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ezFolk Forums > Banjo > Beginner Questions - Banjo > Difference between Bluegrass and Clawhammer Banjos... |
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| Difference between Bluegrass and Clawhammer Banjos... - Beginner Questions - Banjo - Banjo - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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Prince Joob Approved
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Ok... I'm a total newbie when it comes to both the banjo and bluegrass music, so I don't know the difference between a Bluegrass banjo and a clawhammer banjo. Is that whether it's four or five stringed? I really have no idea... Please help! Last edited on Thu Jun 5th, 2008 05:29 pm by Prince Joob |
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Will Approved 
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Prince Joob wrote: Ok... I'm a total newbie when it comes to both the banjo and bluegrass music, so I don't know the difference between a Bluegrass banjo and a clawhammer banjo. Is that whether it's four or five stringed? I really have no idea... Please help! Clawhammer and bluegrass are different styles, but both are played on 5-string banjos. Clawhammer, the older style, originated in the rural Appalachian mountains, and it is usually played without any picks on an open-back 5-string banjo. Clawhammer can be played in old time ensembles with fiddle, guitar, mandolin, bass, autoharp, dulcimer, etc., or played as a solo instrument or accompaniment for singing.   Bluegrass is a later style developed in the U.S.A. during the 1940s, and is played as an ensemble music; it often uses old time music but interprets it differently by incorporating other musical styles and ideas borrowed from jazz, blues, and urban influences, and it is often played at a fast tempo. Bluegrass banjo was developed largely through the 3-finger playing style created by Earl Scruggs, which requires a thumbpick and 2 metal fingerpicks, playing a resonator-backed 5-string banjo in a driving style with fast arpeggiated notes called "rolls."  Last edited on Thu Jun 5th, 2008 01:52 pm by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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Philj200 Approved 
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Will is correct. But to add a little confusion, you can play bluegrass on an open back banjo. I've heard Pete Seeger play that way (along with all the other ways he plays). And you can play clawhammer (or frailing, another word for the same style) on a resonator banjo. Ralph Stanley does that. The banjo police are not going to come to your door if you mix and match style and instruments. It all depends on what you want to do most, divided by what you can afford, times what's available.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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Prince Joob Approved
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So it's more like there's bluegrass or clawhammer banjo kinda like there's jazz or classical piano? Really just different styles of playing? And one more thing... I see people using three metal finger picks and one thumb pick. What is that playing style called?
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Will Approved
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Prince Joob wrote: So it's more like there's bluegrass or clawhammer banjo kinda like there's jazz or classical piano? Really just different styles of playing? I know some banjo players who can play both styles, depending upon the nature of the jam circle they're playing in. In this case, if they had just one banjo with them, it will usually have the resonator on it for bluegrass; for old-timey/clawhammer style, some players remove the resonator (it is held on with screws) and play it without picks. That style the you observed is bluegrass picking. Earl Scruggs used a thumbpick and 2 fingerpicks; some other players use more than 2 fingerpicks, as you've already seen. A bluegrass banjo has a resonator to project the sound forward, and the fingerpicks and thumbpick produce cascades of rapid, arpeggiated notes. Banjos are most often tuned to open-G, but there are literally dozens (maybe hundreds) of alternative banjo tunings used by old-time players. The drone string is usually not fretted, and many players install model railroad spikes on the fretboard to act as a 5th string capo when a banjo is played in a different key. Bluegrass players often install a 5th string capo, which is a sliding device that can clamp the fifth string to suit whatever key is being played. Last edited on Thu Jun 5th, 2008 06:45 pm by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ |
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Philj200 Approved
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A piano is a piano is a piano. The musician determines what is played on it. A resonator banjo and an open back banjo can be played in any style. While they are functionly very similar, the major difference is the resonator. It increases volume significantly. Necessary because of the ensemble it is usually played in. Interesting that many clawhammer players actually reduce volue by placing a mute inside the pot or under the strings. This lets them play as hard as they choose without blowing out the room. I play both OT and BG. And use two metal finger picks and a plastic thumb pick. I have never seen three metal finger picks used on a banjo. But I admit the possibility (if not the need). I do use three finger picks (and a thumb pick) when playing guitar. While playing with picks is necessary with a resonator banjo, after all you want volume, it is also possible to play without them, when you just want to practice or get some time alone with your banjo and not broadcast your first steps to the neighborhood. I would advise people with resonator banjos who want to play softer to get or make a top-of-skin mute. Taking off the resonator is a pain, makes the instrument uncomfortable to play and looks funny. (My prejudice.) Also, I find tha by playing BG without picks (and without a group) you are free to switch styles without missing a beat. You can let's say, start a piece a in BG, switch to claswhammer with you sing a verse, go back to BG for a solo. By the way there are other significant stles of playing besides clashammer and bluegrass. Double thumbing and what Pete Seeger calls Basic Stlye comoe first to mind. After a while, you'll use whatever works, ever merging them together. Don't sweat it. Play. Have fun. Let it happen.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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Patrick Costello Approved
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I play mainly using a down-picking technique called frailing but my banjo was built using a lot of parts intended for the resonator banjo you see being used by three-finger pickers - including a Mastertone style tone ring. You can see and hear this banjo on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAcLW8ghz0o While you are on YouTube you can compare that banjo to this Brian Carver frame banjo that was built along the athstetic lines of a pre Civil War era instrument: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfA-ESkImKQ How about a banjo made out of a cigar box? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3JvAUqwPKc Or a more traditional banjo with a rolled brass tone ring? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otv3tS1jWuY I have a student who frails a Stelling Masterflower. Another frails a resophonic banjo. Any five string banjo can be played any way you want. -Patrick
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| ezFolk Forums > Banjo > Beginner Questions - Banjo > Difference between Bluegrass and Clawhammer Banjos... | |
