Banjo Playing

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.)


Instructional Videos (right below)  -  Random Thoughts  -  Clawhammer Instruction Books  -  Online Resources  -  Good Listening  -  Fretted to Partially Fretless Banjo  -  Tin Can Banjo
(click on any of those links to drop to that section of this page, or scroll on down...)

First, the videos.

A clawhammer banjo lesson on Bonaparte's Retreat, as William H. Stepp played it in 1937 for Alan Lomax. Listen to Stepp's recording on Youtube.

The banjo is tuned gCGCD. The "fret" positions (as the banjo is fretless) used are: 4th string - 0, 2, 4, 5, 7. 3rd string - 0, 2. 2nd string - 0. 1st string - 0, 2, 3, 5.

Not very clear in the video, the opening notes for the A part are: 1) Strike the open 3rd string, hammer-on to the second fret. 2) Strike the open 2nd string, then strike the 2nd string again. 3) Without restriking the 3rd string, hammer-on to it and then pull-off, rapidly. 4) Strike the 2nd string one last time. (All strikes with the index or middle finger.)

If you want to play it out of gCGCC, play the C part like the B part, but on the 1st string.

Stepp's recording was the basis for a section of Copeland's Rodeo. See Andrew Kuntz's Fiddler's Companion for more information on the tune.
A clawhammer banjo lesson/demonstration on the tune Tater Patch. Tuning: gDGBD (tune or capo up to A to play with a fiddler). Played on my fretless Harmony ResoTone.

From a recording of Charlie Lowe available on County Sales' Clawhammer Banjo Vol. 3. The tune seems to originate with Ike Leonard - see Andrew Kuntz's The Fiddlers Companion for more background information.

This isn't exactly how Lowe played it, but not too far off. There is a tab available in Brad Leftwich's book Round Peak Style Clawhammer Banjo.

This tune as well as some of the others here are available on my recordings, see "Music".
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.

Tuning: eCGCC
"Fretting":
4th string (low string) - 0,4,5
3rd - 0, 4
2nd - 0,4
1st - 0

Here's the recording by Shelton from Juneberry78s:
http://www.juneberry78s.com/otmsampler/39%20B.F.%20Shelton%20-%20Darlin'%20Cora.mp3
A further explanation of Darlin' Cora.

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!

Tuning: eCGCC
Fingerings:
4th String (low string) - 0, 4, 5
3rd - 0, 3 (occasional "blue" note), 4
2nd - 0, 4
1st - 0

Here are the random thoughts:

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, lap/leg, cocked thumb/straight thumb... There are a lot of theories about playing 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 (that is, copy them to begin with). Even if what you'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 1968. Buell Kazee was known to catch strings on the upswing with the back of his thumb and Ralph Stanley catches some notes with his index on the upswing. Both are currently under investigation by The Council Of The Elders of Old-Time.

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. Often. Sometimes slow is fine too. I've heard people say that as this music was primarily dance music that it wouldn't have been played fast. Well, 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. Most of the older players that I listen to do 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:

- Tony Spadaro aka Old Woodchuck's Rocket Science Banjo - http://www.rocketsciencebanjo.com/
- Videos from Tom Collins, aka FretlessFury.
- Cathy Moore's Banjo Meets World - http://banjomeetsworld.wordpress.com/
- Mike Iverson's Clawhammer Banjo Tablature & Instruction - http://www.bluesageband.com/Tabs.html
- Donald Zepp's ClearHead™ Instructional Videos - http://www.zeppmusic.com/frameset.htm

Information and resources:

- Banjo Tunings (more banjo tunings than you can shake a stick at. Very useful if you're looking for what tuning a particular player used for a tune): http://www.zeppmusic.com/banjo/aktuning.htm
- Background information on tunes - Andrew Kuntz's Fiddler's Companion: http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/FCfiles.html

Good Listening

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.
  1. 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.
  2. Sanded the defretted part of the fretboard flat (not that much was needed).
  3. 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). 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.
  4. Degreased the copper and the fretboard (watching the finish on the neck).
  5. 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.
  6. Checked the edges and burnished it down.
  7. Filled the fret-slot edges with wood putty mixed with acrylic paint to match the neck's finish.
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.

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.

You can hear a rough mp3 of it here: D is for Dishabille. There's a picture of another tin can instrument I made, the opus, and a recording of it on the Sings Songs for the Masses page.


Tin Can Banjo Tin Can Banjo Tin Can Banjo Tin Can Banjo Tin Can Banjo

©2002-2010 Hunter Robertson - www.hunterrobertson.com