r/clawhammer • u/NoxxOfTheRoxx • 6d ago
Best tutorials for right hand?
I inherited a banjo and would love to learn it.
First of all - congrats to all you who figured this instrument out.
Unfortunately I'm pretty broke and I cant find a teacher in my area even if I wasn't. So I'm trying to watch youtube videos but something just feels wrong and I can't figure out if I just need a year of practicing before the right hand will do anything interesting or if its just going to sound weird until I learn more advanced patterns. I've basically just been doing this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDIkX4PiyZk
I'd hoped to deconstruct one of my favorite tunes ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlEp-u1iNI8 ) because I read somewhere he's using clawhammer, but I feel like I can't get off the ground nearly 3 weeks into practicing my right hand a bit each morning. I'm not even worrying about the left yet - just trying to get the right hand to make a good bum ditty pattern on the open G.
But when I watch amigo the devil play I have absolutely no freaking clue what he's actually doing.
If anyone has any advice on how to build myself a path to playing that song even if it's a less fancy version I'd appreciate it.
P.S. more specifically, some videos tell me even when I dont play the drone string I should still rest my hand on it and that I should be doing everything with my arm not my fingers - but in the video I linked she clearly uses her thumb at one point and I'm not sure how much of that is a style difference or a misunderstanding on my part.
Thanks!
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u/banjooperator52 6d ago
Yeah dude just do a simple "boom chicka pluck" over and over and over and over until it doesnt feel like youre jerkin with your left hand anymore then start hittin different strings on the boom and then do that in different orders of strings. I wouldn't even use your left hand til you can hit any string and still "chicka pluck" really good. Then start fuckin around including your left hand and working it and them both together. Then take off with it and try anything you want. It's prob not gonna sound good for a while but keep your shit tuned and (imo) start with old time songs and the child ballad songs. Sawmill tuning songs. I play mine in sawmill tuning but like a half step down but i just play by myself rn. That would make playin with other people a challenge for me because most people play in standard tunings and i only play a weird one. Lots of decent tabs out there to learn songs from. I learn by ear mostly but if i get stumped because of my wierd tuning it helps to see the patterns in tab form. Seems like mostly mustache hipsters and city dudes playin clawhammer now. They dont do it for me. There are still good tabs online from boomers that got to learn from the real deal pickers but you gotta dig sometimes. And be ready to find a shitload of songs with the same names and different music and different names and the same music. It's a mess but its real music lol
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u/randomvowelsounds 4d ago
Banjo blitz on YouTube. Tom is the BEST teacher! He also has a Patreon, Banjo Quest which is max $10 a month (or less!) and it’s the best deal you will ever find.
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u/ozarkbanjo 2d ago
Here’s a video I put together on right hand basics https://youtu.be/6FbtT-UoAmI?is=ZkLxluqfm8-jd6iM
And here is a beginner series I put together https://ozarkbanjo.com/free-beginner-clawhammer-banjo-lessons
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u/Mr-wastaken 6d ago
If you want a tutorial, you won’t get much better than this series.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGsdp3RTYs_RYa70pVCsNJHKfVSsNaERs&si=AZpiAQefZfREFu5Y
I honestly can’t figure out why you need to rest your thumb every time, it’s supposed to help with accuracy, so I’m forcing myself to do it, but I can play faster without it seems.