gottasmilealot - Posted - 08/03/2015:  11:35:36

Someone please explain what Ralph Stanley did to develop his 3 finger picking after the 2 finger style discussed here: banjohangout.org/archive/193071 .

I've almost got it, but not quite.  Getting the proper roll at speed to get that machine gun effect has been elusive to me.  The index lead and picking towards the bridge I get, but I'm not sure about the roll.  The type roll he used in Little Maggie.  It sounds like I-M-I-M-T-M-I-M, but I noticed on some videos that Ralph does drop his thumb at times, it's not all index lead.

My brain is full, so if you're not sure, don't tell me wrong, as I can be wrong very effectively.

I'm about to go speeding through Steve Sparkman's municipality so he gets me on a traffic stop so I can pick his brain. 

roadkingjimmy - Posted - 08/03/2015:  13:04:19

Hey Kieth,I am also a big Ralph Stanley fan and got a Homespun DVD with Mike Seeger doing a great interview with Ralph about his style even Clawhammer it has some really good screen shots of his playing and a great line up of the Clinch Mountain Boys w/Curly Ray on fiddle,very entertaining and ya might learn something 😄

RioStat - Posted - 08/03/2015:  13:57:38

Check out Gary Bates (Stanleytone) Homepage here on the BanjoHangout.

I've also used this book linked below (you have to scroll waaaay down to the bottom of the page to find it. (The Ralph Stanley "yellow-book")

hatfieldmusic.com/page3.html

Between Stanleytone's tabs and the "yellow-book" ,  I've pretty much figured out Stanley-style pickin".

chip arnold - Posted - 08/03/2015:  14:10:20

I'm not at all familiar with Mr Stanley's 2-finger picking, but I had been told by a good bluegrasser, that he played index lead, not thumb lead. Since he also uses an index lead, "Seeger style" at times, this seemed reasonable. Does someone here know which, for sure?



Also, there is no need to limit the index finger to the 1st string while playing T lead. 

stanleytone - Posted - 08/03/2015:  14:48:40

It always seemed to me that when Ralph plays the FMB roll ,he sometimes, during the first hammer of the second string,also hits the open first string along with the hammer.When he does that he usually brings the thumb down to the second string for the next hammer on, as in I-M-T-M-T-I-M-T. But sometimes he does not hit the open first string as he hammers the second string for the first time. When he does that he will repeat the hammer on the second string with the index finger as thus : I-(h)-I-M-T-I-M-T.  The hammer (h) takes up a 1/8 beat . He simply doesn't hit the open first string same time likemost guys do.Thatr makes it easy to repeat with the index finger .Now when Ralph plays slower stuff he may well play I-M-I-M-T-I-M-T, but when he plays fast I'm sure he does I-M-T-M-T-I-M-T ,unless,as I said, he opts for not hitting the open first during the first hammer on of the second string. Just my observation and I could very well be mistaken. Ralph may even say he does it one way but then you look at a video and see it different. I don't think Ralph thought much about how he did it. I think he just did it.

lly posted by gottasmilealot

 

 I noticed on some videos that Ralph does drop his thumb at times, it's not all index lead.

 

 

---

stanleytone - Posted - 08/03/2015:  15:31:17

Rio, that's as good a compliment as I could ever hope for. Thanks!

quote:

---

Originally posted by RioStat

 

Check out Gary Bates (Stanleytone) Homepage here on the BanjoHangout.

I've also used this book linked below (you have to scroll waaaay down to the bottom of the page to find it. (The Ralph Stanley "yellow-book")

hatfieldmusic.com/page3.html

Between Stanleytone's tabs and the "yellow-book" ,  I've pretty much figured out Stanley-style pickin".

---

gottasmilealot - Posted - 08/03/2015:  16:33:13

Thanks for the suggestions. Great site Barry!

minstrelmike - Posted - 08/03/2015:  17:33:57

Ralph doesn't play index lead like Pete Seeger. He both frails (downpicks) and fingerpicks rolls.

How I understood his version (I may be wrong) is that instead of doing the "basic" forward roll TM TIM TIM, he would do it IM TIM TIM. The folks who explained it said one was thumb lead forward roll and the other was Index lead forward roll. I think the names are just so we can talk about it, like tab A and slot B.

But Ralph also frailed and he was good at it.

stanleytone - Posted - 08/03/2015:  18:38:40

I forgot to mention that Ralph also plays the FMB roll like this" T-M-T-M-T-I-M-T, especialy if the last note of the previous measure is hit with the middle finger.

janolov - Posted - 08/04/2015:  00:48:54

As mentioned above there is a DVD from Homespun Video about the playing of Ralph, made by Mike Seeger. where all his styles are demonstrated. If I remember right he referred to Wade Mainer for his two finger style. It is I-X-I-T (where X is hammer on, pull off, slide, rest etc). Two-finger was demonstrated on Little Maggie (there is also a three-finger version on the DVD so you can compare the styles). In his three-finger style he continues to play important melody notes on index finger, just as in two-finger, but adds the middle finger (I-M-I-M) and forward roll (T-I-M-T) and in a few places also a backward roll (M-I-T-M). The following example shows the first measures of Little Maggie in both styles.

Edited by - janolov on 08/04/2015 00:55:07

Ralph Stanley two and three-finger