 | chip arnold says:
10/12/2014 8:54:25 AM
Thumb lead seems to be of interest to some folks, though I like index lead, myself. For me the index lead is more versatile than thumb lead. Some folks mix the two, which is another way to get the versatility. I stay on index lead most of the time and use both thumb and finger on all five strings. Remember that clawhammer is a finger lead, 2-finger style, only down picked instead of up.
Here's a link to our website. There are some basic lessons and tabs there ... mountainbanjos.wordpress.com/
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bart_brush says:
10/22/2014 3:16:10 PM
I love listening to both, but play only thumb lead because it suits my fingers better. I play a fairly strict style, getting all the melody notes with my thumb on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th strings (plus hammers and pulls). Unless I'm double thumbing on those strings to get extra melody notes, my thumb always plays the upbeat drone on the 5th string. This would be the "did" of "bum did-dy". Notice that in index lead and clawhammer, the 5th string drone is on the "dy". To my ears, that different timing of the 5th string drone gives thumb lead a square "back beat" sound, and index lead a galloping sound; I like both. My index usually stays on the 1st string, making a secondary drone on the "a" and/or "dy" of "bum-a-did-dy."
Variations: I try to stick to these basic patterns and rhythms because I strive for a simple, regular and sparse song accompaniment, which I'll describe below. However, at times I use variations to the picking patterns above: 1) Leave out the thumb stroke drone on the 5th string, which turns "bum-a-did-dy" into "bum-a---dy"; in standard notation, this is the rhythm "sixteenth note--eighth--sixteenth." 2) Leave out the final index stroke, which turns "bum-a-did-dy" into "bum-a-did"; in standard notation, this is the rhythm "sixteenth--sixteenth--eighth." 3) Instead of hammering-on after a thumb melody note, sometimes I'll get a second note with my index on the next string. 4) For high melody notes, I never switch to index lead, but stay with my standard thumb lead patterns, and go high on the 2nd string with my thumb to get the high notes. I may or may not fret other strings at the same time; just depends on the song and the sound. 4) I will use the 5th string drone note as a melody note, but only if it fits in the standard pattern.
I'm not criticizing the versatility that Chip mentions, but there are different approaches to music, depending on the choices we make regarding melody, rhythm and harmony. Think of pre-Scruggs 3-finger compared to melodic 3-finger: the first emphasizes rhythm & harmony; the second stresses melody. Compare bluegrass guitar with Doc Watson's flat picking of fiddle tunes: again, rhythm and harmony vs. melody.
The styles of clawhammer, 2-finger index lead, and index and thumb lead combined can be used to play fairly complicated melodies, but my main interest is banjo songs and creating a simple, traditional rhythmic and harmonic accompaniment with occasional breaks which sparsely outline the melody.
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 | banjo bill-e says:
2/14/2015 5:05:09 PM
Bart I used to play pretty much exactly as you described. I have begun to get melody notes on the first string sometimes. I have to have practiced it in the context of the song I'm playing, I don't switch on the fly, but I've learned that it's usually easier for me to grab a melody note with index finger on the first than to move way up the neck, and with practice can be done smoothly.
I also like the sound of the "reverse bum-ditty", with the fifth string sounding the "dit" instead of the "ty".
I enjoy hearing Chip play but I'm simply hopeless at index lead, other than the little bits described above.
Perhaps the ideal is to have full command of your fingers like Nick Hornbuckle, whose very well developed Two Finger Style seems to have no limits, even working fine in a pure Bluegrass style, though he sounds really fine playing his own version of Old Time.
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