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| Moderated by: Tony Provencher, Richard Hefner |
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| Bum Ditty Question | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Sun Dec 14th, 2008 12:46 am |
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1st Post |
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UncleG Approved
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Howdy y'all! New to the site & clawhammer banjo too! Lots of great info here & I was doing well until I saw Richards Bum-Ditty video........then tried it myself. After about an hour struggling with my old Kay(resonator & tone ring) I realized my thumb is not able to lay on & pluck the 5th string. That's when I went back to the video & watched REAL close thinking I was doing something wrong (which I am quite capable of!) Then I noticed Richards' banjo looks like it is minus the first few frets by the pot......mine isn't! No wonder my thumb lays on the neck! So my questions are: 1)Do open back models come that way? 2)Can/should I modify mine? I wanted to keep using the Kay until I (hopefully) outgrow it as I am just learning. Any suggestions,comments,or ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, UncleG
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| Posted: Sun Dec 14th, 2008 01:46 am |
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2nd Post |
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Richard Hefner Administrator 
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Hi UncleG, Thanks for joining us! That's called a "scooped neck" and is preferred by a lot of clawhammer players but is not an absolute necessity. I have another banjo (Gold Tone BG-250) without a scooped neck and I play clawhammer style on that one too. If the action on your banjo neck (the distance between the strings and the fingerboard) is very low that might make it more difficult to play clawhammer style, but again, I prefer low action myself. I think it's a matter of getting used to it. You can buy a banjo with a scooped neck or modify your own if you're good at that sort of thing. Do a search in these forums or on Google for "scooped banjo neck" or something similar and you should find some additional info. Hope that helps! 
____________________ Richard Hefner MP3 Page: http://www.ezfolk.com/audio/richardhefner Running Blog: http://old-runner.com |
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| Posted: Sun Dec 14th, 2008 01:58 am |
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3rd Post |
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UncleG Approved
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Thanks Richard for answering some basic questions and giving me direction for more info.I'll keep practicing! UncleG
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| Posted: Sun Dec 14th, 2008 06:45 pm |
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4th Post |
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Jim Yates Approved 
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Hi UncleG, There's a certain sound you can get that most clawhammerers describe as "Cluck," when you hit the strings over the top end of the neck. (I think the optimum position is over the 17th fret without a capo, but Richard can feel free to correct me on that) If you're not after the clawhammer cluck, you can hit the strings over the head and not worry about scooping. Maybe someone who is a Clucker can describe this better than I have.
____________________ Jim http://www.myspace.com/jimyates http://www.myspace.com/mapleleafchampionjugband |
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| Posted: Sun Dec 14th, 2008 09:27 pm |
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5th Post |
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Lyle Konigsberg Approved 
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Jim's advice to play over the head makes a lot of sense. Try playing as far away from the bridge as possible while still playing over the head. The closer you get to the bridge the brighter the tone. This is why most of the time bluegrass players have their hand anchored near the bridge. But when they want a more mellow tone they move the right hand away from the bridge. Among clawhammer players people vary as to how far away from the bridge they play. I do play with my thumb at about the 17th fret because that's where I like the tone best. I usually play without a scoop. BUT (and this is all caps because it is important) when I was learning to play I played over the head. It wasn't until I was comfortable with right hand techniques that I moved away from the bridge. Had I tried to play there from the start I likely would have caught my thumb on the side of the neck.
____________________ ezFolk page: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1084/ Some Tabs at: http://lylewk.home.comcast.net/ |
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| Posted: Sun Dec 14th, 2008 11:30 pm |
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6th Post |
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UncleG Approved
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Thanks for the replies everyone. After reading Richards' post I realized the action on my banjo is WAY to close for me! Playing over the head I have much better luck.....now if I can JUST get the sound/rhythm that Richard does......!!! Thanks, UncleG
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