CeeJay mentioned Pete's "
basic strum". (That's what he called it in his old red banjo book,
How To Play The Five String Banjo) This is usually called "
up picking". It is like
clawhammer, except that where you play with the back of your nail in
clawhammer, in
up-picking you pluck the string with your index. Tablatures for
up-picking and
clawhammer are interchangeable, since anything you do with one you can also do with the other. There is a bit different sound.
Although some folks call
up-picking,
Pete Seeger style, Pete used a variety of banjo styles. His TV show,
Rainbow Quest, always began with Pete playing a
clawhammer, or
down-picking version of the theme song. He also did a great
clawhammer version of
Little Birdie.
I would also advise anyone interested in banjo to take a look at the
www.banjohangout.org. I have learned a lot about banjo from this site. It is the best banjo site I have ever come across.
PS - CeeJay, Can I assume that you are a John Hartford fan? John often referred to the banjo as a "banjer".