mikelz777
Well-known member
I haven't had a serious go at clawhammer yet but I think I'll go into it trying to learn the downstroke(s) approach and see how that goes. If that gives me too much trouble I'll try it the other way.
I haven't had a serious go at clawhammer yet but I think I'll go into it trying to learn the downstroke(s) approach and see how that goes. If that gives me too much trouble I'll try it the other way.
all this talk of ruined nails has me wondering "what the heck are you guys doing?" When I clawhammer, on the downstroke the string contacts my nail somewhere around its center. Are you guys using the tips of your fingernail?
I play clawhammer banjo, and use my nail on the downstroke for the "bum" of the "bum ditty." For me, it's actually more convenient, because I'm just repeating the same motion twice, and adding the thumb the second time. In other words, the stroke is down, down (thumb). I can switch it to down (thumb), down (thumb); down (thumb), down; or other ocmbinations, and can syncopate downstrokes easier.
Pete Seeger played with an upstroke, and teaches that way in his book. Ultimately, there are more ways to play the banjo than there are banjo players, and each of us have our reasons for playing the way we do. I've done a bit of clawhammer on the uke, and in an open tuning, my technique works quite well. For standard tuning, I'd probably go with something like thumb lead, because my second downstroke is usually a brush, and if the open strings don't match the chord I'd like to be playing, that won't sound good.
It seems like I've been working on clawhammer off and on for years and I can not get a clean note from that downstroke for the first note bum. I do not know what I'm doing wrong, and I have watched more videos than I can count.