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stil tryn - Posted - 03/08/2007: 08:04:40
I read all the reponses to two tones post below because it is part of the HUGE problem I am having in learning to play properly. I started clawhammer 3 yrs ago and took lessons for the first 9 months. Music is probably the last thing I should be attempting, I have no "natural" appitude for it and so any progress was minimal. I do remember him trying to make me contact the 5th string on every stroke and he also said that on the bum-dit-ty that my sounding the 5th(ty) was following to close to sounding the brush(dit). It was not quite but getting closer to a pinch than 2 separate sounds.
So after 9 months of no progress and tons of frustration and self pressure I quit the lessons and suddenly found myself able to memorize songs from tab which enabled me to play up to speed and the whole future looked brighter. The next 2 yrs were spent learning more songs and kidding myself that I was becoming a banjo player.
So a month ago realizing that there was still so much more to learn, I started lessons again(different teacher) and right away he got after me about the same problems.
So now after 3 yrs its worse than starting new. I have 3 big problems.
1. My thumb wants to only contact the 5th string when I want to sound it and not on every stroke.
2.If i do manage to contact the 5th on every stroke I am unable to come off it WITHOUT sounding it.
3.I still have no clue how to get more space(time) between the brush and the 5th drone.
All this proves I should have started with a teacher and stayed with him until I got it right instead of hoping I can unlearn 3 yrs of doing it wrong,
So whats my point, I need HELP! ! ! !
uncledelphi - Posted - 03/08/2007: 08:48:45
quote:
Originally posted by stil tryn
1. My thumb wants to only contact the 5th string when I want to sound it and not on every stroke.
That's not a problem at all. It could even help you down the road. I do not touch the fifth string unless I'm going to pluck it (or unless I'm muting it for effect, but don't worry about that for now).
quote:
2.If i do manage to contact the 5th on every stroke I am unable to come off it WITHOUT sounding it.
That could be a problem, but I think my advice below will help with this.
quote:
3.I still have no clue how to get more space(time) between the brush and the 5th drone.
Here's my advice: work on the Basic Frailing Motion. Keep it slow and steady until you have the rhythm nice and even. Try a metronome.
If you started off with so-called melodic methods, you may not have a sufficient grounding in the Basic Frailing Motion. Here is what I teach my students:
Brush rest Brush Thumb (repeat over and over)
This is four beats, brushing the first four strings, resting for a beat, then brushing the four strings again, then sound the fifth string with the thumb. Repeat this over and over again, until you're sick of it, and then repeat it some more. Count out loud if you have to (1, rest, 3, 4, 1, rest, 3, 4...; some would rather count 1, rest, 2, and, 1, rest, 2, and, either works).
Keep doing this over and over and over until you have it slow and smooth. Then slightly increase the speed, and repeat the process. Keep going until you have it fast and smooth.
I have taken on students with no sense of rhythm that had exactly the same problem. After a few weeks, it cleared right up.
Regards,
Austin Rogers
Austin "Breakbuster" Rogers
GIBSON MAFIA
Vega Partisan
haiku - Posted - 03/08/2007: 10:56:24
I agrre with unclepelphi.
Try to consider the bum-ditty as a four beats patterns, and work with a metronome.
Play the bum-rest-di-ty as 4 quater note, and set your metronome somewhere near 80 bpm.
You should play on everybeat but the second: 1bum-2rest-3dit-4-ty ( 1brush-2rest-3brush-4thumb)
If your probleme is on the ditty, you can also play just this part:
1brush-2thumb-3brush-4thumb - You'll work on separating the dit and ty, plus you'll work on the double thumb too!
Repeat gain and again, speed it up after a while (+10bpm at a time)
And don't ike the only one in the whole world. I too have no natural gift or whatever for the music!
-----
What will ya have?!
I'll have a pint!
I'll have a pint with you, Sir!
dbrooks - Posted - 03/08/2007: 12:12:30
Slowing it down and thinking in terms of 4 beats should help. This kind of problem is at least part of the reason Dan Levenson stresses bum-pa-dit-ty and the double thumb approach in his Clawhammer Banjo from Scratch.
David
BadBrad - Posted - 03/08/2007: 12:52:12
The key to solving problems like this is to slow things way down and break it into manageable bits. If you are having a hard time contacting the 5th string then just isolate and practice that without trying to play a particular note or rhythm. If you can't take the thumb off of the 5th string without sounding it, then just practice doing that without worrying about playing other notes or rhythms. Experiment with hand and positions, arm stroke, etc. and you'll figure out what works.
As far has playing the 5th string note too close to the brush, from what I've observed this usually happens with people who try to pluck the 5th string by moving their thumb toward the palm of their hand. If you keep a more rigid claw the 5th string will only sound when you bring your hand upwards. If your hand is moving up and down in time (like a metronome), then you will play the bum-ditty in a steady even rhythm unless you try to pluck the 5th string with your thumb. The 5th string is sounded when you bring your hand upward and rotate it slightly, not from plucking downward with your thumb. If you bring your hand up without the slight rotation then the note will not sound. And when I saw rigid claw I don't mean tense. There will likely be some tension while you are first learning, but it should feel pretty relaxed after awhile.
oldwoodchuckb - Posted - 03/08/2007: 18:17:35
This is the only type of situation in the world where I recommend a metronome. I hate the foul things and the fools who enslave themselves to them, but you are in need of a terribly basic correction in your playing and the metronome is your attending physician.
Get one or find something that clicks regularly. Set it on very slow and go right back to Frail Thumb Frail Thumb at slow speed. Cock the thumb and sound it at every stroke. No left hand - mute the strings and GO SLOW. Only speed up when it is working perfectly and then do so in small steps.
When that problem is solves go back to slow and start having the thumb only cock without sounding the string (a light "ghost" sound is okay) practice this in the same manner as above.
The 3rd stage is to put it together in a Bum Did-dy. Same rules.
Then startplaying simple tunes watching the right hand (you already know the left hand - correct?).
After not too long you should be able to straighten out your playing.
The Whiskey Before Breakfast variations and a few tunes in "F" tuning are now available on the web at:
http://home.thegrid.net/~fjbrad/id20.html
