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| Moderated by: Richard Hefner |
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| Question on Clawhammer Ukulele Tutorial - Beginner Questions - Ukulele - Ukulele - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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liquifried Approved 
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Hello: I am a guitar and bluegrass banjo player just getting started with the ukulele. I'm enjoying it so far and have been having a good time with the tabs on this site. I have a question about the Clawhammer Ukulele tutorial at http://www.ezfolk.com/uke/Tutorials/Clawhammer/clawhammer.html. First, though, thanks to whomever placed this up there (Richard Hefner I think). It's very useful and an interesting technique for the uke. I think I am doing it right, but want to double check. Am I reading the tutorial correctly in that the middle finger strokes are done with the back of the fingernail in a down stroke (all strokes are down strokes?)? This would be in contrast to a classical guitar like fingernail pluck. If so, does this mean that in the first example shown, if the middle finger is used for the strum, you are doing a down stroke pluck with the middle fingernail, bringing the finger back up a bit, and then re-striking with a down stroke strum across the bottom 3 strings? I don't want to practice the wrong thing too much, so I appreciate any light that can be shed on this. Thanks, Jason
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Richard Hefner Administrator 
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Hi Jason, That's right... all of the strokes are downstrokes, which is different than almost any other style of playing. The way you explained it is right. One thing to note though is that in bringing that middle finger back up you don't move your finger itself -- the movement should be in the wrist. It's kind of like knocking on a door. You hold your hand in a claw-like position and it stays that way. There are variations -- everybody doesn't do it exactly the same way. Some people have more movement in their elbow so your whole forearm would move, and a lot of people use their index finger instead of the middle finger. Whatever works for you is fine. Let me know how it works out. Richard 
____________________ Richard Hefner Webmaster, ezFolk.com MP3 Page: http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/richardhefner Running Blog: http://old-runner.com |
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liquifried Approved
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Thanks for the confirmation Richard! Now time to start practicing your clawhammer version of my dog has fleas (will take a while). I see you are in NC - I used to live in Raleigh and would frequent Zepp's Country Music (Zepp hangs out on banjo-l and is a great banjo player). I bought my martin there and a goodtime several years ago, and he gave me a little 5 minute clawhammer tutorial (which I promptly forgot since I was really more interested in learning scruggs style). Anyhoo, cheers and thanks for the info - Jason 
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gbu Approved 
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Where is that, anyway? I don't live in NC, but I grew up in Cary and visit there often... Only music store I know the location of in NC is Burt's, in Cary. Nice place, though.
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liquifried Approved
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Zepp's is out in Wendell, about 30 minutes east of Raleigh. It's a nice little small town. Zepp is also on the web at: http://zeppmusic.com/ It's mostly a guitar and banjo shop, but he also has ukuleles every now and again. You should check it out next time you're in town - he's a cool guy. Jason
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gbu Approved
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Whew, way out there. Thanks!
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Ed Approved
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Richard- I have a question on the clawhammer uke. I have read the tutorial and listened to your great MP3 tracks. VERY enjoyable. Is the middle finger stroke like a backhanded pluck or more of a kind of rebound stroke? I am sure it would be easier to figure out if I saw it. It is hard to figure out just reading the explanation.
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Richard Hefner Administrator
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Hi Ed, I'm not quite sure what you mean by "rebound stroke." I'm just coming down and hitting the string with the back of my middle fingernail (some people prefer using the index finger). You don't really pluck it. Think more in terms of holding your hand like your going to knock on a door, then start knockin'. Most of the movement should be in your wrist, while your hand is held in a claw-like position. Does that help?
____________________ Richard Hefner Webmaster, ezFolk.com MP3 Page: http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/richardhefner Running Blog: http://old-runner.com |
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Jackie Approved
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http://www.bgot.org.vt.edu/righthand.htm Video (link posted by Richard elsewhere)
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Ed Approved
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Richard- Thanks, that answered my question. I used the term rebound for lack of a better term, meaning sort of striking the string rather than plucking it. Now I just have to practice it!
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| ezFolk Forums > Ukulele > Beginner Questions - Ukulele > Question on Clawhammer Ukulele Tutorial | |
