You are such an inspiration to me. I found you through Madison Cunningham and I just adore your flat picking. I had no idea I loved flat picking and bluegrass until I heard you. I only played jazz and classical piano at Berklee so my exposure to other styles was super limited. I play guitar now and I just wanted to thank you for being such an inspiration and sharing your talent. All the best to you!!!!!
Great breakdown, Tony. This technique is fascinating and sounds amazing. I’m an “older learner” and appreciate your time helping folks like me. Big love from Scotland 🏴
“ This technique will take some time to get used to, and I don’t expect you to *nail* it right now.” …😆 True. It took me a few weeks of playing it daily til it started to feel comfortable. Coming back after about 6 months away, the technique came back quick and feels natural, but consistently hitting those single notes on the middle strings is still a challenge. Love clawhammer and really appreciate Molly Tuttle bringing the teaching of it back around to the web the past few years. Thanks much for this lesson. Good to refresh and get a new perspective on teaching the technique.
I LOVED the lesson on clawhammer guitar. I already know clawhammer style on banjo (I am just beginning) and this was easier to catch because of it. I would like to see more practical lessons as part of the show. Thanks Tony for an excellent show. I try to watch/listen every week!
A few years back (at age 65) I decided to learn Scruggs style 3 ginger bluegrass banjo, not to be just a guitar picker. Well, no one is ever gonna confuse my banjo pickin' with any real bluegrass banjo pickers. But a really amazing thing happened. My finger picking style on guitar became much, much more precise. Instead of glancing off of 2 or 3 strings in "mini-strums", I started picking notes precisely and, I could change picking patterns within a song, even within a chord to better fit melody notes into the picking pattern - as you must do on a banjo. Clawhammer style is kinda like that, too. You may not get it quite exactly right - but the learning process just might teach you something to roll into you own style. Anyway, it was fun learning something new --- you know --- old dogs - new tricks - etc.
Tony, I too started out via a string change, to find your program. I love the diversity of your program, pretty much any instrument that has strings is explored. I learn new techniques, such as clawhammer this episode. This will now be my new challenge, and I'm embracing it!! I like the fact that I find new artists (I now own two Elizabeth Cotten CD's) and styles; it shows me how much further my journey needs to go. But as you said in a past episode, it doesn't matter how far you get or quickly you progress, as long as you are having fun doing it ... and that I am. I am now a huge Acoustic Tuesday fan! PS - I love hockey, keep wearing the jerseys.
Played rock for decades and always admired banjo's right hand. It's so quick but calm and hard to see what's happening. Gotta say back when guitars were strumming and crooning banjo's were ripping it up.
great episode wish i had grown up in the states sometimes to learn the various styles as growing up in Liverpool uk it was really only chords an blues sclaes and rock or that you tube was around 20/30 years ago i would be amazing by now haha
As usual another great Acoustic Tuesday. When I moved to Mineral Bluff about 7 years ago I had the good fortune to meet a great group of players that all play old time music. Prior to meeting these fine folks I would have thought old time music had something to do with Bob Seger. They play claw hammer style banjo, guitar ukulele, mandolin and one of them even plays the saw and fiddle. They are all welcoming and never make me feel like I don't belong but I still feel like a bit of an outsider because they play a style I never knew existed before meeting them. Old style is so different from the blues, folk and rock this old hippie grew up on but it is so much fun. Thanks for the great explanation of claw hammer, with a bit of daily practice hopefully I will be able to surprise them the next time we get together.
You're doing God's work, bud. I'm not even religious. I'm a huge Molly fan and have practiced a bit of clawhammer guitar from Steve Baughman's lesson book. I've seen your videos over the years. You are among the very best to use the RU-vid medium for the betterment of society and genuinely, at that. Thank you.
I was first introduced to Acoustic Tuesday in the episode of cheap blues guitar. I learned about recording king and gretsch Jim dandy! A few eps later I was introduced to Molly Tuttle and Charlie Hicks! Then to a quite set of female artists, Celtic musicians, mariachi's, some new guitar brands, types of wood, bracings and now I arrive home from work (it's a lot later in Portugal) detune my guitar to D and started training clawhamner! Can I give this episode/channel 5 thumbs up?
Another great show today. If i had to pick a favorite clawhammer player, i love how Wille Watson plays clawhammer. Hes not a strictly clawhammer player, but when he does play in that style, its magical.
The hardest part is not getting stuck with the thumb between strings. Picking the string with the thumbnail is one thing but landing on the string and plucking it afterwards without getting stuck or even get into the space on the string underneath the upper string - damn that’s though. Especially not shaving off the skin of the other fingers with the higher strings.
Probably the best instruction video for a guitar that I have seen. Coming from the 5 string banjo this really resonates with me along with some of the patterns I have brought over from the banjo. Good Job!
This was such a great episode. Love the lesson on how to play clawhammer and how to adapt it for guitar. The only problem with this show is that it makes me drool like a fool over the guitars you feature. The GAS is real.
I tried & tried to learn clawhammer the way described in this video, but I could never get it & it was very frustrating. I ran across a video by Jim Pankey and he described the right-hand motion as in & out (in reference to the surface of the instrument or strings), rather than up-and-down. This made sense to me & I was able to start picking it up after that. He said in his video that the motion is similar to knocking on a door & that the "old-timers" would sometimes call the style "knocking" or "rapping".
Funny timing. Just saw an interview with Molly this morning where she was asked about her clawhammer technique and she said, “I don’t really play clawhammer.”
Thank you very much for this tutorial, very helpful! It is not very known for the moment here in France for the guitar. But I am sure that it will be soon! 😋
Thanks for demystifying the clawhammer style. I was working on it awhile back and couldn't get it. Now I got it... I just need to "A-TAC IT" a little more...Thanks again :)
Thanks Tony,I love your show,I have been in a guitar rut.but I know I will snap out of it soon.i bought the Robert Johnson biography,and I love the book,alot.a beautiful book.but I want to know who Elizabeth cotton is😂💡😁,getting myself in order and I will return to my guitar routen.i love the Australian guitars,stunning thanks tony.the crabhammer class was great.i love Molly Tuttle,she is wonderful.and I new of her because of you.you are a great teacher.i hope you,emerson,and your wife are well,thank you alot.😁💡👍🤑☕
Thank you for the introduction to Clawhammer. I can't express how much I enjoyed the episode. Are there any instruction books or online resources on Clawhammer that you would recommend? Is this a technique that originated in the United States?
Nice one Tony I liked this episode a lot and am looking forward to the next one. I watched it in my dinner time at work now my fingers are itching to try clawhammering! Don’t think it will sound like molly tuttle when I unleash them tho, she’s such an inspiring player. 👍
Another fantastic show Tony! Another vain in the rabbit hole I see. clawhammer, Can we get to the lesson with in TAC? Not that I don't want to watch the show again. Its easy that way. Thanks Tony your the Best!
Check out Gene Hansen "Ainesis" guitars in Traverse City Mich. Awesome electrics and accoustics, he spends a lot of time making them. Stop in at T.C. Guitars down town on Front St. You will not be disappointed !
Hey Tony. Don’t know if you have ever featured him on the show but wanted to let you know about Dave Beegle. He is awesome! Didn’t know if you’ve ever heard of him but he’s great! Thanks for everything Tony!
Hi Tony, Just wanted to recommend to you a guitar player that I’ve known about for a few years. She’s an Australian that goes by Minnie Marks. She’s got a bluesy style to her playing and has an incredible singing style that really compliments her playing. I’d recommend her song Voodoo and Honey to get you started but she has a really cool catalog of songs. Check her out and let me know what you think - I think you’d really like her. Jeff
I've been playing traditional banjo including "clawhammer" or overhand style banjo for years and never heard anyone do it on guitar before. You see something new everyday I suppose. Sounds good though.
Tony, aren't some TAC members intermediate players playing for fun, and looking to add some more advanced techniques into their playing, such as percussive strumming, better fingerstyle , and using alternate tuning regularly to play songs? You salute often TAC people who need your so-called "butterfly effect". . As for other players, what's Neil Young acoustic all about...it's alternate tunings, percussive, rhythmic, but not typical fingerstyle.....
Looking to add claw hammer to my repertoire of right hand technique thank you very much also looking for mentorship getting my RU-vid channel off the ground what is your best advice I’m finding RU-vid mentorship? How do I personally contactRU-vidrs?
