Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

My first clawhammer attempt

#1

I’ve never had a desire to learn clawhammer, but my friend Paul Quiggins made me a deal on a beautiful Wildwood Troubadour open back banjo I couldn’t pass up, so here I am seeing if I can do this gorgeous banjo justice. This recording is more for marking my beginning of what may or may not become a journey. This is after about an hour of practice in this style.

I gotta say, if I give up, it’s going to be because of feeling like a complete newb sitting behind a banjo. It’s a really weird feeling. I kept having to stop myself from grabbing my picks. :laughing:

https://youtu.be/xYphXrd2-4I

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#2

If anyone is interested, I found this series of lessons extremely helpful to get started. I’ve only gotten through the first 8 so far, but to be fair, Jim does say he wants you to practice these 1 minute lessons for longer than a minute. :stuck_out_tongue:

#3

Really nice start, Mark. I noticed that you use your middle finger—I do as well. At this point you may want to try out your pointer finger too. One of the two will prove to be more natural than the other.

I found that Lucas Poole does a nice job on YouTube (here’s his starting lesson: https://youtu.be/6FbtT-UoAmI?si=t8Nc19Zw8v4Ai845). He highlights that the right hand needs to become a relaxed and natural movement without having to think about it. Songs can wait until after that movement feels comfortable.

Also, look up Dave Dillard’s Nashville Banjo Company site and you’ll find several lessons he does on a regular basis (every couple months). They are really fun and always free of charge. If you have trouble finding them, let me know.

Good luck with the journey. I find Clawhammer to be a very relaxing endeavor.

Take care,
Jeff

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#4

Thanks, Jeff! Yeah, I opted for the middle finger because it feels relaxed in a curled position. For some reason, my index finger feels stiff when I curl it under, and as you can probably see in the video, it tends to straighten out as I’m playing.

Thanks for those links! I actually started searching Youtube for videos of Dave, but none of the ones I found were of him teaching a lesson. Do you know where on Dave’s site I can find the lessons you mentioned? I just took a browse around nashvillebanjos.com and couldn’t find anything that looked like lessons.

I’ll definitely check out Lucas Poole. Thanks again!

#5

Great job @Mark_Rocka

I have tried to play clawhammer but I can’t quiet get any volume out of the melody notes and that really frustrates me. I have really short thin nails. I even bought this old Whirle banjo with enclosed filth string.

whilrle

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#6

Thanks Archie! My nails are really short, too. I have one of those reverse picks some people use for clawhammer, but I found it to be cumbersome, so I’m just making do.

It’s such a weird feeling to feel like a beginner on banjo!

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#7

I don’t think I have tried to play clawhammer style since I got out of hospital. I moved bedrooms because of my condition and my old bedroom has become a storage locker for my daughters things. Some of my banjos are buried under boxes and I don’t feel fit enough to move them.

#8

Well than I can name a certain daughter that needs to come over and move some things. Cutting off a man from his banjos is grounds for getting cut out of the will. :wink:

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#9

I am blessed with two daughters and both are guilty of said misdemeanour. But they are way too special to be cut from my will not that I have a lot to leave to them. But I have told them my Stelling does retain some value and should be found a good home.

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#10

Try this link, Mark: https://nashvillebanjos.com/clawhammer-live/

The password is CLAW.

These are all free lessons, so I don’t think Dave will mind my handing out the link. Just go ahead and sign up on the mailing list to sign up for the next one. You’d get this link after attending one anyway.

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#11

And Mark, I use the cling pro frailing picks when I break my clawhammer nail. You can order them here: https://www.clingpropicks.com/store/frailing-pick. I use the brass colored ones. They simulate the nail pretty well—but they can make the sound pretty loud compared to my nail—which is only a negative for my wife. :blush:

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#12

And one last reply… Dave will be teaching clawhammer at Ben’s banjo camp in Texas next month. There are likely still spots available.

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#13

I’m already planning to be there. :slight_smile:

My problem is that there’s so many good teachers slated for the event, I’m not going to know where to go.

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#14

You’ll have it down in about 3 more hours :joy:

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#15

There are some fellow frailers on this thread, so I wanted to re-post a question I recently asked under the Banjo category. Here it is…

I have always heard that block rims are superior, but also more expensive. To date, the best banjo I have ever owned or played was the Enoch Tradesman with a 12" rim. No tone ring, and the rim was multi-ply (9 plies I think). Even so, the sound was beautiful and it held its tune over time with no major adjustments.

A close second is the Deering Vega Old Time Wonder (12"), which has a 3-ply maple rim. This is what I play most often now. It has a lovely chimey tone and resonance is incredible.

Someday, I would like to own a 13" open back for the deeper, darker tone, but these are difficult to find. Dave Dillard makes one ( block rim) but $4-$5K is a bit too rich for my blood.

  1. Starr Banjos offers a 13" multi-ply rim that sounds very nice and is much less expensive. Does anyone have experience with Starr? I hear these are handmade by the head of OME, so I imagine they’re high quality.

  2. Back to the question. Is there any real reason to avoid multi-ply rims in general? As I said, my Enoch Tradesman was extraordinary and it was multi-ply.

  3. And is there any difference between “laminate” rims and multi-ply rims? Another fine sounding banjo, a minstrel model, is made by Gardiner Dulcimers, but I’ve always been hesitant to buy anything with ‘laminate’ in the description.

Chad