Music Education - Learning Banjo

Basic Frailing or Clawhammer,
Bluegrass or Scruggs style, Playing by Ear & Frailing
Backup Banjo. Simple tutorials by Patrick Costello

Introduction:

Simplifying things greatly, five string banjo is mainly played in two styles, three finger picking, usually associated with bluegrass music and often known as Scruggs style, and frailing or clawhammer style used in old-time or oldtimey music. Clawhammer and frailing mean pretty much the same thing and describe a form of fingerpicking method used by banjo and, rarely, guitar players. Clawhammer is a rhythmic common component of American old-time music.

Most traditional picking styles, consist of an up-picking motion by the fingers and a down-picking motion by the thumb; this is also the technique used in the Scruggs style for the banjo. Clawhammer picking, on the other hand, is mainly a down-picking style. The hand takes a claw-like shape and the strumming finger is kept fairly stiff, striking the strings by the motion of the hand at the wrist, rather than a flicking motion by the finger. Commonly only the thumb and middle or index finger are used and the finger always downpicks, flicking the string with the back of the fingernail. Musicians who use clawhammer style include Bob Carlin, Dwight Diller, Dan Levenson, Brad Leftwich, and Abigail Washburn.

Scruggs-style banjo is played with usually metal picks on the thumb, index and middle fingers; the pinky and/or ring fingers are typically braced against the head of the instrument. The strings are picked rapidly in repetitive sequences or rolls; the same string is not typically picked twice in succession. Melody notes are interspersed among arpeggios, and musical phrases typically contain long series of staccato notes, often played at rapid tempo. This style is commonly attributed to Earl Scruggs who played first with Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys, and later with Lester Flatt and the Foggy Mountain Boys. Examples of this style are Scruggs' recording of the theme song of the television program The Beverly Hillbillies, and the music for the film Bonnie and Clyde.

Contents & Page Index Items in Bold type indicate the beginning of a section.

Basic Frailing Basic Frailing 1 Basic Frailing 2 Basic Frailing 3 Basic Frailing 4 Basic Frailing 5 Basic Frailing 6 Basic Frailing 7 Basic Frailing 8 Basic Frailing 9 Basic Frailing 10 Learning Bluegrass Banjo Bluegrass Banjo 1 Bluegrass Banjo 2 Bluegrass Banjo 3 Bluegrass Banjo 4 Bluegrass Banjo 5 Bluegrass Banjo 6 Bluegrass Banjo 7 Bluegrass Banjo 8 Bluegrass Banjo 9 Bluegrass Banjo 10 Bluegrass Banjo 11 Bluegrass Banjo 12 Bluegrass Banjo 13 Bluegrass Banjo 14 Bluegrass Banjo 15 Bluegrass Banjo 16 Bluegrass Banjo 17 Bluegrass Banjo 18 Bluegrass Banjo 19 Bluegrass Banjo 20

Learning Banjo By Ear Learning Banjo By Ear 1 Learning Banjo By Ear 2 Learning Banjo By Ear 3 Learning Banjo By Ear 4 Learning Banjo By Ear 5 Learning Banjo By Ear 6 Learning Banjo By Ear 7 Learning Banjo By Ear 8 Learning Banjo By Ear 9 Learning Banjo By Ear 10 Learning Banjo By Ear 11 Learning Banjo By Ear 12 Learning Banjo By Ear 13 Learning Banjo By Ear 14 Learning Banjo By Ear 15 Learning Banjo Frailing Backup Frailing Backup 1 Frailing Backup 2 Frailing Backup 3 Frailing Backup 4 Frailing Backup 5 Frailing Backup 6 Frailing Backup 7 Frailing Backup 8 Frailing Backup 9 Frailing Backup 10 Frailing Backup 11 Frailing Backup 12 Frailing Backup 13 Frailing Backup 14