Thanks so much for this! I've been playing clawhammer for about a year and was feeling pretty stuck in my style until I stumbled on this and your website. Super helpful stuff.
Thanks Aaron for, as ever, an extremely erudite, straightforward and informative explanation. It has relieved me of the 'banjo guilt' of having to clawhammer my way to banjo heaven! There is another way of playing!!!
I gave your video a thumbs up right away cause you did things the correct way to demonstrate the style first….then explain & show how to do it second. So many other videos here on RU-vid where folks drone on for 10 minutes and never demonstrate what they are trying to explain. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! 👍👏⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hello Aaron - no comments for this great two finger style lesson for awhile so I wanted to thank you again for getting me started on a style that is MUCH easier then even claw hammer! Please keep up the good work..
Very helpful for someone just starting out. I'm trying out claw hammer but as a guitarist is a pretty alien concept. 😬. Two finger is beginning to look like the way forward for me. Thank you. 👍🏻
thanks Aaron Good work I have been trying to play clawhammer for nearly a year I jus cant get the bunditty rhythm right i am now going to follow your two finger old style lets hope it now falls into place easier cheers John
Thanks Aaron I am interested in learning banjo and just starting to research the different styles . This is particularly helpful as when I go in to buy my banjo I do want to have some idea of what I want and what style I want to learn . This has been already an amazing journey . I had no idea that there were so many different styles and also types of banjo's to choose from . Currently brushing up my very old guitar and ukulele skills. Probably go for banjo next year which isn't far away . Time to stretch the 70 year old grey matter . Godbless Pat nz
i was watching a few videos on StringBean and ended up on yours.. i will say after watching your video you have just pushed me over the edge to get a banjo now.. looks pretty easy to at least get a tune going.. thanks ! subscribed and cant wait to find a banjo.. any hints on what i should look at getting for my first one !
Hi Aaron, I’m trying to learn clawhammer but I seem to be stuck where I can’t think of my left hand without going awry with the bum diddy rhythm. Your two finger lesson has inspired me to try it your way. Thanks!
Aaron, thanks for this video. Would you/could you please tab out and make a video of scales and finger exercises for left hand in two finger thumb lead please? I wonder if having a better left hand(fretting hand) would be something to incorporate after watching THIS video and being able to go to a hand exercise video/tab in between learning different songs or as part of warm up before actual practice time? THANK YOU FROM BROWN DEER, WI.
I lost my 5th string during the corona, couldn't get one, still don't have one so I started using thumb lead and using my index or middle finger in the 1st and 2nd. But I don't use a thumb pick and I still go down with my index and middle ( I alternate) I don't know if it's a certain style or not it's just what I do and its more comfortable I found out than boom dittty or your blue grass old time hybrid
+dapdapbamban Try a national thumbpick and metal or plastic finger picks. I like Alaska brand picks because they allow me to pick up and strum down with my fingers.
HI Aaron, I play delta blues on guitar, but have always wanted to learn clawhammer banjo. Was wondering what make the banjo is you're playing here. I've been looking for a vintage 5 string, but I was wondering if you have an opinion about swapping to nylon strings vs steel. I like the warmer sound vs the tinny sound of steel. Thanks!
I made the banjo in this clip. Learn more here thebeansprout.com. I like nylon strings on banjos for sure. You might need to widen the string slots to fit them.
I am fascinated with this but; I can't find and cd's, full class video's or book. RATS! Do you know of any. I'm currently learning clawhammer but; I'm also drawn to this 2 finger method.
Good question. Sometimes I play the melody up there and still use first and fourth as a drone. But, most players just arrange the melody so it’s always on the 2-4 strings.
I am just learning banjo and coming from blues guitar background, so I am naturally drawn to this style. I have to ask why the picks? I prefer the sound without the loud scruggs like sound of finger picks, but I am biased as I have never used fingerpicks. I am wondering if the old players of this style used picks and how you feel on this topic? Without the picks, so much more potential to "work" the strings, from soft and brushing to all out "snapping" and everything in between, with the picks it seems to lock into the same sound and lose the subtle options to work the tones?? Thanks for you help and videos!
Some original players used picks and some didn't. This style is old enough that people did whatever they felt like. Yankees like me came later and wrote books, made rules and tried to fix a system in place. I prefer picks but I know many people who don't.
I'm a banjo player, and the more I get to love and play this instrument the more I believe there are no rules to technique, it is truly universal, the reason behind it's charm and appeal. Playing live I also use flat pick and fingers which work well on open back banjos, not resonator. The only rule that MUST be applied is that the banjo is always bang on in tune and played with the due respect it demands, and the tunes it accompanies. It is not as some would have believe a 'joke' instrument. Speaking also as a guitarist, thumb picks give the balance, volume, tone and articulation the fleshy part of the thumb cannot, particularly for picking melody. Personally would recommend thumb picks, except of course for frailing.
