Vintage-J - Posted - 06/23/2025:  16:38:34

Hey y'all,

I'm getting back into banjo after a few years, and this time around i really want to focus on playing Clawhammer, and this led me to a question. I keep my nails pretty short (have always had a hard time with longer nails from a comfortability standpoint), and while i'm not averse to trying a pick, one of the main things that attracts me to clawhammer and other old time styles is that I don't have to use a pick. I can just pick up and play.

My question is this: Can I learn to play clawhammer just fine with short nails, or is this a fools errand?

Bob Buckingham - Posted - 06/23/2025:  17:10:46

Yes you can. You may find you want to put on wsom3e kind of pick or something but I had a friend who was one of the great banjo players, Reed Martin, and he had short nails.

RG - Posted - 06/23/2025:  17:35:05

Have played with short fingernails since I started playing in 1972... worked with my hands and could never grow them out, nor did I feel the need to. All in the angle you attack the strings regardless of whether you use your index or middle finger. I fingerpick (TL, IL and 3 finger) without picks as well, just something you adjust and get used to. If my fingernails do get on the *longer* side, I find it harder to play. I feel I get plenty of "snap" and volume without, here's my version of "SADM", and I do play with my middle finger for reference.

Edited by - RG on 06/23/2025 17:39:02

Shaving a Dead Man

 

R.D. Lunceford - Posted - 06/23/2025:  17:58:00

Great playing RG.  

Sounds like your playing could be a cut off the County Clawhammer series.

As the Irish were wont to say... "the pure drop".

SF

ssduke - Posted - 06/23/2025:  18:03:45

Lo Gordon, the founder of Cedar Mountain Banjos, played with extremely short nails and developed calluses on the tips of his fingers that served just as well.

jsinjin - Posted - 06/23/2025:  18:11:22

I have found that with either my index or middle finger, if I have fingernails that are behind the tip of the finger (don’t extend past) I can get a double sound when I hit strings especially the first string. But that’s probably just me and my technique. The nail hits first then the end of the finger tip hits.

RG - Posted - 06/24/2025:  13:48:16

quote:

---

Originally posted by R.D. Lunceford

Great playing RG.  

Sounds like your playing could be a cut off the County Clawhammer series.

As the Irish were wont to say... "the pure drop".

SF

---

Thanks R.D., those albums, along with High Atmosphere, Old Virginia 1 & 2, Instrumental Music Of The Southern Appalachians,  etc. were a big influence on my playing style. I played those LP's until I wore them out a couple of times, guess they're right about musical imprinting, what you hear is how you'll sound, and I still listen to those albums today as much as I can.

Appreciate the kind words sir.

R.D. Lunceford - Posted - 06/25/2025:  11:23:02

quote:

---

Originally posted by RG

quote:

---

Originally posted by R.D. Lunceford

Great playing RG.  

Sounds like your playing could be a cut off the County Clawhammer series.

As the Irish were wont to say... "the pure drop".

SF

---

Thanks R.D., those albums, along with High Atmosphere, Old Virginia 1 & 2, Instrumental Music Of The Southern Appalachians,  etc. were a big influence on my playing style. I played those LP's until I wore them out a couple of times, guess they're right about musical imprinting, what you hear is how you'll sound, and I still listen to those albums today as much as I can.

Appreciate the kind words sir.

---

Sincerely meant, and richly deserved.

Dan Gellert - Posted - 06/25/2025:  15:58:39

Yes indeed, Rick, that's beautiful! That percussive "click" attack is a great sound I particularly associate with Clarence Ashley, but a lot of the old time mountain greats had it. Hardly anyone plays like that now. I don't keep my nails very long, but I'd have to cut them a lot shorter (and practice a good bit, too!) to get that tone. Thinking about giving that a try...

KCJones - Posted - 06/26/2025:  08:10:58

Seems to me, given that most of players back in the day also had day jobs, were farmers or homesteaders, or otherwise did physical labor, the vast majority of them would have short fingernails worn-down by the work or clipped for safety at work. Fingernails growing long is a modern issue for most folks. I don't recall my dad, uncles, or grandparents ever trimming their nails, but that's because they were already worn down to nubs from work.

Great playing RG. My experience is the same as yours, I find that playing is easier and sounds better with short nails.

Vintage-J - Posted - 06/26/2025:  09:54:31

Thanks for the responses everyone! And thanks for the sound file RG. Great sound!

SatCotM - Posted - 06/27/2025:  17:55:35

Up-picking is another option if you don't like the sound you get with short nails and don't want to use a pick. It doesn't sound the same as clawhammer, but it is very similar and follows roughly the same mechanics. Seeger often played this way; Nora Brown would be a contemporary player to check out to see if you're interested.

Clawhammer learning resources transfer pretty directly over to up-picking, sans drop thumb.

RG - Posted - 06/28/2025:  00:13:34

quote:

---

Originally posted by Dan Gellert

Yes indeed, Rick, that's beautiful! That percussive "click" attack is a great sound I particularly associate with Clarence Ashley, but a lot of the old time mountain greats had it. Hardly anyone plays like that now. I don't keep my nails very long, but I'd have to cut them a lot shorter (and practice a good bit, too!) to get that tone. Thinking about giving that a try...

---

Hey Dan, was traveling and just saw your post, appreciate your insights and kind comments. Clarence Ashley was another of my early sources, I've always liked that sound that, as you said, a lot of older guys had.  Clarence, Enoch Rutherford, Oscar Wright, Jont Blevins... I once heard you give some of the best advice I've ever heard regarding learning to play this music...  you said to listen, listen, listen and immerse yourself in who you want to sound like, and try to sound like that player... not copy or emulate, but try to get that tone and SOUND... and in doing so, you'll develop your own style and voice on the banjo... that's really this music at its essence, and as someone who greatly admires your playing, you can hear echoes of the greats in all you do, but in a style and voice that is so distinctly yours. R.D. has that voice too, Tom Sauber, David Bragger, Reed Martin, etc. etc. A lot of times I think younger or new players get caught up in the minutia of playing... what finger to use, length of fingernail, scoops, thickness of strings etc. when all that's really required is what you said, listen, listen, play, listen and try to capture that sound and timing down... and then you're on the right track. As a 12 year old kid in 1972 with  a $100 bottle cap banjo, a stack of records and a turntable, I never even gave the length of my fingernail a thought, I just wanted to sound like those old guys, and eventually, I guess it all worked out-haha!

Ozark Banjo Co - Posted - 06/30/2025:  19:26:33

I get away with having short nails if it’s a nylon string banjo but with steel strings I need a better attack. If you want to keep short nails and have a natural feeling clawhammer pick, check these out. ozarkbanjo.com/store1/nails

seancheol-ceol-nua - Posted - 07/02/2025:  15:14:31

I would say aboslutely! I find it hard to player with longer nails (although this might be in part because I finger pick too). I also have poor motor skills so my nails often end up way shorter than I intended them to be! I've found it can be annoying if the nail is super super short but otherwise it is perfectly copeable with. Good luck!