Clawhammer ukulele lesson 1- Aaron Keim

[1zzzzzz11]

love your lesson, clawhammer is a new concept for me. Ill be watching more. A little puzzled though when you say fifth string, are you refering  to the fifth of the of the cord being played?

[ackeim]

@1zzzzzz11 this has been covered below. I say 5th string, but I meant 4th string. It was a verbal typo!

[tintindwarf]

Agreed!  I think the "following through" is what I was missing. Now I'm excited. Thanks dude!

[Josiahjjr]

@ackeim thanks so much! "Following Through" really helped. You're a great teacher.

[Josiahjjr]

Hitting the A string is no problem. But when I try to hit the E string, it doesn't sound. And I've practiced and just can't get it. Any tips?

[ackeim]

@Josiahjjr Yup, the c and e strings take some work! You have to go all the way through the e string and rest on the a. I call it "following through." Otherwise the pad of your finger may be still touching the e string and muting it!

[Rbrockcoble]

my only bit of confusion is that you say that you hit and get the bottom string, strum the chord, then you pluck the top. But it sounds like you're doing it in a different order when you get going

[ackeim]

@Rbrockcoble Sorry- That is the order!

[Rbrockcoble]

Your uke sounds awesome. Do you have a pickup?

[ackeim]

@Rbrockcoble Not in that uke!

[brod2man]

does this work as well on cheaper quality ukes?

when i hit down towards the uke it hardly makes any noise at all

[ackeim]

@brod2man It takes a lot of practice to get a good tone. It also helps to have long and thick fingernails!

[brod2man]

@ackeim i just learnt off another video of the same method. instead of bring ur hand toward the uke to make that first melody note (which i dont really understand) you just pluck the top string. is there anything wrong with that or is it just not traditional

[ackeim]

@brod2man there is never anything wrong with whatever technique you want to use to make music. if you use a pluck or an upstroke, then you are not using the clawhammer technique, but that does not mean you are wrong or making bad music. Keep it up!

[ackeim]

It just is traditional. Play however you want to!

[ianthehenry]

Why is the melody note a downstroke? It's a lot more natural for me to do an upstroke instead, and easier to play different strings -- is this bad form? Or just a different style?

[islandboy801]

nice, great tutorial...

thank dude....

[marcisgreatAA]

schwarzenegger your father?

[madtiger111]

Excellent art of teaching.

[NutcrackerKuge]

Had to read down through all the comments to figure it out. All downstrokes. Index first note, down strum, then thumb. More beer and more practice and I'll have it, right?

[dbadagna]

Does anyone who plays clawhammer on the ukulele tune their B string down to A for D tunes? That would be closer to 5-string banjo tuning, as there's usually no B in the D tuning for 5-string banjo.

[ackeim]

yes, some people re tune to adf#a or gceg acfg is also nice...

[dbadagna]

Thanks, I have a friend here in Ohio who has a banjo-uke and wants to play clawhammer style, and until today I didn't know that was possible. Does one need a capo to do ADF#A or can the strings handle it?

[G1le]

@dbadagna Actually the five string banjo is generally tuned gdgbd, which is an open G tuning, though I suppose you could tune the b down to a and make it open d...

[dbadagna]

@G1le

I said "for D tunes." Bluegrass banjo players usually use the tuning (G)DGBd but old-time banjo players very commonly use (A)DADE to play tunes in the key of D. Using (G)DGAd (a tuning that doesn't exist as far as I know) would be closer to a Chinese pipa tuning (ADEa) or the upper four notes of guitar DADGAD tuning.

[G1le]

@dbadagna oops I read over your comment too quickly and missed that part. Sorry about that! And when I said drop the B down to an A I suppose I was thinking more along the lines of a guitar, as in open D (DADF#ad) so the actual ukulele tuning I meant would be gBDG. Sorry for the confusion.

[ackeim]

@dbadagna Yes- sometimes I tune the first string sown to get an open tuning.

[tubaphoner]

It appears that your first stroke is an upstroke or pluck rather than a downstroke. Clawhammer banjo uses a downstroke. Also, what tuning do you use for clawhammer uke? The regular tenor tuning? I have used a banjo uke (strumming behind vocals when performing a few vocals. Usually play clawhammer banjo). I'd like to use do at least a few clawhammer uke tunes for variety... thanks for the video!

[ackeim]

trust me, there are no upstrokes in this video. the tuning is gcea.

[dbadagna]

What you're seeing is the preparation (lifting of the hand) before the downstroke.

[yourliver1]

that rythm just makes me smile

[busterpiggle]

My thumb should be on my "fifth string"?!?!

Mine only has four strings.

So does yours, I see.

[AdonijahAvenged]

i think he was calling the top string the "fifth string" because that's what it is on a 5 string banjo.

[ackeim]

I meant 4th string, not fifth. just a verbal typo!

[x2mars]

is that first motion for the melody note a downstroke? or a pluck?

[ackeim]

Its a downstroke!

[SparkyCola3]

Thank you for the vid! I can't say how much us beginner uke players appreciate tutorials, tabs and lessons from advanced players so thank you very much =)

[ErinKathleen20]

Thanks!!!

[robocat66]

That was GRRRREAT!

[naturead]

this is fucking hard. Its SIMPLE but not so easy. Sounds cooler when you do it...

[forkit66]

thanks this is such a clear and helpful video :)

[matthewvaughan]

Your lesson was beautiful to listen to. The ukelele has such a sweet little sound, if you've been hearing nothing but guitar for too long suddenly a ukelele just sounds like angels. Anyway, that was a great lesson. A crooked camera but a great lesson. Thanks for doing it for free. Not everyone would, and it's really valuable.

[lovelyautumn24]

you're a good teacher...lol Love it.

[ukuleleuniverse]

Great teaching video. Thanks,

Joyce

[northbound74]

I dont know nothing about the ukulele, but your very helpful towards my learning of clawhammer banjo

[Ukeridge]

Yeah, but I'm afraid my hand's a-gonna freeze up that way.

[lavoll]

good video :) would be neat to see some close up of your right hand and how it is actually hitting the strings :) for us toally ukulele

n00bs

[grapesofbaath]

Thanks for the videos, Aaron. I've been wanting to get a banjo and a ukulele for a long time, but didn't really have the money, but this finally motivated me to get a decent uke and learn clawhammer. Hopefully I'll have a nice leg up when I finally afford a good banjo.

[frictionpeg]

ukeke???

ukelele, it even sounds musical

[grayinu]

Do you mind if i ask you what the notes are for Hot Cross Buns? And are your Strings set as GCEA?

[ackeim]

EDC EDC CCCC DDDD EDC

yes, gcea

[fabricari]

been frailing banjo for a year - in love with the technique, but fascinated to see it applied to other instrument. thanks for the demo!

[1takewonder]

Nice one Aaron... I've played uke for many years but this claw hammer style is new to me. A quick question pls:

My right hand fingernails should only ever be hitting the strings *downward* - keep them off on the way back up? Have I understood that correctly?

cheers!

[BASMUSIC]

Yup, the only sounds in the style come from the downstroke and the thumb.

[mydogjo]

How is it tuned? That Uke sounds good. Do you have any recommendations for Ukuleles?

[ackeim]

gcea, which is one of the standard uke tunings. From cheapest to most expensive, I reccomend:

Mahalo, Bushman, Flea and DaSilva ukuleles.

[elliotlovesfox]

would it be any different adopting it to guitar?

[ackeim]

Guitar wouldn't sound the same because it doesn't have a re-entrant string. Pretty much ukulele and 5 string banjo are the only common ones. There is a guy who plays clawhammer guitar, but I think he uses spikes on his fingerboard to raise up the pitch of some of his strings.

[elliotlovesfox]

thanks for that:D

[fumarin]

thank u so much, it is very useful you video

now i can play better the Clawhammer

[bbbeans]

do you have any suggestions how to get a strong pluck (the "tock") on the middle strings without hitting the ones around them?

[ackeim]

To get the middle strings you actually have to pluck "through" the string and stop on the next one down. I guess you could call it a "follow through." If you were trying to get a good "tock" on the 2nd string you would need to strike it and follow through to rest up a gainst the first string. The middle strings are the hardest for sure!

[bbbeans]

awesome, thank you so much. its a work in progress but hopefully i'll get there.

[bbbeans]

thanks man. for someone with no idea how to clawhammer this is helping a lot.

[funglapao]

Interesting video - could I ask why can't you pluck UP on the first beat with your middle finger? It seems a more precise of playing an individual note than the downstroke?

[ackeim]

You can do that if you like. Pete Seeger played that way. You may find that easier at first, but the world of down strokes is wonderful once you perfect the technique. It may take you quite a while to get a good sound for the down beats, but many people find it to be worth the work. Later, when you add all the embelishments etc... to the basic stroke, you have to have a down stroke on the first beat or you will be lost!

[JCMcGee]

That's a great wee bit of instruction....agreed that it's "probably the clearest I've seen" and "Beautifully done"

Thank you for that!

[tmcw]

Thanks, this video is great. I'm still having problems with my technique - specifically on how to hold the finger (my first finger) with which I hit the first note (the 'talk', or 'bum' in bum-ditty) - is it just strength holding your finger out that you need in order to sound that note, or are other fingers behind it for reinforcement?

[ackeim]

I usually use my my middle finger to play but sometimes play with my first finger. I reccomend starting with that. You curl all your fingers over into a claw shape and use the flat part of the first finger nail to strike the note.

[Pingwines]

Thanks a lot. That really helped me.

[beautifulwindstorm]

Love the tutorial...could you do some lessons on a 4-string? Thanks!

[toomdog]

Very interesting, and not confusing. Are you saying that you have a 5-string uke? I've never heard of that. And I've been involved in ukuleles for as long as I can remember, almost a month now... I think...

By the way, I'm looking for comments on my band's video. It's the only video I have right now.

[ackeim]

No, it is a four string. I just accidently called it the 5th string because its a fifth string on a banjo that you play with your thumb!

[AnasaziAl]

Excellent lesson -- thanks

[millercv]

Excellent tutorial - keep em coming!

[Holms]

it's hard to getting used to that... at least all I can use in ukelele now is some scales and modes from a guitar theory... and I just using that 4rd string for chords... I don't know what to do with it when playing solo ...

[Holms]

can somebody answer why the bass string is third not 4th???

[ackeim]

Just an old tradition from when the ukulele was from portugal. There are lots of spanish string instruments where the last string is a high string. Its called re-entrant tuning and is more common globaly than you think!

[acosalvo]

How is the Uke tuned. One problem with uke playing is all the diffent tunings

[ackeim]

The most common way is GCEA. Baritone uke is tuned DGBE. A very small group of people tune their ukes ADF#B which is the same as GCEA one note higher.

[mrhoneychurch]

perfect, intelligent instruction. thank you.

[OdaKa]

Oh.... so that's how you do it, you move your finger to the instrument. I always thought you were supposed to pluck it.

[paul6000000]

Wow, I love Youtube. That was illuminating.

[FastDash9]

I like this technique... I need to get more teqniques and stuff because normal strumming and picking is gettin monotonous.

[ChiyoDad]

Most excellent! I learned something new for my uke today. Many, many thanks for posting this. I'll be watching for stuff from you.

[madshad]

thanks alot very clear... look forward to more lessons

thanks

[kawikasurf]

Aaron - Thanks so much. It's great of you share your knowledge like this. And beautifully explained, too. I'll enjoy working working on it.

[ukemaker]

Hey, cool uke. Nice to see it on YouTube.

[lilredroostie]

thanks im trying it on banjo, great explanation

works better than my two finger style

[robgonzo]

Thanks Arron. I've been working on clawhammer for a while but your tip about moving into the uke helped my technique.

[cz2509]

Ive been trying to figure this out for months - probably the clearest explanation Ive seen so far - This clears things up for me quite a bit.

Thanks

[peterahughes]

Spot On!! I wish I could do this