This may be blasphemy, but..... - Minstrel Banjo2024-03-29T08:36:19Zhttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/forum/topics/this-may-be-blasphemy-but?feed=yes&xn_auth=noYou made me laugh, Scott! I…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2012-12-01:2477478:Comment:786942012-12-01T20:34:52.576ZPaul Bockhttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/PaulBock
<p>You made me laugh, Scott! I will say that a fretless banjo certainly allows for some interesting "slide" dynamics in a song and one could probably do some funky things with that in a Bluegrass tune, LOL! Hmmm, wonder if I can play the "tuner" part to "Earl's Breakdown" by sliding on the 3rd string of a fretless..........OK, just tried it, not enough sustain. ;-) </p>
<p>You made me laugh, Scott! I will say that a fretless banjo certainly allows for some interesting "slide" dynamics in a song and one could probably do some funky things with that in a Bluegrass tune, LOL! Hmmm, wonder if I can play the "tuner" part to "Earl's Breakdown" by sliding on the 3rd string of a fretless..........OK, just tried it, not enough sustain. ;-) </p> If you can get stroke style d…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2012-12-01:2477478:Comment:786332012-12-01T19:42:37.045ZScott Johnsonhttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/ScottJohnson
<p>If you can get stroke style down then I think you will have no problem with clawhammer tunes. As someone who is starting out myself, and trying playing both stroke and clawhammer, I find stroke style more challenging and interesting. Stroke style has some very interesting rhythms and syncopation along with using the thumb in different ways than clawhammer. </p>
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<p>As far a learning different styles at the same time, that is a personal thing. When i play stroke style, I work on…</p>
<p>If you can get stroke style down then I think you will have no problem with clawhammer tunes. As someone who is starting out myself, and trying playing both stroke and clawhammer, I find stroke style more challenging and interesting. Stroke style has some very interesting rhythms and syncopation along with using the thumb in different ways than clawhammer. </p>
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<p>As far a learning different styles at the same time, that is a personal thing. When i play stroke style, I work on stroke style, and vise versa. while sometimes it is fun to mix things up, you need to get reasonably good at the tunes in whatever style you are playing before you start mixing them up. While the tunes in the tutors are great as written, George Wunderlich made a great comment in an interview he did with Pat Costello Sr. that one way to look at the tunes in the tutors is as finger exercises. That way once you understand the style you can apply them to other songs. </p>
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<p>But anyway, have fun with your new banjo. who knows, maybe you can do some real "blasphemy" and try playing Scruggs style on that boucher banjo.</p> I will add this: I tried - a…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2012-11-30:2477478:Comment:787482012-11-30T16:31:49.201ZPaul Bockhttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/PaulBock
<p>I will add this: I tried - admittedly not very hard - to learn clawhammer several years ago and was unsuccessful because I just didn't put much time into learning before moving on to classic finger-style, which I also enjoy working on (besides, I'd already been playing some "up-picking" folk style occasionally since the 1960s and I think the transition to clawhammer hit a "mental block"). So, I had some trepidation about tackling stroke style but what I'm finding is that, for whatever…</p>
<p>I will add this: I tried - admittedly not very hard - to learn clawhammer several years ago and was unsuccessful because I just didn't put much time into learning before moving on to classic finger-style, which I also enjoy working on (besides, I'd already been playing some "up-picking" folk style occasionally since the 1960s and I think the transition to clawhammer hit a "mental block"). So, I had some trepidation about tackling stroke style but what I'm finding is that, for whatever reason, I can master the rudiments of it with reasonable practice. I also find it fun to play & experiment. The fact that the Terry Bell "Boucher" sounds so great certainly contributes to that enjoyment!</p>
<p>I want to get back into trying to learn clawhammer at some point - making a more serious effort - but for the present I'll stick to stroke style. "Mixing" the two seems to me akin to trying to learn to play Scruggs' style and melodic style at the same time, and I've always believed that one should fairly master one style before moving on to something else, especially when one is a sort of "foundation" for the second. </p>
<p>PB</p>
<p> </p> Keep it up. Don't get boxed…tag:minstrelbanjo.ning.com,2012-11-30:2477478:Comment:786202012-11-30T16:17:58.876ZDan Gibsonhttps://minstrelbanjo.ning.com/profile/DanGibson
<p>Keep it up. Don't get boxed in by how someone else played a specific tune -- the tabs are interpretations, not law. As far as that is concerned, the standard notation versions fall into the same category. The only "true" versions are those that someone actually played -- we can't hear them -- and I doubt that anyone ever played them the same way twice. I think it's more important to master the peculiarities of stroke style (vs clawhammer or Bluegrass, for example) and figure out how to…</p>
<p>Keep it up. Don't get boxed in by how someone else played a specific tune -- the tabs are interpretations, not law. As far as that is concerned, the standard notation versions fall into the same category. The only "true" versions are those that someone actually played -- we can't hear them -- and I doubt that anyone ever played them the same way twice. I think it's more important to master the peculiarities of stroke style (vs clawhammer or Bluegrass, for example) and figure out how to apply them to a tune <strong>YOUR</strong> way.</p>
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<p>Most of all, have fun with it</p>