for, yes, Round Peak style banjo -
comes
with a CD.
- Pete Seeger's How To
Play The
5-string Banjo - covers a wide spectrum of possibilities
on the
banjo.
- Ken Perlman's Clawhammer
Style Banjo - gets into all kinds of fancy stuff.
All
of these books have, in addition to the tabs, a wealth of information
about players and tunes, and the background data that binds it all
together. There are a lot of books and videos by good players that I
haven't seen
so can't comment on but which in all likelihood are good, things by
Mike Seeger or Dan Levenson for example.
Online
Resources
There's an awful lot
of
instructional stuff online, some of it horrendous and some of it very
good (this definitely includes Youtube).
Free instructional material which has some good stuff to offer:
Whew! There's a lot of good recordings of old-time music to listen to.
Here are some players and albums worth looking up (I'm too lazy to go
looking for
links
for them all).
Banjo:
County
Sales Clawhammer Volumes 1, 2 and 3. Hobart Smith (Blue Ridge Legacy,
Folk-Legacy album and In Sacred Trust), Wade Ward, Frank Proffitt,
Buell Kazee, Roscoe Holcomb, Fred Cockerham, Clarence Tross, John
Snipes, Virgil Anderson, Dan Gellert, Nathan Frazier, Dink Roberts, Art
Rosenbaum, Doc Boggs.
Fiddle:
Edden
Hammons, Luther Strong, John Salyer, Elmo Newcomer, William Stepp,
Tommy Jarrell, Hiram Stamper, Marcus Martin, Uncle Bunt Stephens, Clyde
Davenport, Bruce Greene, Frank Patterson, Fiddlin' Powers.
Singing
and other: Texas Gladden, the Beech Mountain albums from
Folk-Legacy, the two CDs from the Warners - Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still
& Nothing Seems
Better to Me, I.D. Stamper, Kilby Snow, online
collections from the Lomaxs and John Quincy Wolf, Alfred Karnes.
Fretted
to Partially Fretless Banjo
A while back I wanted
a
fretless banjo, but on the cheap. So I got something for about a
hundred bucks off of Ebay and read up on what others have done
(my main source of information being Don Borchelt - see his write-up).
Here's how I defretted it up to the 7th fret and installed a sheet of
copper to make it partially fretless.
Took the cheap banjo and heated the frets with a
soldering
iron (frets 1-7, could also only do it up to fret 5 like Don
but I
thought it would be good to have it continuously fretless until the 7th
as that's my usual range on the banjo) and worked them out with a pair
of front-cutting nippers. The heating helps the frets come out
with less damage to the fretboard.
Sanded the defretted part of the fretboard flat (not
that much
was needed).
Got a piece of copper (you could also use brass or
formica
or whatever) the same thickness as the height of the frets (if it's
lower you'll have trouble, higher would work I guess but you'd have to
raise the nut. If they're the same height then the nut can probably
stay the same). Traced the shape
of the
neck onto it and cut it out roughly. Fit it to the neck, checking it as
I worked. Filed and sanded the 8th fret end to a knife edge so that the
8th fret was still usable. Flattened it by burnishing on a flat surface
with a heavy smooth piece of metal (get it very flat). Went over its
back surface lightly with sandpaper to give some tooth.
Degreased the copper and the fretboard (watching the
finish on
the neck).
Glued it onto the fingerboard. I used a spray contact
cement made
for cabinet work - you have to be careful when you place the copper
because there's no second chance. Epoxy would be good too. I taped the
neck to avoid mess before spraying it.
Checked the edges and burnished it down.
Filled the fret-slot edges with wood putty mixed with
acrylic
paint to match the neck's finish.
After
a year or so some buzzing bugged me enough that I worked over the
entire thing (copper and frets) with sandpaper stuck to a spirit level
with double-sided tape, working up from 320 grit or so to 600. I had
burnished the copper pretty flat before gluing it but there were some
surprising high and low points.
Voila - partially fretless banjo! You can see the result in some of the
videos, above. I liked it so much it's become my main banjo. Good luck.
Another
banjo I filed all the frets off: I took the neck off and then the nut
and 5th string screw. Then with a big file, probably 1 1/2" by 12" (I
glue gunned a chuck of wood to one side as a handle) hogged the frets
off! I was a little worried about it digging into the fretboard, but
working all up and down the neck, and keeping the file pretty level,
once I got down to the wood it kind of glided over it (being careful of
course). I kept going until most of the burrs from the fretwire were
gone – they kind of mushroom over leaving little flanges on either
side. Then I used 2-sided tape to attach sandpaper to a spirit level,
the only long flat thing I had. Not sure what grit I started with,
probably 280 or 320. And worked up to 600. Then steelwool and a little
lemon oil. I must have had to lower the nut some, I don't recall now.
Tin Can Banjo
Here's
a tin can banjo I made around 2000-2001 from a Greek/Danish cookie tin.
The neck is made out of an old beech bed frame that was lying around. I
based the
sigmoid head on the drawing of Joel Sweeney's banjo in Pete
Seeger's How to Play
the 5 String Banjo.
The stringing is a little irregular. I didn't have any real banjo
tuners but I did have a bunch of 5th string friction pegs from
Stewart-McDonald, so this was the solution - it works, although a
little hard to tune. Fine tuners would be useful. I also tune it low as
the keys get pretty stiff at "concert" pitch, with the strings bending
around through the hole in the head. I left the back on as it sounds
better; it also helps solidify the whole thing - I've painted it black
since.
