banjoduder - Posted - 04/11/2009:  14:13:15

Hey, I've scoped the interweb and there doesn't seem to be much tutorial stuff on playing 2 finger style banjo...I want to learn to play like Roscoe Holcomb and Doc Boggs and I've heard that they use this style.

Can anyone recommend any books, lessons, rehearsal techniques?

Thanks,
-j
jordan.baxte.stern@gmail.com

majikgator - Posted - 04/11/2009:  15:05:07

Mike Seeger, brushes lightly over some old time finger piacking styles on his southern banjo styles DVD, but i haven't been able to find much at all and virtually no tab, just a lot of talk

jk

rodgersjohn - Posted - 04/11/2009:  16:53:35

There is a book on Roscoe's music, it has like six songs in it. I can't think of the title though. I play Roscoe style alot. It's pretty easy, but you use several odd tunings. Art Rosenbaum does a lot of Roscoe stuff i believe. I know he has a couple books out. Roscoe was something else. Great player, so original.

My true love''s a blue-eyed daisy,
She won''t come and I''m too lazy.

majikgator - Posted - 04/11/2009:  17:40:37

here is a little two finger right hand stuff i got from Paul Brown at the Suwanee Banjo Camp this year - not much but a sart

quoting Paul Brown"

Standard open G tuning.

Pattern 1, right hand:

Thumb/ 3rd string
Choke: Thumb 5th, index 1st simultaneously.

That's the basic pattern, 1-2 beats.


Then ...
Thumb/3rd string
Index/1st string
Thumb/5th string
Index/1st string

All the above are quarter notes ... the four notes in a measure.

Then ... in the rhythm of a clawhammer strum:

Thumb/3rd string (half note)
Thumb/5th string (quarter note)
Index/1st string (quarter note)

Those are the basic patterns and that should get you started. If you have my(Paul Brown) "Red Clay Country" CD you'll hear these patterns on "Jesse James" which is played in open G tuning. Other songs are done in this style too such as "Lazy John", "John Hardy" and "John Henry" and you'll find the tunings listed in the liner notes.
"

jk

Edited by - majikgator on 04/12/2009 19:08:58

chip arnold - Posted - 04/11/2009:  19:15:15

Hunt down a copy of Art Rosenbaums first book "Old Time Mountain Banjo" which is out of print but shows up on Amazon, Ebay, etc. It has tabs covering the styles of Roscoe, Dock Boggs and other finger style pickers. These styles are pretty simple and it won't take much to get you started. His second book "Art of the Mountain Banjo" is still available and I understand it too has tabs for these styles. basically the 2-finger styles are thumb lead and index lead. Some players intermingled the two and some like Dock Boggs added in the middle finger. There are a number of 3-finger styles from the days before Earl. If you want to know about index lead 2-finger, you can listen to an audio tutorial "2-finger explanation" on my Hangout music page. There are a few pieces of music in my 2-finger style there too.

**********************
Take what is given
Give what is taken

Chip Arnold

chip arnold - Posted - 04/11/2009:  19:42:20

j., I didn't ask if you already play the banjo in some other style. If you do it will be easy enough to learn the finger styles. If you don't, you'll need some help. Definately get a copy of Rosenbaum's new book and try hard to find a copy of the old one. You can use clawhammer tab to learn the basics of index lead 2-finger picking. Just lightly rest your non picking fingers on the head and pick UP with your index when the clawhammer tab tells you to strike down. There's much more beyond that but that'll get you picking fluently. Also there are a few beginner tabs on my little website. There's a link for it on my Hangout homepage. But the very rhythmic sound you hear from Mr Holcomb is from his heavy handed frailing style and his THUMB lead 2-finger style. The index lead style tends to be a little more delicate sounding and not as driving.

**********************
Take what is given
Give what is taken

Chip Arnold

janolov - Posted - 04/12/2009:  00:54:35

Roscoe used the thumb lead style as described jk above, and he used to have a thumb pick while the index finger was bare. In many songs he uses a straight T I T I T I pattern but sometimes he uses a syncopated rythm. for example by omitting some notes: T - T I - I T - (where the - indicates an omitted tone).

Jan-Olov

majikgator - Posted - 04/12/2009:  19:05:39

sorry, i need to correct myself the Mike Seeger DVD was "Old Time Banjo Styles" Not Southern Banjo Styles, my apologies i got the name mixed up with another Mike Seeger project.

jk

ndlxs - Posted - 04/13/2009:  05:42:31

Jody Stecher put a tab of "Old Smokey" in a back issue of Old Time Herald. Not too hard to figure out, though, as long as you have the tuning: f#ADAD.

Andy Alexis
Sacramento, Calif

KI4PRK - Posted - 04/13/2009:  06:51:18

Dock Boggs used a few different style. The one he's famous for is his self fashioned 3-finger style. It's mostly a 2-finger thumb-lead style, with the middle used for pinches and occasional non-continuous forward rolls or TIMI rolls.

While he used that a lot, he also often used a much more common 2(3?)-finger style. The style is simple (almost to the point of being boring, but efficient), rhythmic, and very effective. You pick a melody note with your index finger, but other players in this style dropped their thumbs), brushed down with the middle finger, then hit the 5th string with your thumb (Dock himself used almost no drop-thumb, but other players in this style dropped their thumbs). The rhythm is the well-known bum-ditty rhythm. Sometimes, the 5th string hit is omitted, making it a "bum-chick", almost like a guitar. Also, sometimes the thumb hits the 5th string after the melody note and before the middle brush, making a bump-a-ditty. You can do the whole thing with just 2 fingers, brushing down with your index instead of the middle as well as hitting the melody note, but it's a little more efficient with the middle.

A third style he used was another 3-finger style, that was slightly different from his own, and was used by other players (Hobart Smith, John Greer's Two-Step). He used it on Banjo Clog and Coke Oven March (Banjo Chimes), and possibly Schottische Time, but it's been a while since I listened to the last one. It's a more rolling style, used to play more melody, although the melody is generally consistent of chord notes. I can't remember, but I think Virgil Anderson may have used the style on "Rainbow Schottische". Dock may very well have made up that style on his own, but then again I find it possible that he had other influence from other 3-finger pickers. It's interesting to note I've never heard anything about him raising significance about the fact that he picked with 3-fingers.

73, Brennen

Edited by - KI4PRK on 04/13/2009 06:55:04

whyteman - Posted - 04/13/2009:  12:59:32

My take on Roscoe's style: less is sometimes more.

Don

Haul off your overcoat and roll up your sleeve.

banjoduder - Posted - 04/13/2009:  13:08:20

Holy Moly! Thanks for all the info! This should help alot.

-j

omiimii - Posted - 04/13/2009:  14:16:46

quote:

---

Originally posted by rodgersjohn

There is a book on Roscoe's music, it has like six songs in it. I can't think of the title though. I play Roscoe style alot. It's pretty easy, but you use several odd tunings. Art Rosenbaum does a lot of Roscoe stuff i believe. I know he has a couple books out. Roscoe was something else. Great player, so original.

My true love''s a blue-eyed daisy,
She won''t come and I''m too lazy.

---

Boxcar - Posted - 04/14/2009:  16:15:44

I wrote a book about Roscoe and Dock, unfortunately it's out of print. I might try to convert it to a PDF when I have some time. The Roscoe section has a few different styles and contains Little Birdie, Old Grey Mule, Ain't got no Sugar Baby, Old Smokey, Single Girl, and Black eyed suzie. The Dock section has about 12 songs, cant remember exactly. If you need any help with their styles feel free to ask.