Clawhammer Banjo: HOW TO JAM ALONG W/ FIDDLE TUNES YOU DON'T KNOW ?! [5 String Banjo Lessons]

Рет қаралды 4,700

3 жыл бұрын

access100s of Hours of Banjo Coaching: playbetterbanjo.com/2LAuw5z
How To - Clawhammer Banjo is a question & answer style video series here on the Play Better Banjo channel.
The goal of the series is to answer your common clawhammer banjo questions as succinctly and definitively as possible so you can spend more time playing/practicing your banjo and less time searching for answers to life's big banjo questions.
Today's edition is takes a (relatively) quick look at the process by which you can JAM ALONG WITH FIDDLE TUNES THAT YOU DON'T ALREADY KNOW HOW TO PLAY.
It's a great start to gaining a broad-spectrum understanding of fundamental improvisation concepts.
Please submit your questions in the comments below and I'll be sure to answer you, either via conversation or a new video like this one!
Lesson videos, courses, tablature and other old time banjo resources at:
playbetterbanjo.com

Пікірлер: 17

@benpapafilms 3 жыл бұрын

This is exactly the video i was looking for!

@PlayBetterBanjo 3 жыл бұрын

Excellent. Glad it was helpful to ya!

@richh1576 6 ай бұрын

For 'jamming" I play mostly above the 5th and 7th fret and in DOUBLE-C tuning w/capo on the second fret .... This will set your tuning to be in complete harmony with the fiddlers, normally tuned to D and A (FWIW - most celtic or celtic-origin tunes are in D or A ... major or 'dorian'). Learn to do arpeggioed (sequenced) triplets and oublets, and be sure to use open and alternate string pulloffs to an open (d & A, etc.) string for the all important 'accented' DOWNBEATS, in cordal harmony. With 'most' of the fretting high up the neck ... will be much 'faster' due to the closer spacing of the frets (the 'setting' of the position bridge will have to be 'perfect'). In 5TH/7TH position (and above), all the unfrettted strings will 'sympathetically vibrate' in the 'base' key, when the base tuning is aDADE (Double-C and with capo @ +2) Learning the Double-C CORDS up the neck will become 'automatic and instinctive' .... using the SECOND STRING as your LEAD string .... all the 'high notes' will on the (readily) adjacent first string ... if you want to mimic the fiddles. Once youre in harmony with the key of the fiddler, Dont hold down a fretted string ... simply 'pull-off' to an open (cordally harmonic) string, especially for the 'downbeats', and especially for celtic or celtic-origin tunes. BTW this will be melodic note-for-note clawhammer ... so to avoid finger bursitis, be sure to hold your 'strike finger' rigid and well tucked under your palm. Dont **pluck** the strings but rather, **slide** the nail or finger pick across the target string(s) and let the string "POP" at the end of the 'slide'.

@78tag 3 жыл бұрын

I love it, thanks! That is just plain fun.

@JonseyWales 8 ай бұрын

Great lesson, really helpful thanks!🙏👍

@PlayBetterBanjo 8 ай бұрын

Glad you found it useful. Thanks for wathchin' and good luck on yer banjer journey...!

@georgiawells865 3 ай бұрын

What strings are you using on this banjo? Also what make is the banjo. Its gorgeous! Thanks

@PlayBetterBanjo 3 ай бұрын

Howdy Georgia, I have two videos that answer both of those questions: Which Strings Should I Buy :: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jteHpdiU2tfDdok.htmlsi=HWpEdqAgbKlZVRHY What Kind of Banjo is That :: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/mc15dpN3zqzeoWQ.htmlsi=9FxmUZhWIfCqW2J_

@MyrKeys 2 жыл бұрын

This is great! Lots of things in this video I probably should have known already but didn't... Just one question, how do you come up with the frailing pattern on the spot like that?

@ryanspearman2620 2 жыл бұрын

That's a good question. I guess that's a matter of experience. The more you hunt and peck and practice trial and error, the more quickly and naturally you can slip into the proper rhythmic approach on a tune. And, all that being said, when you're dealing with on old fiddle tune, it's most likely to be either a waltz or a tune in 4/4 (or maybe 2/4) time. If you have a 'Boom Chick A' strum and a waltz variation of a Boom Chick A strum...you're well on your way to being able to fall right into a usable right hand rhythm pattern. Hope that helps!

@MyrKeys 2 жыл бұрын

@@ryanspearman2620 Thank you very much for your quick response, this will definitely help keeping me motivated with practicing! I assume your decisions on what individual strings to play also comes naturally, through "feel"? That's a problem I also run into, my rythms start to definitely feel same-y after a while, only hitting the first string, for example.

@ryanspearman2620 2 жыл бұрын

@@MyrKeys Yeah, for the most part, it'll come naturally as you put in more time. One simple way to get started on individual string choices when strumming is, anytime you change a chord, to make a point to strike a string whose not has changed, as well. Many of the primary chords in any given key share a lot of the same notes and it can sound awkward and frustrating to learning banjoists when they change chords but the change is very distinct, sonically-speaking...hope that makes sense. Keep on making' that noise!

@TF.Schmitty27 Жыл бұрын

Great video (as always) my question is, if I capo'ed to the second fret for A....can I use same open strings... And the 4/3/1 of the 2nd fret ? If that makes sense... Relative newbie trying to figure this stuff out ..... Most of the songs I find are in A... Thanks keep up the great work

@ryanspearman2620 Жыл бұрын

If I understand your question correctly, YES. Once you've capoed up to the second fret from standard Open G tuning, you can just play as if you're still in the key of G (all of the left hand fingering is the same) but your banjo will now be 'sounding' in A. Don't forget to tune your 5th string up a whole step to an 'a' note when you capo up to the 2nd. Hope that helps.

@TF.Schmitty27 Жыл бұрын

@@ryanspearman2620 thanks!!!

@Vagueperson Жыл бұрын

This was very interesting. It seems like at the very beginning you started to show more about changing chords until you realized it was all in G. Could you do this again with a fiddle tune that actually changes chords? I don't know many (my little knowledge) that just stay on one chord. Maybe I've skipped learning those because they aren't as interesting.

@PlayBetterBanjo Жыл бұрын

Yes, I'll certainly do another one or two of these videos before too long and I'll make sure to find a tune with a few more chords. Thanks for watching...!