Kitchen Girl - old time clawhammer banjo

Old time banjo, clawhammer style. Vega Little Wonder pot from the 1920s with a fancy neck made in 1972 by Mike Allison. Tuning is gDGBD capo on 2nd (aEAC#E).

Category:

Music

Tags:

• frailing
• clawhammer
• banjo
• old
• time
• music
• fiddle
• tune
• appalachian

[d2majzoub]

Just Amazing! How long have you been playing? You played that so beautifully. I'm just learning clawhammer and am having trouble deciding which finger to use for the down pick. I"m leaning toward my index finger. Is there any advantage between using the index or middle finger  to get the melody? You're in my favorites, and a thumbs up to you.

[FrostyMorn]

@d2majzoub Clawhammer banjo is a wonderful thing. I had been playing guitar since I was a kid, but picked up banjo and old-time music about 10 of 12 years ago. Changed my life!

I happen to use my middle finger, some folks use the index. It's subjective, so see what works best for you.

Thanks for listening!

[haolegolucky]

Beautiful! I just started playing clawhammer style two weeks ago so this is pretty inspirational!

I was wondering why you are playing so high up on the neck though?

[FrostyMorn]

On this tune, I play over the neck simply because I like the way it sounds! Try the experiment yourself, see if you can hear a difference on your banjo.

[cmezak]

Great performance. I'm just starting on clawhammer, and this version of kitchen girl is one of the milestone goals I've set for myself. I'm wondering about the tone you're getting here, though. Very clean without a lot of harmonics. I see that you're playing up on the neck, but even doing that I don't quite get the same result. Is it something about your hardware? The moon bridge perhaps? My banjo is a cheap aluminum washburn b9, so who knows what I'm missing. Thanks for the inspiration!

[FrostyMorn]

The tone a player gets from a banjo is the sum of a number of things, as you have guessed. You can adjust the head tension and try different bridges and tail pieces. I do use a heavy Moon bridge, yes, and I have a small piece of fabric rolled up and placed between the head and dowel stick. The length, shape and thickness of your fingernail has a significant influence on tone - something else to experiment with. A banjo is a simple thing, you don't need an expensive one to sound good!

[southcoastsounds]

Very fine playing indeed. And a great video recording too

[mrclawhammer2011]

That's a wonderful sound. Love the way you have done it. :-) Rhythm is perfect ! Just love it!

[apollo1064]

i play guitar, badly. gonna get me a banjo..,.well done

[bjograsshopper]

Man.. how llong did it take you to get that drop thumb down??? I am really having trouble with it.

I like your style. You got it!

[Shivas4659]

I really enjoy your style of clawhammer. You make it look easy though I know it is not. I really am drawn to old time stringband tunes. In fact, I'm been looking for my first banjo and plan to learn how to play in the clawhammer style. I have narrowed my choices to the Gold Tone CC-OT or the Gold Tone CB-100. Not sure if the CB-100 is worth the extra bucks, but I digress. Anyway, thanks for sharing your playing. I hope you will post some more clawhammer tunes.

[PicklesMusic1]

How big is the pot?

[thespenceman]

@d2majzoub i alternate depending on the song - there's a different feel that comes with each finger - sometimes i use my ring finger for a light brush/touch - sometimes you'll want to use both fore- and second finger in the same song to strike higher vs. lower strings - have fun!

[onion456]

really great, loved the tune and your playing of it was outstanding. really relaxed, great tempo control, hats off to you and thanks for posting!

[lsamoa]

Love it!

[humanboy1221]

i'm going to assume that took a lot of practice! that tune alone must have taken a long time master. i decided to pick up playing banjo a few months ago and can finally play a semi decent rendition of cripple creek, however i'm having a killer time implementing the various embellishments. do you have any tips on playing clean sounding hammer downs, and slides? mine always sound a little off.