“The Wellerman” - Free Intermediate Clawhammer Banjo Lesson With Tab 

Thanks! Clawhammer’s main technique (the bum-ditty) consists of downstrokes to keep the rhythm and melody moving along. There are a few tricks to achieving off-beat melody notes while still holding the rhythm steady, such as alternate-string pull-offs or hammer-ons, drop-thumb, ditty-bops, etc. I used an alt-string pull-off for the segment in question because of how quickly the next melody note needed sounding after striking the fifth fret in the low D string. While it wouldn’t be impossible to to do a second strike (or even roll into it like a galax-lick), an alt-string pull-off was the best and easiest way I found to consistently achieve the note I needed without breaking stride or trying to throw in another awkward downstroke.