Jim I never thought I would get the hang of old time frailing but after watching your videos over and over and over and practicing I have gotten this song down. Please add more videos of this style. You are a national treasure Jim!
It's my hope that you'll take the ideas I presented here and arrange any tune you want to play. I do have other clawhammer videos... here's a playlist: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-NqUYXbq7yWc.html
Hi Jim. I am an eight two-year-old man and have been playing Western & Chinese music all my life. I bought the banjo over 30 years ago and hope to be able to play bluegrass music some day. So just recently I've come across your lessons in RU-vid and they look easy enough to learn. I have the determination to learn how to play it. I am glad that all my fingers are still flexible. I will let you know how I will do in a few months. Thank you so much for all your lessons and many different tunes.
Jim, I have been playing bluegrass banjo for many years and always avoided clawhammer even though I enjoy that style very much. This is a great tutorial that should get me started. Thanks for that!
I'm finding out that one of the tricks of getting a melody note from those inside strings is by getting your finger out of the way of the vibrating string immediately after you hit it. On the D (or first) string, you don't have to worry about it because there's no string in front of it.
Hi Jim. I've been playing campfire guitar for a few years but this is my first foray into the wonderful world of banjo. Decided to learn frailing style as it is so different to my normal Travis Picking guitar playing. Have been doing half an hr every day for 3 weeks and have now got Cripple Creek off satisfactorily (although only at a steady pace). Very many thanks for your wonderful lessons from a 72 year old Brit here in the UK.
Hey Jim, I'm brand new to the banjo (bought a Deering Goodtime a couple of days ago) and have been browsing RU-vid videos. Your approach is very clear and easy to follow. Keep up the great work!
hey Jim loving this and the back up banjo lessons. its fun branching out from the straight up pickin'. Thank you for your wealth of knowledge and great teaching method. immense gratitude
Heya Jim...I pulled my banjo out of it's case Jan 2023 after about 40-42 yrs. I am taking lessons in bluegrass pickin', as we all do...but I have been looking for old time frailing and so glad I found your site. I fell in love with frailing back in 76 when my mentor in northern Utah first started teaching me banjo. I was pleasantly surprised to finally find someone who frails not just "claw hammer"...tho it's all good. (and yeah...a few years after the fact here) lol I was also happy to see I was doing most things correctly after so long a lay off. Your thumb moving off the 5th string was something I truly delighted in learning and I hope to incorporate into other songs I frail. Thanks for the larnin', now, y'hear? (o:
Awesome lesson. I really appreciate it. I've been a 3 finger Skruggs style picker my whole life and struggled with clawhammer style but now I am starting to get it.
Hi Jim, thank you so much for your videos! I had the hardest time wrapping my mind around frailing, but this video in particular (playing a song I already knew from your 10 lessons) just made it click. I really hope you make more of these! In the mean time, I made a spiritual successor to this video: You Are My Sunshine - Walk Through and Demo - Clawhammer Banjo ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-a8kZU0jeg4c.html You Are My Sunshine was the first tune I learned to play after your 10 intro lessons, so it only seemed fitting that I figure it out here :)
I like bluegrass style but I really want to play clawhammer. Just realized you have some clawhammer training videos too! Thats going to make my experience a LOT better
Hi Jim, very very simple and clear, this video, for understand the clawhammer or frailing style. Happy New Year for you and Family, from Argentina, Big Hug, and God Bless You, Jim, JL.(sorry my bad english).
Hi Jim! Thank you so much for this. After a few weeks of experimentation, I find that the movement feels most natural and the sound seems most pleasant when the thing actually doing the striking is my cuticle instead of my nail proper. The little ridge of tough skin seems perfectly positioned to avoid unintentional string touching, and has just the right firmness to make the string ring very pleasantly. However, everything I find on the Internet seems to talk about trimming the cuticle away as much as possible. Is using it considered "bad" for some reason that I as a beginner am not yet familiar with?
@@JimPankey my wife informs me, amid chuckles and vague comments questioning my intelligence, that I do not in fact know what a cuticle is. I meant the "corner" of the fingertip on either side of the nail, right where the curve of the nail meets the straight part. In any case I assume your answer will be the same: if you were willing to accept me playing with what I now know to be a cuticle, I imagine what I'm actually playing with is just fine too. Thanks again!
Awesome video Jim. Currently a guitar player looking to get better at the banjo. Alot of habits to break and re-learn on a tottaly different instrument. do you use your thumb for ONLY the high g or can you use it for the low d string as well? or is it best to use the sweeping method to just play all four strings. Or do you trry to use the thumb to play the root notes?
Once you get beyond the basics I find that the thumb can be used anywhere for whatever note needed wherever it's appropriate for the thumb to play it. But clawhammer has its own set of techniques that need to be learned and mastered before just throwing it all away for something "more comfortable" based on a previous instrument.
I cant seem to get the volume from the inside strings? The bottom string is fine but i cant seem to come straight down and get any volume on the inside strings seems like i get more if i kinda flick at it.
It's just one of those things you have to work at. Attack at different angles until you get the sound you want... Flicking will just hurt you in the long run.
